Last updated: May 2026
Shkodër was our first stop in Albania. It’s located in the northern part of the country, close to the border of Montenegro. We spent a couple of relaxing days in Shkodër. This city has a slower pace to it and we enjoyed wandering the streets and soaking up local life. However, it was not our favorite stop in Albania, it seemed a little bit harder than other cities and towns we went to. But we still enjoyed our times in Shkodër and it’s worth a stop if you’re on a balkan trip, like us.
Where to stay in Shkodër
We stayed at Rose Garden Hotel, a clean nice hotel with a pretty garden to relax in. Location was central and walkable, if you want to go a bit further they offer free bikes for their guests.
What to do in Shkodër
Rruga Kolë Idromeno
Rruga Kolë Idromeno is a pedestrian street in the center or the city, there’s many cafes, bars, restaurants and shops. It’s a very nice little stroll or place to grab a coffee to do some people watching. Also, the buildings are very beautiful.
Visit the market
There’s also a big market which was great to visit. Just off the big roundabout along the street and on the alleys around there’s loads of people selling their local produce. There’s also one part with second had clothes. We enjoyed walking around seeing what everyone was selling, as we were the only tourists there people also liked talking to us and giving us free samples. It was a lovely atmosphere.
Abandoned train station
This is a bit of an odd tip to give perhaps, but we love abandoned places and this one did not disappoint. The train station itself is locked up, but you can still peek through the windows. But on the tracks there’s abandoned trains full of graffiti. It’s a great photo opp, especially during a sunny afternoon when the area seems to glow in golden light.
It’s a bit of a walk from the center, but as Shkodër is small, it wasn’t bad. You will go through some rather odd areas with very run down or abandoned houses. There were also some wild dogs that seemed a little aggressive on the way.
I don’t think I would recommend going there at night as I’m not sure how safe it is. People live in these trains at night, and it’s also a spot for illegal activity. Even during daytime there was a group of young guys enjoying som chilled illegal activities, and they didn’t seem thrilled with us taking photos around there. So we just made sure they understood they were never in the pictures.
Rozafa Castle
The Rozafa Castle, just outside Shkodër, is the most intact forts we visited in Balkans. It has beautiful views over rivers, a lake and the surrounding nature. Most other forts we visited only had the walls still standing, this one actually had some rooms left as well. You can go down a hole and enter a few rooms underground, which was quite cool. It’s also huge so take some time to explore, sit down and watch the views in different directions, and do like many other Albanians and us were doing, enjoy a picnic.
How to get to Rozafa castle
We borrowed bikes from our hotel to get to Rozafa castle, the way there we biked on the big street, which I found quite scary as there was a lot of traffic and people drive a bit crazy sometimes. However, on the way back we went on the backroad without any traffic, through some villages.
It’s a bit far to walk here, but if you can’t get ahold of a bike there are busses stopping just down the castle on the big road out of Shkodër. It is a bit of a hike uphill after that.