Travel blog: Shkoder in Albania
We ended up in Shkodër in Albania when we did a road trip around Lake Skadar. All of our stops were in Montenegro but we spend one night in Albanias 5th largest city Shkodër. And to be honest, I don’t think you’d want to spend more than 1 night here as there’s not an awful lot to do. That being said, I’ve written down my tips on what to see, where to sleep and what to eat when you’re in Shkodër.
What to do
Shkodër has a pedestrianized zone which is nice to stroll around. Especially between 7 and 9 pm when all the locals will have a drink at one of the many bars on the street.
Just south of the city you’ll find the Rozafa castle on the hill. It’s about a 5 to 10 minute drive from the center of Shkodër to the castle. You can park (for free) at the bottom of the hill, there’s also a nice restaurant here where you can sit down at a table next to the river. There’s also a parking space next to the entrance of the fortress, this is also for free.
Where to sleep
My advice is to book a hotel on or near the car-free zone (you can recognize it on google maps by the light orange color.)
We stayed at Hotel Kaduku where the service was very good. The hotel room is very Albanian with colored lights and a golden bed. It wasn’t my taste but the room was spacious, the hotel quiet and the breakfast included so I would recommend it.
Where to eat
Most of the restaurants in Shkodër will have an Italian looking menu with pasta and pizza.
You won’t find any healthy or vegetarian/vegan restaurants here, but most restaurants will have some vegetarian options on the menu. The food options listed below have a few good options for vegetarisns.
Lounge Bar 13 is located on the first floor above a shop. It has a nice balcony, perfect for sunny days. The interior is very refreshing after all the traditional Albanian restaurants you’ll encounter. They serve sweet and savory crepes, panini’s, piadina’s and antipasta (including some vegetarian options). We were served by a very polite and kind waiter, which made our stay very pleasant.
Cliché Bistro and bar is just a few doors down the street and the perfect stop for lunch. They have panini’s and sweet treats. It can get quit crowded in the evenings with locals drinking their iced coffees.
Restaurant Fontana is also on the main street and has nice pizza’s. The vegetarian pizza with aubergine, courgette, mushrooms and olives is delicious. You can choose the regular size or get a big pizza to share. The regular size pizza’s are already quite big so you can also share a regular size and leave room for a dessert at neighboring Bar Flo. Of there’s room, walk upstairs for a table on their balcony!
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