⚓ Founded 627 BC🏺 Roman Amphitheatre🏛️ 8+ Historic Sites
Durrës (ancient Epidamnos/Dyrrachium) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Albania, founded by Greek colonists in 627 BC. It became a major port on the Via Egnatia — the great Roman road connecting the Adriatic to Byzantium — and at its height was one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. Beneath the streets of modern Albania's second city lie extraordinary Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian remains that continue to be discovered.
The largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans, built in the 2nd century AD under Emperor Trajan with a capacity of up to 20,000 spectators. Remarkably, most of it was buried under the modern city until relatively recently — you can walk into the arena and see Byzantine-era Christian chapels and mosaics built into the ancient walls. One of Albania's most surprising and impressive monuments.
ADDRESS
Amphitheatre Street, Durrës city centre
HOURS
Open 24hrs
ENTRANCE FEE
Free
PHONE
No phone listed
AMENITIES
Open siteFree entryNo RestroomsNo ATM
City Walls & Venetian Tower
Ancient Walls
🏯 Ancient Walls
Ancient Roman defensive walls built in the 3rd century AD and later expanded by the Byzantines and Venetians. The distinctive round Venetian Tower at their southern end dates to the 15th century and is in excellent condition. The walls stretch for several hundred metres through the modern city — a remarkable survival of ancient infrastructure in an urban setting.
ADDRESS
Old town, Durrës
HOURS
Open 24hrs
ENTRANCE FEE
Free
PHONE
N/A
AMENITIES
FreeOpen 24hrsNo Restrooms
Archaeological Museum of Durrës
Museum
🏛️ Museum
Albania's largest archaeological museum, showcasing 3,000 years of finds from this ancient port city — Illyrian bronzes, Greek amphorae, Roman marble sculptures, Byzantine mosaics, medieval jewellery, and a remarkable collection of ancient coins. The scale of the collection reflects Durrës's extraordinary long history.
ADDRESS
Taulantia Blvd, Durrës
HOURS
9am–5pm (closed Mon)
ENTRANCE FEE
300 ALL
PHONE
No phone listed
AMENITIES
RestroomsArtefactsNo ATM
🏛️
Photo Coming Soon
Byzantine Forum
Byzantine Forum Ruins
Ancient Ruins
🏺 Ancient Ruins
The excavated remains of Durrës's Byzantine-era city centre — column bases, mosaic fragments, and public building foundations from the 5th–6th centuries, visible in a sunken open-air site near the amphitheatre. A quiet and easily overlooked site that rewards the curious visitor.
ADDRESS
Central Durrës, near Amphitheatre
HOURS
Open daytime
ENTRANCE FEE
Free
PHONE
N/A
AMENITIES
FreeOutdoorNo Restrooms
Fatih Mosque (Xhamia e Madhe)
Mosque
🕌 Mosque
The Great Mosque of Durrës, originally built in the 15th century following the Ottoman conquest and rebuilt and restored several times since. One of the few surviving Ottoman religious monuments in this heavily modernised coastal city — a peaceful spot amid the busy urban environment.
