Durrës is Albania's oldest city and, at the same time, its most popular beach resort: an unusual mix of Greco-Roman ruins and sandy beaches packed in summer. Founded as Epidamnos by Greek settlers in 627 BC and turned by Rome into Dyrrachium, for centuries it was one of the most important ports on the Adriatic and the starting point of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road linking the sea with Constantinople.
From that glorious past remains the largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans, hidden for centuries beneath the city and brought to light in the 20th century, as well as Byzantine walls, baths, mosaics and a good Archaeological Museum facing the sea. All this heritage sits alongside a bustling, modern and somewhat chaotic port city, and a strip of golden-sand coast that fills with Albanian families in July and August.
This guide covers what to see in Durrës in half a day or a full day (the amphitheatre, the museum, the walls, the seafront), how to combine history and beach, how much admission costs and how to get there easily from Tirana, which is right next door. An ideal destination for combining culture and sea on Albania's central coast.
Durrës is one of Albania's oldest cities: it was founded in 627 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Corcyra under the name Epidamnos, later called Dyrrachion. Under Rome, as Dyrrachium, it became a key Adriatic port and the starting point of the Via Egnatia heading east; Julius Caesar and Pompey both passed through here during their civil war. It was later a Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman city, and was struck by earthquakes time and again. That past of more than 2,600 years can be felt today in its amphitheatre, its walls and its museum. We tell the full story on our history page.
Read the full history ↓The political and demographic heart of Albania: a capital that has rewritten its Ottoman, Italian and communist past, alongside the coast where Rome opened its road to the East.
Read the history of Tirana and the central coast (Durrës, Krujë) →If you only have one day, take a guided tour on the first one: it sets up the rest of your trip and saves you a lot of walking. We look ours up on Civitatis: guided in Spanish and booked online with no fuss. There are not many in Durres, but the ones there are worth it. And there are free tours here: you book without paying and tip the guide whatever you think at the end, so trying one costs you nothing. Tap the cards below and have a look.
If you book from here we earn a commission and you pay no more. Prices and availability come from Civitatis.
No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
The history of Durrës goes back more than 2,600 years, which makes it one of the oldest cities in Albania and on the whole Adriatic coast. It was founded around 627 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Corcyra (today's Corfu), who named it Epidamnos. It sat on an easily defended peninsula next to a good natural harbour, and the new city soon grew rich on sea trade between the Greek world and the Illyrian tribes inland, trading goods and slaves with them.
Epidamnos played no small part in Greek history. According to the historian Thucydides, the city's internal quarrels, and the way Corinth and Corcyra got involved in them, were one of the sparks that set off the great Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century BC. A colony so far away turning up at the root of that conflict shows how much it mattered for trade and strategy.
Over time the city came to be called Dyrrachion. When the Romans brought it into their world, they took up a version of that name, Dyrrachium. Part of the reason was that 'Epidamnos' sounded to them like 'damnum', the Latin word for 'harm' or 'loss', a bad omen for merchants. So the old Greek Epidamnos became Roman Dyrrachium, and Rome would bring its age of greatest splendour.
Under Roman rule, Dyrrachium became one of the most important ports on the Adriatic and a key link in the Empire's communications. The reason was geography: the city was the main point for sailing between Italy and the Balkans, the gateway to the East. The Via Egnatia started here. This great Roman road crossed the Balkans to Thessaloniki and, in the end, to Byzantium (the future Constantinople). Anyone travelling from Rome to the East crossed the Adriatic from Brindisi and landed at Dyrrachium to carry on overland.
That strategic position put the city at the centre of Roman history. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey in 48 BC, the land around it saw the Battle of Dyrrachium, where Pompey managed to defeat Caesar before the decisive Battle of Pharsalus. The city grew and gained walls, a forum, baths, an aqueduct and, in the 2nd century AD, the great amphitheatre that is still its most famous monument.
The amphitheatre of Dyrrachium held many thousands of spectators. It is the largest in the Balkans and a symbol of the Roman city at its height. Gladiator fights and shows filled its stands. When the Empire went into crisis and later split into East and West, Dyrrachium ended up on the Byzantine side and stayed a first-class port for centuries.
Dyrrachium, also known in the Middle Ages as Durazzo, was a prized Adriatic port, and it changed hands again and again for more than a thousand years. It was an important stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, the seat of a theme (a military province) and the target of one attack after another. In the 11th century, the Normans of southern Italy, led by Robert Guiscard, besieged and took it after the Battle of Dyrrachium in 1081, one of the great clashes between Normans and Byzantines. The city passed back and forth several times between Byzantines, Normans, Angevins and local despots.
From the 14th and 15th centuries, as Venice expanded across the Adriatic and the Ottomans advanced through the Balkans, the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire fought over Durazzo. Venice held it for a while and strengthened its walls and towers. The so-called Venetian Tower still carries the mark of that period. In the end, though, the city fell to the Ottomans in 1501. Like the rest of Albania, it would stay under their rule for more than four centuries.
During the long Ottoman period, Durrës lost some of its former importance. Earthquakes, which are common in the area, and shifting trade routes hit the city hard, leaving it smaller and poorer than in its ancient heyday. Even so, it remained a port and kept its mixed population of Muslim and Christian communities, a sign of its long history as a crossroads between East and West.
When Albania became independent in 1912, Durrës had a brief moment in the political spotlight. Between 1914 and 1920 it was, on and off, the capital of the young Albanian state and the seat of its first government, before the capital moved to Tirana for good. These were very unstable years, shaped by meddling from foreign powers and by the First World War, which turned the Albanian coast into a theatre of military operations.
Between the wars and during the Second World War, Durrës, as the country's main port, mattered strategically. Fascist Italy, which had growing influence over Albania, landed at Durrës itself when it invaded the country in April 1939, and there was fighting in the port before the occupation. Later the city suffered bombing and the hardships of war until it was liberated by the communist partisans in 1944.
Under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha (1944-1991), Durrës became a major industrial and port centre of the socialist state, with shipyards, factories and an enlarged harbour. It was in those decades that the large excavations began that uncovered the Roman amphitheatre, buried under the city for centuries. The coast also started to develop as a bathing area for workers. After the regime fell, Durrës kept its two roles: the country's main port, with ferries to Italy, and the most popular beach resort among Albanians.
Today's Durrës is a city of contrasts, where more than two thousand years of history sit alongside a modern port city and the summer bustle of its beaches. Right in the centre, the great Roman amphitheatre rises among the houses, surrounded by everyday life. A few steps away are the Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine walls, the Venetian Tower and the remains of the forum and baths. They recall the layers of history the city has built up: Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman.
Durrës is also Albania's second city and its main port for passengers and cargo, with ferries to Bari and Ancona, as well as the country's busiest beach resort. Every summer its kilometres of sandy beach fill with families from Tirana and the whole region, and hotels, beach bars and seafood restaurants line the promenade. This is not the crystal-clear coast of the southern Riviera. It is a lively urban beach for families.
That double nature, ancient city and modern resort, is exactly what makes Durrës special. Few places let you go in a few minutes from a two-thousand-year-old Roman amphitheatre to a beach bar facing the Adriatic. Earthquakes, like the one that struck the region in 2019, are a reminder of how fragile a city is when it has been rebuilt so many times. But Durrës, true to its very long history, is still standing and looking out to the sea that brought Greeks, Romans, Venetians and travellers from every age.
