Nestled in the craggy valleys of the Osum River, the ancient centre of Berat has been nicknamed the ‘Town of a Thousand Windows’ for its sprawling whitewashed tiers of traditional Ottoman villas. In 2008 it ascended to UNESCO status, making the Byzantine Kala at its top one of the most visited sites in the country, and drawing visitors from afar to wonder at the beauty of its aged streets.

History buffs will not be disappointed by Berat’s healthy offering of museums, from the Onufri Iconography centre that’s housed in the citadel itself, to the town’s ethnographic exhibition that displays artifacts of local folk culture. Architecturally the town is an intriguing mix of Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman religious façades, as your Berat tour guide will point out stone-clad spires mingling with eastern minarets in the misty mountain sky.

There are plenty of walking opportunities in the hills around town, where olive and orange groves cling to the cliffs, and local restaurants are proud of their earthy and organic dishes, often complimented by Berat’s regional wine.