Welcome to Berat: the castle and Onufri museum with lunch

Berat Castle and the Onufri Museum - tour itinerary

Welcome to Berat! This special tour takes you to see two of the main attractions in the city, the fortified Berat Castle and the Onufri Museum. At the end of the guided tour, you will be guests of to a Berat family for a lunch based on Albanian traditional food. You will be able to enter their home, it will be an opportunity to get to know the lifestyle, habits and local culture, having a chat with our guides and eat in Berat.

Berat Castle, the magic of an enchanted scenario

This tour is perfect for all those who want to immerse themselves in the typical atmosphere of Berat, one of the cities of Albania with the greatest historical heritage.

After meeting with our guides at the hotel, you will walk towards the hill that houses the famous Berat Castle, a real fortified citadel surrounded by imposing walls. Going up to Berat Castle you will be able to admire the splendid view that extends over the city and its surroundings. Once inside the city walls, you will find yourselves in one of the most characteristic areas of all Albania. Small streets still crossed by some inhabitants, with stone houses and flower gardens. All around towers and fortifications, the ancient ruins of a mosque, and some churches. Among these, the beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity, with its cross plan. It is a small jewel of the fourteenth century, which seems to be resting on one side of the hill. The church alternates in the facade with white stone and red brick, a mixture of colors and scenic beauty that you will not fail to photograph. Another church, that of Saint Mary of Blachernae, will impress you with its interior. It is in fact decorated with mosaics and frescoes of biblical scenes by Nikolla Onufri.

Guided visit to the Onufri Museum, to the origins of Albanian sacred art

Once at the top of the castle, another church awaits us, that of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which since 1986 has been used to house the Museum of Icons. The Onufri Museum, which is dedicated to one of the most important painters in the history of Albanian art. The setting, consisting of almost two hundred works, takes us on a journey through medieval sacred art. Onufri was a painter with a strong realism, who carried out interesting research in the world of color. His 'Onufri red' is famous, a particular shade with a very vivid rendering somewhere between red and pink, whose composition remains secret today. Inside the museum you will also be able to admire the masterpieces of all the other Albanian painters who have continued their pictorial research in the wake of the master Onufri since the 16th century.

Albanian traditional food for guests of a Berat family

Hospitality in Albania is sacred. It is a very ancient attitude, inscribed in the culture and it identity’s the people. At the end of the Berat tour, you will be hosted for lunch by a family who lives right inside the walls of the Castle. Here our palates will be delighted with the special delicacies prepared by Nina, who will serve us a complete meal by promptly introducing each dish. But be careful to leave some space for the grand finale! Nina is famous for her homemade desserts with different types of locally grown fruit. You will taste them along with tasting Turkish coffee and a glass of raki, the Albanian grappa.

The tour continues after lunch in Berat with a guided tour of the old town center of Berat, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You will stop in the medieval quarters of Mangalem and Gorica, with the King's Mosque and the Islamic shrine of Helveti Tekke.

• Due the moderate amount of walking to reach the main attraction sites, it could be better to wear comfortable shoes and clothes.

• We suggest this tour to customers who are able to climb and descend streets and stairs.

• This tour is not suitable for customers in wheelchair. 

• In case of hot weather we suggest you to bring a cap with you.

• Reach the meeting point 15 minutes before the departure time.