Berat Heritage, Çobo Winery and Durrës
Tirana - Belsh - Berat - Çobo Winery - Durrës - Tirana
After a brief introduction to the tour program, continue to Berat via Belsh, where you will have a coffee break in this lakeside town.
Then drive on to Berat and begin with a visit to the Castle (Kalaja). Inside the castle, visit several Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, both inside and out, including St. Todri, St. Mary Vllaherna, St. Nicola, St. Constantine and Helena, Holy Trinity, and St. Mitri.
All of these churches still preserve interior wall paintings executed in the fresco technique.
At the end of the castle tour, visit St. Mary's Annunciation Cathedral, which today houses the Onufri Museum. The museum displays some of the masterpieces of Onufri and Nicola from 16th-century Albanian iconography.
Leaving the castle, continue to the lower town, first walking through the Mangalem quarter. After this, continue on foot to visit the Gorica Bridge and the Gorica quarter.
Next, walk to the Medieval Center, including an inside visit to the Helveti Teke, as well as the King Mosque and Dervish's Konak.
Continue with a wine tasting at Çobo Winery, 12 km from Berat, where you will spend time in a traditional agricultural landscape.
Then drive to Durrës, the country's main harbour. Here, some Roman and Byzantine heritage is still preserved, such as the theatre, Byzantine wall fortification, and oval forum.
