Durrës

Durrës is the second-most populous city in Albania and home to the country’s largest and most vital commercial seaport. Located just west of Tirana along the Adriatic Sea, it stands as one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the Balkans, boasting nearly 3,000 years of recorded history. Originally founded as a Greek colony named Epidamnos in the 7th century BC, it later thrived under Roman rule as Dyrrachium, serving as the starting point of the historic Via Egnatia military road to Constantinople. Today, the city seamlessly blends its immense archaeological wealth—most notably the 2nd-century Roman Amphitheatre, the largest in the Balkan Peninsula—with a booming coastal tourism industry defined by expansive sandy beaches, a vibrant seaside promenade, and an active modern Mediterranean lifestyle.