#la-tirana

#la-tirana

Athens is a place you feel, not see. The beauty and soul of the city is laced into the way of life - the small moments and exchanges that happen daily - rather than in immaculately preserved monuments, museums and high streets like those of other European capitals.

Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its unique historic downtown characterized by 18th and 19th century Ottoman structures and urban design, but human presence in the area goes back to the 4th/3rd millennium B.C. and there is evidence of an urban settlement in Berat defined by defensive walls dating to the 7th-6th century B.C.

A couple rented a one-bedroom apartment in the gorgeous beach town of Vlore for $350 a month. Their utilities were about $75, and they generally spent about $20 a day on food, often eating out. Between rent and food, they stayed well under $1,200 a month.

Albania is a hidden gem in Europe, known for its stunning natural beauty, rich history, and warm hospitality. From the pristine beaches of the Albanian Riviera to the rugged peaks of the Accursed Mountains, there's something for every traveler.

At the Hamburger Bahnhof, the props, costumes, and set pieces of the musical are staged in vignettes throughout a large hall: a life-sized horse sculpture in a pink clearing surrounded by dirt, a curtained cart set up as a stage with a figure on its steps, two life-sized human figures in animal masks perched in a high window, as if observing the events.

Set within a large agricultural garden in a coastal village near Lezhë, Albania, Red House by Pacarizi Studio explores how a single-family dwelling can respond to changing social structures, climatic conditions, and local building cultures. Designed by Gezim Pacarizi, the 350-square-meter home is organized around an open, partially covered courtyard with a pool at its center. The project approaches domestic architecture as a sequence of perceptual experiences shaped by light, movement, and framing, an idea articulated by the architects themselves. 'What you see through a window can be a landscape, a tree, or architecture itself,' they note.

Berdenesh Hills by NOA in Saranda, Albania, is a residential and hospitality development set along the southern Mediterranean coastline, where hillside terrain and sea views guide the project's architectural logic. The project occupies a sloping site within a quieter rural landscape outside Saranda. Approaching the area, the road traces low hills marked by scrub vegetation and exposed stone, with the sea appearing intermittently before opening fully toward the horizon.

The city is remarkably walkable - there will be no need to take public transit or taxis once you've dropped your bags at your hotel - but there are a few key things to know when visiting Skopje, including the best places to get rakija, the historical sites that'll help you understand the country better and where to find the best speakeasy-adjacent casinos.

Kameh was naturally drawn to design, but it wasn't until they were setting up a new apartment that they knew this interest was a true calling. "Very quickly I realized I wanted to create pieces that told a story, rather than simply serve as functional furniture," the artist says. "I wanted each object to carry a soul, to hold a memory - something that could live and breathe in the space with me."

Affinity Global Development, a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the US president Donald Trump, has withdrawn from the project. The decision came soon after Serbian prosecutors indicted Nikola Selaković, the country's minister of culture, alongside Slavica Jelača, a secretary at the ministry of culture; Goran Vasić, acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments; and Aleksandar Ivanović, acting director of the Belgrade City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.