Our second daytrip from Alberobello in the Puglia region of Italy took us to the town of Matera in the adjoining Basilicata region. While Puglia lies in the heel of Italy’s “boot,” Basilicata lies more inland with its much shorter waterfront in the arch or instep of the boot. Matera exceeded expectations and I found myself excited to be there from my first expansive view of the city. I love travel, am eternally curious, and truly enjoy 90+ percent of my travels wholeheartedly. (There’s always some measure of aggravation and things going wrong in any activity.) But, it’s just a fact that after so much travel over so many years, it does get a little harder to impress. It’s not that I’m jaded, at least I hope not, but I do sometimes envy those experiencing the magical firsts of seeing somewhere new and entirely unfamiliar. I felt the touch of that thrill in Matera.
As for Matera, it’s not that the town with its medieval plazas and churches is so different in style from other picturesque Italian cities and towns or that it offers a particular one-of-a-kind sight or structure, but rather that the sheer size and span of it and its history makes it exciting and something different. Matera covers rocky hillsides and ravines and has a history dating back 10,000 years making it, reportedly, the third oldest city in the world after Aleppo and Jericho. Sweeping views of pale stone buildings and church spires dating back hundreds of years hide prehistoric cave dwellings, some still adorned with medieval frescoes from their time as churches. It’s a place that just begs to be explored, inviting unplanned wandering and random stops. And that’s just what we did for most of a day. At this stage of the travel game, we’re fine ignoring must-see lists and we simply basked in being in this sprawling ancient city.
After leaving the car in a convenient and modern multi-floor parking building, we walked the short distance to Piazza San Francisco guided by an engraved map just outside the parking building which laid out the closest fourteen sights, including three churches and three piazzas. Like I said, it’s not that the sights are unfamiliar in and of themselves. There’s just so much and it’s so appealing. Dotted among the historic sites are lots of shops, cafes and restaurants.
Wanting to eat lunch near one of those wonderful views, we followed narrow steps to a tiny two-table terrace outside pretty Osteria Alla Vigna. As good luck would have it, a couple was just leaving so we pounced on the vacated table. Pasta with clams and mussels for David and a local specialty legume soup for me made for a delightful lunch.
We spent the remainder of the day exploring, ducking into churches, admiring architecture and ancient structures beneath the city, doing a touch of shopping an marveling at the views. A vast ancient cistern called Palombaro Lungo was rediscovered beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto in 1991. The cistern had a capacity of over five million liters of water and was in use until the 1930’s. The entrance fee is a modest 3 euros, but we weren’t that interested and opted not to wait for it to open after lunch. Of more interest to us was the adjacent subterranean arches of a ruined church with medieval frescoes still visible. Access is free to this space and it opens onto a terrace with views of the city with the cathedral directly opposite. [Lead photo above.]
Arches of painted subterranean ruins adjacent to the entrance to Palombaro Lungo
Matera is known for its cave churches and dwellings, many of which can be seen dotting the hills around the city. Dating to the Paleolithic Age and used throughout the Middle Ages. Once abandoned, these structures were often used by shepherds to shelter their sheep or became slums in the areas known as “Sassi.” Nowadays, they’re tourist attractions, some of them serving as hotels and restaurants. We were loving staying in our Alberobello truli on this trip, but I can envision a Sassi hotel on a future trip!
Like Matera itself, Matera’s cathedral, the Cathedral of Bruna, is a cut above the norm. Built between 1230 and 1270, the cathedral (officially “Basilica Pontificia Cattedrale di Maria Santissima della Bruna e Sant’Eustachio”) has undergone many changes and modifications over the centuries. Entrance to the cathedral is through the adjacent Diocesan Museum of Matera which houses a collection religious artifacts and art. Inside the cathedral, I particularly liked the Chapel of the Nativity with its huge multi-colored stone nativity scene sculpted in 1535. Painted burial chambers destroyed and covered over in the 1400’s were excavated beneath the chapel and are now viewable beneath a transparent floor. The combination makes for a unique and intriguing space. The visit ends in the impressive nave ornately decorated in white and gold with a painted ceiling and pink-columned presbytery at the far end.
Chapel of the Nativity in Matera’s Cathedral of Bruna
We capped off our day of rambling through Matera with an Aperol spritz at an outdoor table on the cathedral plaza. Perfetto!
Practical info:
The drive from Alberobello to Matera took us a little over an hour over good roads. Earlier parts of the drive were through pretty Puglia olive groves. Later was less scenic with a remote concrete plant, raised pipes and some commercial trucks. Still, that stretch was an easy drive and gave way to cave dwellings as we approached Matera.
The parking building we parked at was Parcheggio park scotellaro, easily found on Google Maps. It was only €1.50/hour and was in an excellent location, just a one-minute walk from Chiesa Convento di San Francesco d’Assisi in the historic center, and a great place to begin a ramble through Matera.
It’s fun daytripping around the Puglia region of Italy from our trullo in Alberobello. There are so many interesting options in easy driving distance. Scanning the map and reading up on some favorites suggested by our host, we decided to make Ostuni the ultimate destination for our first such explore, with stops at Martina Franca and Cisternino along the way.
In just under thirty minutes, we parked in a public lot in Martina Franca then walked a short distance uphill to Piazza Roma, a triangular plaza in front of the 17th Palazzo Ducale. We enjoyed browsing the elaborately-painted public rooms of this former palace of local dukes along with a temporary art exhibit that was in the process of being installed.
Martina Franca: clockwise from top left: via Vittorio Emanuele, interior of the Palazzo Ducale, the cathedral, Piazza Roma, at Piazza XX Settembre in the center (with the Church of St. Anthony of Padua visible through the sculpture)
After the Palazzo Ducale, we headed south out of Piazza Roma to walk the length of broad Piazza XX Settembre and beyond to the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua. The small church and avenue-like Piazza XX Settembre are worth a visit, but the charming streets of old Martina Franca called us back to cross Piazza Roma and head north along via Vittorio Emanuele. Treble clefs, musical notes and sweeping bars of music were strung above the pretty pedestrian street. Martina Franca hosts several music festivals and these may have been related.
Much of the charm of Martina Franca is just wandering the picturesque streets of its old town. Shops, cafes and restaurants enticed, but we decided to resist eating until later in our day. We couldn’t miss the Basilica of San Martino on Piazza Plebiscito and the nearby beautiful semi-circular Piazza Maria Immacolata. Fourteen sights in Martina Franca, including the Basilica and the Piazza Ducale, are covered by a free audioguide in five languages available by QR code on signs in front of each site. Very handy!
Piazza Immacolata in Martina Franca
Cisternino is a short 15 minute drive northeast of Martina Franca. A beautiful town of cream-colored two-story balconied buildings and matching stone-paved roads, Cisternino sits 394m above sea level in the Itria Valley. Again, so much of the appeal is just wandering. Picturesque narrow alleys branch off larger streets flanked by paved sidewalks. Among its churches, the oldest is Chijsa Ggrénne or the Church of Saint Nicolas of Patara. The 13th century church sits on the ruins of a 10-11th century church. We stopped in to admire the simple white interior and the glass viewing hole in the floor of the aisle looking down to where eleven ancient tombs were excavated.
Around Cisternino (bottom photos are lunch at La Pignata and the viewing window in the floor of the Church of Saint Nicolas of Patara
Down a pretty alley, we chose an outdoor table at La Pignata to enjoy a simple but tasty lunch of crostini-topped zuppa di legumi (vegetable soup rich with chickpeas and beans), salad and a plate of bombette, the local specialty of small meat rolls wrapped in bacon and stuffed with various cheeses, nuts and cured meats.
We drove west through farmland groves of ancient olive trees and low stone walls to our final destination for the day, Ostuni. The blue Adriatic Sea spread out below the white walls of the hilltop town. We parked below and climbed to an arched gateway to begin our ramble through the town. Less refined but rustically pretty buildings lined the steep narrow streets and steps of Ostuni. Shops offered souvenirs and a selection of the beautiful local linens. Sweeping views of the valley and sea below peeked between buildings and beyond terraces as we made our way to the 15th century Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. Ornate ceiling paintings topped the interior of marble and inlaid stone.
Ostuni, with caffé leccese and pasticciotto at the bottom right
Heading back downhill to Piazza della Liberta, we chose a stylish outdoor table at Garibaldi to try their version of a local specialty called pasticciotto, a wide, thick, brick shaped pastry filled with cream, and caffé leccese (also called “caffé alla Salentina”). This drink is basically coffee, almonds and ice. It’s served in two glasses: a traditional espresso and a glass of almond syrup or sweetened almond milk with a few ice cubes. We poured the espresso into the iced almond syrup to create a delicious and refreshing iced coffee. What a delightful end to a great daytrip!
Trulli (singular trullo) are the iconic conical-roofed homes and shelters of the Puglia region located in the southern “heel” of Italy. I’d wanted to stay in a trullo for a while and explore the area, and finally that was happening! I’ve already outlined how this trip came together and how I chose Alberobello in an earlier post, so I’ll just mention again that beautiful Alberobello is home to the largest concentration of trulli in Puglia.
Well, maybe before I get to Alberobello, I should say we arrived in Bari via a Frecciarossa high-speed train from Bologna (booked directly with Trenitalia). The trip takes 5h45m and our first class seats were comfortable and the trip smooth with only a minor delay. The delay may have had something to do with the pouring rain that pelted the train starting only a short distance out of Bologna. It was six days later before we learned we’d left Bologna the day before massive flooding hit the city. Ignorance is bliss! Happily the rain had mostly subsided by the time we arrived at Bari Centrale and collected our fire engine red Locauto rental car. In a little over an hour, we were in the town of Alberobello.
Trullo Susumaniello, our home for the next four nights, was one of a line of connected white homes with conical stone roofs that lined a narrow road in a pretty residential neighborhood. Trulli residences date at least to 1704 when an early drawing depicts a group of these dry stone structures in a woods (hence the name Alberobello or “beautiful tree”). Originally temporary field structures dating back as much as a thousand years, trulli were constructed in a unique dry stone method, using no mortar. Before the official recognition of Alberobello as a city in 1797 by King Ferdinand IV of Naples, the local counts prohibited their vassals from constructing mortared buildings, reserving that privilege (and resulting multi-storied buildings) for themselves.
Most of the trulli in Alberobello were built from the 18th-20th centuries. Our trullo felt brand new, having been recently renovated, and was tastefully decorated and surprisingly spacious. We had a large bedroom, a dining room with a high conical roof, a separate living room with a sleeper sofa, a shower room, a cozy kitchen and a mudroom that opened onto a pretty back patio. Although the neighborhood is a charming maze of trulli, it is blessedly removed from the touristy center of Alberobello where swarms of daytrippers from Bari, cruise ships and other towns in the region appeared each day. We were an easy 10-minute walk through picturesque streets to that area, though, so took full advantage of mornings and evenings when the city emptied of crowds and took on a special charm.
Trullo Susumaniello
Our path passed the 17th century Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damiano to the broad Largo Martellotta, a mostly-pedestrian stretch that is more like a long, paved plaza than a road. Trulli cover the hill on one side of Largo Martellotta, while a mixture of buildings dot the opposite side in the direction of the town hall and the basilica. Restaurants and shops abound in this area along with daytime groups of tourists following flag-wielding guides as well as couples, families and small groups of friends exploring on their own.
Along with more souvenir shops hawking the usual types of mementos, cloth shops with gorgeous local table linens, kitchen towels and more offer items of real quality. Another popular apulian creation is the pumo (plural pumi), ceramic creations meant to represent Acanthus buds, but looking something like eggs with wings to the untrained eye. Symbols of Puglia, pumi of various sizes appear everywhere in the region: on balconies and cornices, in windows, on shelves in homes and shops. I think I counted seven of them in our trullo. Pumi date back to Greek and Roman times and are good luck and protective charms of varying colors, each color related to a specific trait: blue for peace and harmony, yellow for joy and vitality, green for health and fertility, etc.
On a morning walk in Alberobello
For me, the charm of Alberobello is just basking in the ambiance, strolling the streets, letting curiosity draw you from sight to sight, not rushing, stopping to people watch or eat. All those tour guides do have an itinerary, but it’s easy to check off the “highlights” on foot with a local map. Nothing is more than a 10-minute walk: In addition to Largo Martellotta, there’s the pretty little church at the top of via Santo Michele (where it becomes via Pertica), Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant’Antonio da Padova. There’s the piazza del Popolo in front of Town Hall and the nearby Casa d’Amore (only open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-8pm). After the king recognized Alberobello as a city, Francesco D’Amore was the first citizen to build a (two-story) house with mortar. There’s a local history museum, the Casa Pezzola, which we admired from outside but weren’t tempted to visit. There are pretty overlooks to admire the trulli: the terrace or steps by the Church of Saint Lucia and the Belvedere Park.
Alberobello slows down to a peaceful, uncrowded pace at night.
Strolling the relatively empty streets of Alberobello in the evening, we tried several restaurants finding we didn’t need reservations on October evenings. Our trullo host left us a list of his favorites, and we tried one of these which we enjoyed. We had equally good luck just ducking into appealing spots. Maybe we were just lucky, but we found Alberobello restaurants to be uniformly good and service friendly. Orecchiette, ear-shaped pasta, are the iconic pasta of Puglia so appear on virtually every menu. We tried excellent burrata cheese, several versions of a crispy, pretzel-like local snack called taralli, and pasticciotto, a sweet pastry filled with almond cream. Tuna proved to be popular locally as well and I indulged in several raw and seared versions. We became fans of white wine made from minutolo grapes, a varietal indigenous to Puglia dating to around 1200 and rescued from extinction in 2000 by determined local vintners.
All in all, we loved staying in Alberobello and using it as a base to explore the region. A car is necessary, but for us, basing in Alberobello made so much more sense than basing in a city like Bari where traffic and parking would be a hassle and expensive. Besides, the experience and charm of staying in a trullo couldn’t compete with a regular hotel. From Alberobello, we drove through olive fields to the nearby apulian towns of Martina Franco, Cisternino and Ostuni one day, spent another day in wonderful Matera in the Basilicata region adjacent to Puglia. When we left Alberobello for a final night in Bari before our flight home, we had plenty of time to visit Monopoli and Polignano a Mare on the coast en route. I’ll post more about daytrips later.
Practical info:
I booked Trullo Susumaniello on Booking.com via my fave Topcashback.com shopping portal. Trullo Susumaniello was also available on AirBnB and other sites, but Booking.com had the best price (even prior to cashback) at the time I booked. As of today, it doesn’t look like Trullo Susumaniello is bookable on Booking.com, but that may be temporary. Shopping around is always a good idea, though. There is no parking directly in front of this trullo although we could drive right up to it to unload luggage. Street parking is free about a 5-minute walk away. There were always spots open when we were there. The owner was helpful, met us promptly, and was always responsive. I’d be happy to stay there again.
Some favorite restaurants we tried include:
100 Metricubi, with a cosy interior and outdoor seating, offers good food at fair prices. Friendly service and a great location right on Largo Martellotta add to its charm. We enjoyed orecchiette with burrata and colorful fresh tomatoes, enormous tuna steaks topped with almonds and our first taste of crisp, fruity minutolo wine.
Tuna tartare and pasta with fresh cepe mushrooms were highlights at Corte dei Trulli.
A little removed from Largo Martellotta and near the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damiano, Vino e Amore‘s little Alimentari next to its full restaurant makes for a great place for lunch. Dried hams hang from the ceiling, fresh pasta is on offer (of course), and a long display cabinet is filled with tempting treats to be eaten at tables on site or as take-out.
And for something completely different: I know this may sound sacrilegious, but I did reach a point where I desperately wanted a break from pasta and needed something simpler and lighter. A very aptly named “Grilled Chicken” caught my eye on Google Maps. David had his doubts, but humored me and we really enjoyed a take-out meal of tasty grilled chicken, fried potatoes, and a cold vegetable salad. It’s located on the far west end of Largo Martellotta.
I couldn’t resist the title of this post since every time I type the name of this venerable Italian city, the Oscar Meyer jingle runs through my head and sticks there long after I put away my laptop. Any American of a certain age should sympathize.
After visiting the tiny republic of San Marino, we spent three nights in Belle Arti Gallery House, an apartment in the university quarter of Bologna. Although I’ve traveled extensively in Italy, I’d never made it to Bologna, the reputed culinary capital of the country. Given the worldwide popularity of Italian cuisine, that’s saying a lot and my food-loving husband was particularly keen to check out the city.
Bologna has apparently surged in popularity recently. Not long before our trip, I read an opinion piece in the New York Times by a Bologna native lamenting the influx of tourists and the resulting non-authentic changes to her city. While we found locals to be generally welcoming, we did spot graffiti telling tourists to go home. Living in Paris, I understand the sentiment, but a lot of people depend on tourism for a living and any aggravation is more than worth it to a lot of people. Still, it’s always good to be reminded that a tourist destination is someone’s home and should be treated as such.
Basilica di San Petronio with its half-clad facade
I found lodging prices in Bologna to be all over the place (and somewhat limited by later-than-usual booking on my part). The artsy apartment in the university district I chose turned out to suit us well. Despite the bustling neighborhood and cafés perched on either side of the building’s street-facing door, the apartment itself sat on the far side of a large courtyard and was absolutely quiet at night. It was comfortably appointed with a bedroom, living/dining room and very nice, modern bathroom. Our host was attentive and we appreciated the cake and wine he gifted us with. The apartment was steps away from a grocery store and an easy 10-minute, restaurant-and-bar-studded walk to Piazza Maggiore and other sights.
Piazza Maggiore
I didn’t really have a image of Bologna in my mind before arriving there. Its crumbling beauty and more than a hint of grubbiness reminded me more of Napoli or Genoa than I expected. At the same time, I found its arcaded sidewalks, period buildings, art and bustle charming. Bologna’s historic center contains an impressive 35 km (21+ miles) of covered walkways, some of them truly beautiful.
Covered walkways of Bologna
Our first evening in Bologna, we dined at nearby Le Moline Oesteria Bistrot, a typical oesteria that served excellent versions of traditional dishes at reasonable prices. Of course, we had to start out with pasta bolognese (usually listed as “tagliatelle with ragù” on Bolognese menus). Similar menus are found all over town, but I’d put Le Moline with the best of those we tried. The “chocolate salami” – a dense chocolate bar studded with bits of cookie – was far and away the best we had.
After dinner, we walked to Piazza Maggiore for our first glimpse of the famous plaza, Basilica di San Petronio with its half-finished facade, and the iconic Fontana del Nettuno in adjacent Piazza del Nettuno. (This Neptune Fountain is pictured in the lead photo above.) A crowd gathered around a singer on one corner of the Piazza Maggiore, her voice adding to the nighttime atmosphere of the lit square and fountain.
The following day, we returned to Piazza Maggiore passing the iconic twin towers of Bologna. The smaller tower has been leaning for centuries and a safety cable wrapped around it anchors the tower to a building across the street. Rain had been coming and going since we arrived in Bologna and the haze of mist hung around the tops of the towers.
We crossed Piazza Maggiore several times during our time in Bologna. We visited the basilica, checked out the Sala Borsa (Stock Exchange Hall, now home to a public library), ate at the nearby Quadrilatero dining area, and checked out the “secret” of the Nettuno statue. (If you stand on a certain dark tile behind the fountain and to the Neptune statue’s right towards the library steps, he seems to sport an erection. The effect was supposedly an intentional joke/insult by the sculptor directed at his patron.)
Inside the Basilica di Santo Petronio, we watched a beautiful ceremony in an ornate side chapel. Separate choirs of women and men sang while an elaborately robed and crowned officiant made blessings and led prayers, assisted by boys and men in gold robes.
The Sala Borsa merits a quick visit for the building alone, but the dining streets of the Quadrilatero area lured us back several times. Just strolling the narrow roads is an experience with food-filled shop windows and bustling little restaurants and wine bars. Our apartment host recommended his favorite spot, Oesteria del Sole, a 15th century tavern that remains in the same layout pictured in a 1465 drawing. Sadly, they were closing early the day we stopped by, but at least we got to see the inside before they locked the door.
The Archiginnasio Palace , the site of the world’s first university, is located across the street toward the rear of the basilica. Just beyond a tall ornate entryway, arched and elaborately decorated open arcades surround a central courtyard. A painted ceiling arches above a stone staircase leading to the next floor and enclosed walkways whose walls and ceilings display 6000 heraldic crests of former university student leaders. The entrance fee to the Anatomical Theater housed there is a reasonable €3, but an online booking is suggested to skip the line and we didn’t want to either wait or be locked into a time slot. The outer arcades and part of the building are open for free and we were able to peek past a guard into some of the inner sanctum from a quirky temporary exhibit of vintage food-related horror comic art. Per the Archiginnasio website, “The ticket allows access to the Stabat Mater Room when not occupied by Library activities. The part dedicated to the Library is not accessible for tourist visits.“
Archiginnasio Palace
The Seven Churches complex off of Piazza Santo Stefano took us some blocks away from Piazza Maggiore. Walking into the unassuming Basilica di Santo Stefano, visitors could easily miss a door to the left of the main altar that leads to a series of very old churches and chapels surrounding an inner space dubbed Pontius Pilate’s Courtyard. Sarcophagi of two martyred saints from Bologna, crucifixes and a wooden sculptured group of the Magi containing what purports to be the oldest crib in the world date from the 11th-13th centuries.
The Pinocoteca Nazzionale di Bologna (National Art Gallery of Bologna) made for a perfect stop during a bout of rain. Located just a short walk from our apartment, the museum is located in a 17th century former Jesuit home for novices. It boasts a collection of some of the leading Italian artists of the Renaissance, Mannerism and Baroque periods, including Raphael, Perugino, Tintoretto, Titian, the Carraccis, Guercino and Reni.
Practical Info:
We picked up and dropped off our Locauto rent car for our overnight in San Marino at the Bologna Airport then caught a taxi from the airport to the apartment for a €20 fare. The train station is a bit closer and I considered dropping off there, but surprisingly the taxi fare I found online wasn’t much less and the hassle of driving in the city didn’t appeal.
I booked Belle Arti Gallery House on Booking.com via my favorite topcashback.com shopping portal. (I’ve pocketed $2,678.65 cashback as of today just buy booking and buying things I would anyway. It’s taken some years to accumulate, but still, not bad for a couple of extra clicks!) Belle Arti was also available on AirBnB, but the price (not including cashback) was higher on AirBnB. This wasn’t really surprising as fees on AirBnB can add up, depending on the apartment. Belle Arti is listed on other booking sites as well. Anyway, it’s worth shopping around.
There are lots of wine bars in Bologna, but we only had time (and drinking capacity) for one. Enoteca Italiana, a picturesque wine and gourmet food shop/wine bar/small plate restaurant, at 1 via Marsala a block off via Independencia caught our eye every time we walked by. We ducked in during a rain shower feeling lucky to find a free table next to two wine merchants opening bottles of their wine for the owner. We waited out the shower with glasses of local wine and a tasty cheese and charcuterie plate.
Another spot that seemed to always have a line outside was Oesteria dell’Orsa. A sign on the door says they don’t take reservations. Happening by shortly before opening, we decided to join the line for an early dinner. Ah, the lure of a line of people waiting. You can’t help wondering “What’s so great?!” I’m usually more than happy to pass on a line and keep wondering, but with the chance to be near the front of the line, we figured “Why not?” The meal turned out to be… average. It was cheap, though, which probably accounts for at least some of its popularity, although its prices weren’t that much cheaper than Le Moline which I preferred. I finally tried the Bologna specialty of tortellini en brodo (tortellini in a broth, which I found to be just as uninspiring as I’d thought it sounded. Clearly I am a food cretin. At least by Bologna standards.). Dry and overloaded with bits of vanilla cookie, their chocolate salami disappointed. The place is bigger than it looks from the outside, and was quickly packed full of people. Anyway, I wouldn’t bother standing in line for Oesteria dell’Orsa again, even if I were at the front of the line.
For a higher-end seafood dinner one night, I chose Benso after reading great reviews. A 7:30pm reservation made us one of the first tables seated, but the place was packed by the time we left. The meal started out well with clever and tasty trompe l’oeuil amuse bouches and three kinds of house-baked bread. A bottle of local white wine suggested by the sommelier was very good, chilled well, and reasonably priced. We enjoyed our courses for the most part, although my starter of mantis shrimp carpaccio marinated with citrus, sea lettuce and shellfish mayonnaise cried out for more citrus leaving it surprisingly bland. The description of my main was a mouthful (Risotto with Franciacorta yeasts, prawns, fermented lemon, mullet bottarga, burnt onion ash and shrimps mayonnaise), but it delivered on flavor. David’s red shrimp tartare, avocado and tiger milk with mango starter was better than my starter and his main course of cuttlefish dumplings with black lentils cream and potatoes browned with rosemary was tasty and intriguing. Unfortunately, things progressively fell apart in the service department as Benso filled with diners. After an extremely long wait, David finally got his dessert which was comped, but at that point we were just ready to leave. Hopefully, Benso suffered a temporary staffing crisis the night we were there because it’s a pretty spot with a creative chef and friendly servers.
A recent 9-night trip grew from a friend pointing out that the only European country I hadn’t visited was San Marino, a tiny republic surrounded by Italy. On a lark, I started researching San Marino and quickly decided (1) it looked beautiful, intriguing and merited an overnight stay, and (2) it was an easy drive from Bologna, a city I wanted to visit and a short flight from our home in Paris. My plans grew from there. I’ve been to Italy many times, visited lots of towns and cities in many regions, but I’d yet to stay in one of the iconic conical houses known as trulli (singular trullo) in Puglia, a region in the “heel” of Italy. Why not add that to this trip? A little more research revealed a direct high-speed Frecciarossa train from Bologna in the north to Bari in Puglia where we could rent a car. I confirmed there were direct flights from Bari back to Paris and learned that the nearby town of Alberobello was known for its beauty and had the largest concentration of trulli in Puglia. It sounded like the perfect base to explore Puglia. I quickly finalized our trip.
Our 7:45am Air France flight from CDG to Bologna took a mere 1h40. It was a disgustingly early start to the day, but that meant we were in a Locauto* rent car and heading to San Marino by 10am. The route between the Bologna airport and San Marino was unremarkable for the most part and devolved into a stretch dotted with derelict commercial buildings before we got to the pretty parts. Things started looking up with our first glimpse of fortified towers on a cliff far above a roundabout.
Soon, we were navigating hairpin turns up to the Città (city) of San Marino, the capital of the Republic of San Marino. Our B&B host texted me that we should drive as far as possible and try to park in public Lot 6 near a gate to the old town not far from our lodging. Arriving at lunchtime, we found the parking lot full, but a very short wait later, we lucked into snagging a spot when another car left the lot. This turned out to be luckier than we at first realized when we saw how many daytrippers walked the cobbled streets of the old town. We opted to leave our luggage in the car and head to lunch, arranging to check-in afterwards.
The October day was cool, so we chose to sit inside Domus, a pretty lunch spot, next to a window offering a sweeping view of the valley below. San Marino offers lots of spectacular views from its mountaintop perch. We ordered the simple local specialty, piadina, flatbread filled with dried ham, cheese, greens and/or any number of other tasty things. A local craft beer for David and a glass of San Marino wine for me rounded out our lunch.
Piadina lunch…and that view!
Our B&B turned out to be a delight. Although B&B Old Town San Marino has three guest rooms, there is only one bathroom in a common living area, so they only rent to one group at a time. This meant that David and I had the residential area of this beautiful 2nd floor home to ourselves. We could shut the door to the living/dining/kitchen area and wander about the back space in the plush robes provided in total privacy. Our bedroom (“Pearl”) was charmingly decorated in antiques with windows on two sides, one with a balcony overlooking Via Salita alla Rocca, the main pedestrian street we’d come in on from parking Lot 6. From the balcony and even laying in bed, we could view the valley beyond through a space between two buildings on the opposite side of the street.
B&B Old Town San Marino
Despite the central location, our room was calm during the day and absolutely quiet at night. We enjoyed an included breakfast of cappuccino, an omelet, yogurt, fresh fruit and warm apple pastry the next day and an enthusiastic greeting from our host’s apricot poodle made my morning.
The charm of San Marino lies first in wandering the pretty streets, admiring the views, browsing the shops and sampling the food and drink.
Hiking to two of the city’s iconic three towers is de rigeur, although Tower One (Guaita) was undergoing renovations when we were there. Guaita was originally built in the 11th century and reached its current form in the 15th century. The walk up to 13th century Tower Two (Cesta) proved other-worldly as clouds swept across the mountaintop. Billows of mist rolled down the cobbled path towards us. From a clifftop overlook, the ebb and flow of clouds alternately obscured and revealed a view of Guaita and the valley and distant sea beyond.
Cesta houses an interesting Museum of Ancient Weapons and great views of Guaita and the smaller 14th century third tower (Montale) from its windows and terraces.
For €11 apiece, we opted to buy the city museum pass at the second tower. In addition to the ancient weapons museum, this pass allowed us to visit the Palazzo Pubblico and the State Museum. Of the two, the Palazzo Pubblico was a favorite. It doesn’t take long to visit, but the building is lovely and it’s interesting to see the seat of government of this oldest of republics. San Marino has a very interesting government. Its one legislative body, the Great and General Council, consists of 60 members serving 5-year terms. Every six months, two co-equal heads of state called the Captains Regent are elected. The practice of frequently-elected dual heads of state is derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic. The Council is a modern equivalent of the Roman Senate, while the Captains Regent are like consuls of ancient Rome. The first Captains Regent were chosen in 1243 and the practice has continued ever since!
Piazza della Libertà and the Palazzo PubblicoHall of the Great and General Council inside Palazzo Pubblico
The National Museum is also worth a visit, but the allure of just wandering those streets enticed us back outside. There were other museums included in the museum pass… but we passed. 🙂 While local entrepreneurs have provided other diversions in the form of some kitschy private “museums” (curiosities, torture, vampires), we had no interest in those.
Being in San Marino in the evening is magical. The daytrippers disappear and the cobbled streets seem to slip back in time. I hadn’t been sure what to expect regarding dinner on this end-of-season night so I booked ahead with TheFork.fr, a site I use all the time in Paris. I wouldn’t normally choose a hotel restaurant, but Ristorante L’Arengo was available and highly-rated so I went with it. First appearances–a pretty standard, but nice hotel restaurant–didn’t enthuse me, but the welcome was warm and the dinner turned out to be really excellent and surprisingly cheap when we ordered their prix fixe dinner (€82 for an interesting 3-course dinner plus bottled water and a bottle of local wine). The waitress spoke French better than English, so we stuck to French for the evening. The sommelier was helpful and an older waiter who came over to offer us comped digestifs was utterly charming. The evening continued happily with a ramble through the quiet, moonlit streets and mostly-empty plazas. We came upon a talented German tourist playing his own composition on a public piano in a deserted open gallery of the old Cassa di Risparmio bank. He liked that we wanted to video him and asked us to video him on his phone as well.
All in all, we found San Marino to be well worth an overnight visit. It’s a fairy-tale like place with surprisingly reasonable prices for dining and other purchases. I’d paid our B&B host a reduced price for the overnight parking (available to guests staying in San Marino’s old town) which allowed us to remain in Lot 6 until midnight of our second day although we left San Marino just after lunch. Our host provided the local authorities with our license plate number which was scanned as we left the parking lot causing the boom to raise automatically. There are quite a few public parking lots along the road leading to the town of San Marino, but some of them would require long uphill walks to the old town. There’s also a cable car running from Borgo Maggiore below up to the town of San Marino. Given our early arrival and our leisurely departure the next day, we felt a single night in San Marino provided adequate time. We’re glad we stayed overnight, but for those with limited time, a daytrip would still be worth it.
*We used Locauto twice on this trip, from the Bologna airport and from Bari Centrale train station. We were happy with them both times. The cars were new, pick-up and drop-off were quick and conveniently located, prices were the best I found, and there’s no deposit hold beyond a 1 euro cent transaction to save credit card details.
Exploring options around the primary destinations of our most recent Balkans trip, I realized Kosovo was enticingly close. I’d been curious about Kosovo for awhile, but had no specific destination in mind there. A little research turned up a lot of opinions raving about the city of Prizren as one of the prettiest in the country. And Prizren would be an easy drive from Skopje. We needed to get back to Tirana, Albania, to catch a flight home to Paris. It seemed a no-brainer to add a drive through Kosovar mountains and a stop in Prizren. That way, we’d be making a loop (from Tirana to Ohrid to Skopje to Prizren to Tirana) and seeing new places rather than just retracing our steps back through Ohrid to Tirana. And, despite Google recommending the Ohrid route, returning via Prizren actually had the advantage of being about a half hour shorter drive time. A win-win!
Our third driver booked through Daytrip.com, Gligor B., arrived promptly in a very nice Mercedes E-class sedan. He parked near the Holiday Inn a short walk from our Hotel Senigallia which sits on a tree-shaded pedestrian area on the River Vardar. Thankfully, one of Gligor’s first questions was whether we had our passports within reach since we had two border crossings ahead. We realized we’d left them and some other vitals back in the ship safe. A bit of an embarrassing rookie move as I finished up my 99th country! Gligor spoke excellent English, was a cheerful companion, and continued to make things smooth for us throughout the rest of our day together. [Although I found Gligor via Daytrip.com and was very happy with them (see my earlier posts), he might be available directly at +389 70 340 498 where I communicated with him via WhatsApp.]
We crossed into Kosovo from North Macedonia without a problem. I’d been a little worried since passport control hadn’t stamped our passports when we entered North Macedonia from Albania. I’d also read that we might have trouble getting into Serbia at a later date if we had Kosovo stamps in our passports, but Gligor said that wouldn’t be a problem. Gligor said the only issue would be trying to cross into Serbia from Kosovo with a passport. Although the U.S.A., Canada, Great Britain, France, Australia and over 100 other countries recognize the 2008 independence of Kosovo from Serbia, Serbia and others do not. However, Serbia and Kosovo have normalized economic relations since 2020. Gligor recounted a tale of an American client who’d refused to believe him that he couldn’t cross into Serbia “even” with an American passport. (Gligor could cross since he only needed an identity card, not a passport.) My arrogant countryman insisted on going to the border anyway and arguing at length with border security, threatening to call some “important” contacts. After wasting over an hour, they had to turn around and drive hours back to North Macedonia to cross that border into Serbia.
Given the option of driving to Prizren via highways to the Kosovo capital of Pristina or taking winding mountain roads, we opted for the mountain roads. Gligor seemed pleased, saying even though the drive time was about the same, the route through the mountains was much more scenic and interesting. He also said the mountain roads are impassable in the winter.
Gligor drove us along winding roads through thick forests, their leaves a bright green in the summer light. As we drove over a stone bridge, I spotted a pretty creek spilling down the side of the mountain and under the bridge, but didn’t have time to point it out to David. Gligor obligingly turned back to let us out to explore. (Impromptu stops on whim are a major advantage of a private driver.) A couple near the spring above the bridge had built a campfire and had a watermelon chilling in the cold water. The elevation, cool water and shady forest provided welcome relief from the summer heat.
A Kosovo mountain creek
At almost 6000 feet, we came to parked cars and a cluster of stands selling honey and fruit juices, kites and other toys. People lounged in the sun under big colored umbrellas across a grassy mountainside nearby. Higher up, wooden chalets overlooked the scene. This was Prevalla, a popular ski resort in the winter. We headed straight to a honey stand since David is a notorious honey junkie. The friendly vendor spoke halting English then asked if maybe we spoke French. I was surprised, but told him I did and his face lit up. It turns out he had lived in Annecy, France, for some years and was eager to talk about his time there and practice the language. We bought a beautiful jar of artistically arranged mixed nuts steeped in honey from him before continuing on to Prizren in the valley below.
Prevalla
Gligor dropped us off on the banks of the Prizren Bistrica, the river that runs through Prizren. Although we could see the dome and minaret of the Sinan Pasha Mosque beyond a long row of cafes with awning-shaded tables and chairs set out along the river, we were hungry. We opted to lunch at The Charm Delight, one of the few riverside spots that offered air conditioning before we did any sightseeing. This turned out to be a happy choice. “Chicken wraps” were freshly grilled chicken breast meat, tomatoes and cheese wrapped in hot flatbread served with crispy, just-out-of-the-fryer potatoes wedges. Delicious, made to order and cheap. They even had ice cold beer. Score!
The Sinan Pasha Mosque, a central landmark of Prizren, was built in 1615 reportedly using stones from the ruins of an Orthodox monastery. A flight of stairs leads to a 3-arched stone porch crowned by three vaults. The mosque perches above the Prizren Bistrica river near the iconic Stone Bridge. 19th century paintings of flowers and Koranic verses decorate its walls and ceilings. Rain and time have damaged some of the artwork and Ottoman manuscripts, but a local Islamic union rebuffed efforts to turn it into a museum/library. The mosque remains an active and tranquil religious building. After I donned a headscarf and we both removed our shoes, David and I were welcome inside with a few other visitors. A man and two boys prayed beneath the high dome of the main room while another man knelt in a side alcove. We navigated around the worshippers to admire the art and architecture and enjoy the coolness of the interior before heading back out into the sunny streets.
Sinan Pasha Mosque
We crossed a wide plaza where a woman and child filled a container with water from a central fountain while café patrons sipped cold drinks in the shade of awnings. Our destination was the Cathedral of Saint George. A robed priest at the entrance to a courtyard signaled we’d found the right spot. Unfortunately, David could not enter the main church since he was wearing shorts. Pants that covered my knees were deemed modest enough, though, so I made the circuit of the large gleaming white and surprisingly modern interior on my own. The modernity reflects the burning and looting of the 19th century cathedral in 2004 by local Muslim extremists and the subsequent rebuilding. This was part of a troubled period in Kosovo that Serbs call the March Pogrom and Albanians call the March Unrest. Photographs of the cathedral from the period show near total destruction. The 15th century stone Chapel of Saint George Runovic sits on the cathedral grounds. Although also damaged by fire in 2004, it contains beautifully restored paintings on its walls and vaulted ceiling.
Around Prizren (center two photos are the Cathedral of Saint George and its Chapel of Saint George Runovic)
With our time in Prizren running short, we meandered our way through narrow streets back towards the river to the Stone Bridge. Only a few clouds near the Prizren Fortress perched above the city broke the bright blue of the sky. [See lead photo at top of this post.] I texted Gligor that we were ready.
The last of our trip took us over large reservoirs, across the Kosovo-Albanian border, past small towns, and through the mountains of northern Albania. Here the mountains were rockier and more barren than the forested mountains of Kosovo. We enjoyed seeing a part of Albania that was new to us, a final bonus to taking the Kosovo route back to Tirana.
First impressions of central Skopje were great. And a little surprising. After a mixed bag of buildings on the outskirts of town and a spate of Soviet-era apartments which Alek pointed out as where he lived, the city center seemed grand. Massive white buildings evoking the height of ancient Greece*, wide plazas, huge statues. (*My apologies for using the word “Greece.” I realize this would not please Macedonians who have a troubled relationship with Greece and would prefer “ancient Macedonia,” but “ancient Greek” conveys a familiar image to outsiders.) These structures are the product of “Skopje 2014”, a massive government undertaking that yielded mixed results and much controversy.
Macedonia Square with its huge statue of Alexander the Great
Eighty percent of the buildings in Skopje were destroyed in a massive 1968 earthquake. After decades, the Macedonian government came up with Skopje 2014, an effort to make the capital into a symbol of national pride. At first blush, the project was a great success. But as we explored the city, we soon noticed many signs of premature deterioration. I found Skopje a fascinating city of contrasts.
Our quirky Hotel Senigallia was part of Skopje 2014, designed to look like an old-fashioned galleon moored in the River Vardar. Hotel Senigallia sits planted on the riverbed next to the iconic Stone Bridge and the Bridge of Civilizations in Macedonia which leads to the impressive archeological museum on the opposite bank. I chose the hotel for its great location and terrific reviews, but I was second-guessing myself up until we walked up the gangplank. My worries were unfounded. We loved the Senigallia. The hotel entrance and common areas are downright elegant with gleaming carved wood and brass, chandeliers and leather furniture; the hallway to our room/cabin gave the impression of a swank period luxury liner; our room was suprisingly spacious and comfortable with a marble bathroom and two “portholes” looking out on the swift-flowing River Vardar and the white-columned archeological museum. The upper deck restaurant provided an ample breakfast and surprisingly good food at dinnertime with one of the best servers we found in the Balkans. Outdoor seating was popular with locals although we opted for the air-conditioned interior.
Hotel Senigallia
Given the summer heat, my plan was to do outdoor rambles in the mornings and evenings and spend the heat of the day visiting museums, eating lunch… and maybe working in a little siesta. This turned out to be pretty ideal. The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Independence topped my list of museums to visit and we made it our first indoor destination. In fact, we were the first two people into the museum that day so had the place to ourselves for most of our visit. This let us move along slowly to take in the many wax figure displays of scenes of North Macedonian history. The displays and descriptions were often grim, one-sided and heavy on propaganda, but that only added to the interest. I like to see points of view that are new to me or different from the versions my own country tells. (The Vietnam War Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and the Military Museum in the Belgrade Fortress are prime examples.) As an American, I didn’t have much of a dog in the fights that make up the subject of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, but the displays did have me looking up events I was totally unaware of.
Seeing the Archeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia from our bedroom window and during meals moved it onto our list of museums to visit. Fittingly, the archeological museum looks like a giant ancient temple. Its collection, including a copy of Alexander Sarcophagus is well-presented but contains no major treasures. The building itself was the main draw for us. Approaching the archeological museum across the Bridge of Civilizations in Macedonia makes a great impression. Great impressions are what Skopje 2024 was all about. Unfortunately, as we wandered the city center, we couldn’t help but notice crumbling “marble,” rust stains and other signs of premature deterioration. Not wanting to offend, but curious as to local opinion, we asked our friendly waitress at dinner one night what she thought of the buildings. She approved, saying with an ironic smile that at least the government built something with the money rather than stealing it. When I asked her what was there before, she said “Nothing. It was empty.” On the other hand, a woman in the hotel lobby said the new buildings were falling apart because of inferior materials and poor engineering resulting from corruption. She also explained how the Hotel Senigallia’s sister “ships” positioned at some distance on either side of the hotel were vandalized and derelict because of a former city administration’s efforts to destroy them. Apparently, changing governments made for uncoordinated approaches to city planning and a lawsuit had recently awarded compensation to the owners of the businesses in the faux ships.
Top photos of crumbling Skopje 2014 structures; bottom photo of one of the Hotel Senigallia’s “sister ships”
Skopje offers more than museums. Our morning and evening walks took us to the Mother Theresa house, people-watching in Macedonia Square and exploring the old Ottoman Bazaar, the largest in the Balkans. Evenings were particularly busy with crowds of people of all ages out strolling or enjoying cafés. Street musicians including children on drums performed on the Stone Bridge and around the Fountain of Lions. An ice cream vendor drew a crowd as he charmed small children with a good-natured slight-of-hand routine that had them looking for disappearing cones and thinking he’d dropped their treats.
Around Skopje from top left, then left to right: Bridge of Art, Macedonian National Theater, walking bridge (that was to have had a Ferris wheel), the bazaar, Macedonian Holocaust Museum, Mother Theresa House
The bazaar is a maze of shop-lined streets interspersed with cafés, sweet shops and mosques. A man seeing my interest in a huge tree sheltering diners in one small square told me it dated to ancient times. We found most people in Skopje to be friendly and many spoke at least some English. An easy walk from Hotel Senigallia, we visited the bazaar both nights we spent in the city. With plenty to do and adapting to the heat, we opted to skip a walk up to the fortress or a cable car ride to the large mountaintop Millennium Cross for views of the city. All in all, we found Skopje worth the visit and I’m glad we didn’t let summer weather keep us away.
I debated adding Skopje to this Balkan trip, wondering if it was crazy to visit the North Macedonian capital in the middle of July. July is prime time in beautiful lakeside Ohrid, but Skopje sounded like it could be scorching. On the other hand, I hated to miss the capital and there were some stops between Ohrid and Skopje that really appealed. As a native Texan, I know all about heat and I actually kind of like it… so long as there’s air conditioning to be had. I decided I was being a wimp and made plans.
Our driver, Alek, arrived promptly at 10am at our Ohrid guesthouse and we were off. First stop, Tetovo. Alek spoke good English and we enjoyed his knowledgeable if somewhat downbeat company. He described frustrations with the lack of opportunity in his country, the interference of outside countries (particularly Greece), and government corruption. He had an undergrad degree he said made him a lawyer in Macedonia, but he found it more profitable to be a driver and guide. It’s a sad story of underutilized skills I’ve heard often during my travels. Alek also tended to downplay our stops along the way while still being game for whatever we wanted to do. I got the impression he’d seen it all a zillion times and was nudging us a little to see if we’d skip the stops we’d paid to make. Understandable, but that wasn’t happening. We just confirmed we wanted to stick to our plans and he was fine about it and gave us plenty of time.
Šarena Džamija, the “Colorful Mosque”
A couple of hours after we left Ohrid, Alek parked across from Šarena Džamija (the “Colorful Mosque” or “Painted Mosque”) in Tetovo, letting us off to explore at our leisure. Famous for painting that covers its exterior and interior, the Colorful Mosque dates to the 14th century. Unusually in the patriarchal culture, two sisters financed construction and they are buried beneath an octagonal shelter in the flower-filled gardens of the mosque. After removing our shoes and covering my hair with a scarf, we entered the small mosque. A man praying turned out to be a visitor from Australia. Hearing us speaking English, he cheerfully volunteered to explain details of Muslim prayer and customs. After crossing the adjacent park to view its former hammam (Ottoman baths) just across the River Pena, Alek picked us up for lunch. Following his suggestion, we opted to skip a modern air-conditioned restaurant for a traditional place he promised would be a treat. He was right!
Restoran Belamia occupies a large three-story building that looks as much like a house as a place of business save for a parking lot and a covered brick walkway leading to the entrance. Alek had called ahead while we were in the mosque. We were expected and Alek was clearly a familiar face here. A charming server greeted us warmly before leading us past a fireplace surrounded by period knickknacks and rows of wine bottles through the empty restaurant to a table near an interior courtyard. Tablecloths, wood floors, brick walls and overhead beams provided a charming atmosphere. Red geraniums hung from the open-air second-floor balcony that gave onto the paved ground floor below surrounded by antique kitchen furniture, pots and photographs. Periodic clouds of heavy mist helped the flowers thrive and kept our dining area comfortably cool with the assistance of a large wall-mounted fan.
Restoran Belamia
At our waiter’s urging, we started with Serbian plum “rakia” which vastly improved upon the rakia we’d had in Albania. Next came triangles of house-made flat bread, perfectly charred and piping hot from the oven and a large shared salad topped with piles of shredded cheese. My skillfully grilled chicken with grilled vegetables, drizzled with a balsamic reduction perfectly suited my tastes. David opted for a more traditional chicken dish preferred by Alek. Smothered in sauce and cheese and topped with a scoop of something that tasted like butter and grated cheese blended together, their meals were a tribute to heavy Balkan dining.
Our next stop was Matka Canyon, a man-made reservoir in the mountains near Skopje. Matka Canyon often tops recommendations for things to do “in” Skopje. Alek confirmed what I’d read about the canyon being super popular with locals and tourists during the summer months and warned us to expect a wait to get in. Happily, we didn’t face a long line of cars, but Alek did have to slowly thread our way through about a mile of cars parked beside the narrow road that runs along the river far below.
Men and boys swam and played in the river. When I remarked on how there were no women, Alek explained it was because they were from the nearby Muslim village. He added that Christians from Skopje wouldn’t swim there. It was a story of self-imposed separation and a competition for territory we heard several times in the Balkans. We were told Muslims built mosques to mark their territory even though no one used them. We did see a surprising number of mosques in most towns and villages we passed. Meanwhile Christians erected large crosses on the hillsides and mountains for the same purpose. I was listening to To the Lake, a book by Kapka Kassabova, a woman with Balkan origins who was exploring her roots in the Ohrid region. To the Lake described the same dynamic. The history of the Balkans is fascinating, complicated and often tragic.
Alek persisted through the sea of cars until we came to the end of the road where yet another of the many people who knew Alek everywhere we went moved aside a barrier to let him park in the lone remaining spot just in front of the entrance to the canyon trail. Not bad!
The dam that forms the reservoir rises impressively high above the riverbed. Beyond that, a paved path passes through an arch cut into the mountainside before giving the first glimpse of the reservoir. Clear water sparkles below nearly vertical mountain walls. Gorgeous! We left Alek to chat with friends at tables near small medieval St. Andrew’s Monastery and a boat rental to walk along the rocky path that snakes along the cliff walls above the water. Several medieval monasteries dot the area in addition to ten caves, but the heat caused us to keep our hike relatively short. Instead of spending our time boating, we opted for icy drinks on the terrace of a lakeside bar operated by the one hotel on the canyon before meeting up with Alek to continue on to Skopje.
Practical info:
I booked Alek via Daytrip.com as I did all three transfers on the Balkan trip. I wrote previously here about my reasons for booking private drivers and my experience with Daytrip.com. Daytrip.com brokers drivers in countries all over the world. They vet the drivers who use them to connect with customers. All three drivers they found for us were prompt, professional, friendly and informative. The cars were clean and in good shape.
There was no entrance fee to either the Colorful Mosque in Tetovo or Matka Canyon.
Ohrid, North Macedonia, nestled on gorgeous Lake Ohrid was my primary destination for this Balkans trip. After an enjoyable one-night stay in Tirana, I was excited to get on the road to Ohrid.
Our driver, Edvin, picked us up promptly at noon at our Tirana hotel. I’d arranged an English-speaking driver via Daytrip.com for the 2.5 hour drive to Ohrid. David loves driving pretty much anywhere and I like being his navigator, but I opted against a rental car for a few reasons: notorious Albanian drivers and traffic cops, cross-border and potential one-way drop-off rental charges, and possible hassles crossing borders where we didn’t speak the language and where there have been local disputes. Super cheap buses and mini-vans were options, too, but we liked the idea of more comfort and more control over stops… and I read one report of fellow passengers with problems at the border causing delays for everyone else on a shared ride. No thank you.
Anyway, our drive went smoothly, Edvin spoke passable English, was very friendly and suggested a lovely stop at a restaurant beside a mountain river where he insisted we try rakia, the local eau de vie. The rakia made me shudder, but the setting was great.
Toasting with rakia (For the record, Edvin is only posing with my glass of rakia. He did not drink and drive.)
Picturesque Lake Ohrid straddles the border between Albania and North Macedonia and we got our first glimpse of it as we neared the Albanian-North Macedonian border. We remained in the car to cross the border which we did without incident, and without getting our passports stamped which made me wonder about potential issues when we left North Macedonia for Kosovo, but Edvin seemed unconcerned.
After less than an hour of driving past wooded countryside, small towns and orchards, we arrived at the upper gate which leads into Old Town Ohrid. A guard raised the boom allowing Edvin to enter when informed we were staying in Old Town. With both Edvin and I using Google Maps, he navigated the winding narrow streets down to lakeside Villa Lucija beside the small town beach. As Edvin stopped to unload us and our luggage, a woman appeared, loudly indicating that he couldn’t park there. We tried to make her understand what we were doing, that we were in front of our guesthouse, and that Edvin would move the car in a second if she would just go away. Albanian Edvin spoke only a little Macedonian and, of course we spoke none, but she finally left us in peace. Yeesh. It wasn’t an auspicious beginning, but after that first little misunderstanding, we met nothing but friendly, welcoming people during our time in Ohrid.
Our hostess, Lucija, turned out to be a cheerful delight. She lives on the ground floor of four-story Villa Lucija with a friendly white golden retriever. Our Room #7 was two flights of stairs up, on the same level as a communal kitchen. We had a large comfy bed, a sofa/bed, a seating area, a fridge, a modest but adequate shower room, and a balcony which faced the lake and the curve of Ohrid along its small port. We ate breakfast every morning on the spacious porch, lowering a wide awning to block the sun whenever we left. It’s hot in Ohrid in July, but that’s when the lake is most appealing. The powerful air conditioning in our room kept things nicely chilled, though, and a joy to return to after rambles away from the water.
View from our Villa Lucija balcony
We enjoyed lounging by the lake in the private area behind Lucija’s personal back terrace, but there’s also a lot to see in Ohrid. Ohrid boasts “365 churches, one for each day of the year.” I can’t verify that number, but we came across many tiny churches along the winding cobbled streets of Old Town Ohrid. In addition to those small churches, Ohrid is home to several larger churches and monasteries. Iconic St. Sophia Church sits a mere one minute walk from guesthouse Villa Lucija. St. Sophia is depicted on the 1000 Macedonian denar banknote and on the modern coat of arms of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. One of our evenings had us hiking up to the Church of St. John the Theologian (also “St. John at Kaneo”), perched on a point above the town overlooking the lake. A photo of this spot was one of those that got me planning this trip in the first place. [See lead photo above for my own similar photo.]
On the Ohrid Boardwalk
Getting to St. John the Theologian was half the fun: We walked along the Ohrid Boardwalk set above the water and running along the edge of a cliff to an area of restaurants, guesthouses and swimming areas to Restaurant Kaneo. We dined at a lakeside table at Kaneo Restaurant as the sun sank below the hills, enjoying pasta and fish and Macedonian wine and sharing tidbits with very polite cats. With plenty of light left in the summer sky, we continued our walk along the cliff base, past a pretty little waterside church before taking the rock paths and steps up the hill to the Church of St. John the Theologian. Sunset painted the western sky in shades of orange beyond the church and the still lake, a picture of serenity and beauty.
Another day, we walked up Old Town hills to an ancient Roman theater, then explored 9th century St. Clement’s Monastery of St. Paneleimon and adjacent Plaošnik archeological site. The rebuilt church was built by St. Clement, a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, on the foundation of an earlier Christian basilica, and dedicated to St. Paneleimon. The archeological site is still being excavated and rebuilt. A woman at the gate to the area offered to guide us and showed us a book she’d written on the site. The small book seemed impressively researched and was in English, but not wanting to get trapped into a longer-than-wanted tour, we opted to look around on our own. Since no one was manning the ticket booth, the guide told us to go on in. The church is pretty and similar to many we saw on this trip and the archeological site offered little in information, but we were good with that. Satisfied with our time, we continued on uphill to Ohrid Fortress whose ramparts rewarded us with great views of the lake, Ohrid, and the surrounding countryside.
Ohrid Fortress
We spent our evenings exploring old Ohrid: its small cobbled roads; wide, stone-paved pedestrian street Sveti Kliment Ohridski with its shops, restaurants and bustling crowds; the waterfront booths, restaurants and jetties. All over town, shops offer delicate Ohrid filigree silver jewelry. The style is lovely, but we couldn’t help but wonder how any of the many shops distinguish themselves or earn a living with so much competition. On Sveti Kliment Ohridski, quite a few shops offer designer labels and prices at a fraction of what they’d cost in Western Europe. We had to assume they were counterfeit and refrained from buying, but I have to say they looked surprisingly legit with heavy tags, correct logos and the like that are a far cry from some of the counterfeit I’ve come across in Asia. On two evenings, we stopped to watch costumed dancers on an open stage participating in an International Folk Festival.
Summer nights in Ohrid
We spent a wonderful day on a boat tour the length of Lake Ohrid to St. Naum’s Monastery and the St. Naum’s Springs (also known as Black Drim Springs). We stopped en route at Bay of Bones for a short visit at a reconstructed Iron Age overwater town and adjacent museum of Iron and Bronze Age artifacts found in Lake Ohrid. There are several larger boats as well as small private boats offering tours of the lake. We were super happy with our choice of Armada, a larger boat with its long cushioned bench-style seating along the edge of an open, shaded upper deck facing tables and reclined chairs. There was also a lower, enclosed deck which remained empty as everyone wanted to be outside. Still, there was plenty of room and extra seats. Cocktails were showy, delicious and well-priced. We looked with sympathy at passengers on other large boats we saw, crowded into rows of open deck chairs who couldn’t move about or lounge around as we could nor enjoy cocktails and snacks on their very own tables. I highly recommend this tour and will post details below in the Practical Info section.
Armada boat trip from Ohrid to St. Naum’s (Bottom left photo is the Bay of Bones museum and replica Iron Age overwater town.)
We had three and a half hours at our final destination and David and I went straight for a private twenty-minute rowboat trip around the springs, an absolute highlight. The springs actually come from underground rivers connecting Lake Prespa to Lake Ohrid. The water that bubbles up beneath the surface and that runs down the green banks is so purely filtered that it is drinkable. We gazed through crystal clear water at green water plants surrounding white sand patches where springs made small “volcanoes.” Small diving ducks darted to hide in plants along the bank as our oarsman rowed us slowly through the nature preserve. We spotted a “wild chicken” on a small log. I trailed my fingers in the cold water, breathing in the clean water-and-greenery scented air, loving every minute.
Rowing on St. Naum’s Springs
We lunched at a large open-air spring-side restaurant where a cheerful young waitress explained local dishes and shared her preferences. A turtle roaming among the tables gobbled lettuce leaves I offered much to the delight of a little boy. Hunger abated, we walked up to clifftop Saint Naum’s Monastery. The ticket taker at the small church at the center of the monastery courtyard waved me away when I tried to pay. I’m not sure why, but there was no charge. Faded and damaged old frescoes covered the walls of first room of the church, but perfectly restored floor-to-ceiling paintings of the saints with gilded borders adorned the domed innermost chamber. Outside, the courtyard offered spectacular views of Lake Ohrid. We lingered there, watching cormorants diving far below, the glass-like water making for perfect viewing both above and below the surface.
Interior of the St. Naum’s Monastery church
Cormorant diving in Lake Ohrid
The cool waters of the lake enticed us away from the monastery. A rented lakeside “bed” provided the perfect spot to lounge about and people watch between times in the crisp lake waters. Too soon, it was time to head back to Armada for the return journey to Ohrid. Oh well, we traded one good time for another with icy piña coladas on the boat and Ohrid waiting in the distance.
St. Naum’s Springs flowing into Lake Ohrid. Boats from Ohrid dock nearby.
Practical info:
This was my first time using Daytrip.com and I was really happy with them. Their prices were competitive with Viator, etc. They were quick to respond to questions and resolve any concerns or problems. For example, they quickly supplied me with a form for a custom trip when they didn’t offer a stop that I wanted. They were also prompt to send me a payment link when I was unable to pay by credit card for one of our three transfers. All three drivers we had on the Balkan trip were prompt, professional and knowledgeable. The cars were clean and comfortable. Daytrip.com brokers drivers all over the world. From the conversation I had with one of our drivers, the drivers are happy with their service, too.
I booked the boat ride on Armada on Booking.com via Topcashback. You can buy tickets on site from vendors who were pretty much always at the dock or on the Armada website, but it was just so easy, quick and secure to book on Booking.com and the 1200 lek (appx. €20) pp price was the same. (And I could do it in the air conditioned comfort of our room.) Our cruise to St. Naum’s left Ohrid at 10:15am and lasted about 8 hours. Armada offers other cruises as well, including sunset and mid-lake swimming cruises.
We enjoyed dinner at Kaneo Restaurant, but were really disappointed on another night with inedible shrimp and overcooked Ohrid trout at Restaurant Kajche. Kaijche is beautiful, so maybe other dishes or just drinks would be better.
Credit cards were accepted almost everywhere in Ohrid.
Ohrid is proud of its water quality. We brushed our teeth and drank tap water at Villa Lucija and had no problems.
Skanderbeg Square (set up for Euro 2024) viewed from our Tirana International Hotel & Conference Center room
Putting together this Balkan trip: Photos of picturesque Ohrid, North Macedonia, nestled on a gorgeous mountain lake caught my eye and inspired this trip. (This tends to happen to me. I see a photo or read something online or a place mentioned in a book, do a little research, and the next thing I know I’m going there.) July and August are peak season in certain parts of the Balkans, but temperatures can be really hot. So, I wasn’t sure my plan to check out Ohrid in July was my most genius move. Lake Ohrid’s waters are cool and lots of people head to the lake in the summer months, but of course, I wanted to explore the region a little, too. What cities might we fly into or visit before or after our time in Ohrid? Options for direct flights from our home in Paris were limited (“Paris Beauvais” doesn’t count as it’s not really in Paris and a real hassle to get to from the city). Transavia offers direct flights from Paris Orly to Tirana, Albania, a 2.5 hour drive from Ohrid. I looked at some open-jaw itineraries with us flying out of Ohrid or Skopje, North Macedonia, but those required lay-overs that didn’t interest me, so a round-trip to Tirana made the most sense. David and I had been in Shkoder, Albania, a few years back on a short side trip from Montenegro. While we’d enjoyed good food and the picturesque ruins of Rosafa Castle, we were interested in seeing more of Albania. Its capital, Tirana, seemed the perfect place to start.
Searching the weather forecast showed temperatures rising into the 90’s in Tirana in July during the period we were free (and avoiding the upcoming anticipated Olympics travel snarl in Paris when we plan to stay put). Oh well, that sounded like my native Texas. Not ideal, but we could work with that. I quickly put together an 8-night trip with multi-night stops in Tirana, Ohrid and Skopje. I opted for private drivers between cities so we could visit intriguing places along the way including Tetovo and Matka Canyon in North Macedonia and Prizren, Kosovo, and the surrounding mountains. Adding Kosovo provided a fun bonus of putting me over 100 countries visited. A meaningless personal milestone, but I got a kick out of it anyway. (And, while the US and many other countries recognize Kosovo as an independent country, Serbia would no doubt disagree. So maybe it’s “100*” with an asterisk for Serbia and its ilk.)
Our time in Tirana: We stayed only one night upon our arrival, at the Tirana International Hotel and Conference Center on the city’s vast Skanderbeg Square. Our 2.5 hour Transavia flight from Orly arrived early in the morning, though, and we had a full day to explore the sights before heading to Ohrid the next morning. We also had two nights at the end of our trip a mile further south at the MAK Albania Hotel just off Mother Theresa Square in the upscale Blloku area of the city which borders a large wooded city park. This turned out to be a great way to experience two areas of Tirana and to let us enjoy MAK Hotel’s gorgeous pool facilities when the temperature in Tirana would be hottest. There aren’t a huge number of must-sees in Tirana and we easily saw all I hoped to during our time in the city.
Skanderbeg Square is the heart of the city and we headed out to explore it as soon as we dropped of luggage at the hotel. Tall buildings surround the square and offer an intriguing array of modern architecture. Tirana appears to be undergoing a building boom and cranes dot the skyline.
At the time of our visit, Skanderbeg Square was filled with bleacher stands surrounding a large swath of “Astroturf” on which white beanbag chairs were scattered, all of which faced a huge screen set up to broadcast the ongoing Euro 2024 soccer games. [See lead photo above.] Booths set up around all this and near a big ferris wheel offered snacks and local beer. People sipping cold drinks in the shade in open-air cafes along the opera side of the square enticed us to join them. Iced coffees and an excellent late breakfast of avocado toast on fresh seedy bread at Momento started the day off well. We liked Momento so much that we returned a couple of times and, when we came back on one of the last days of our Balkans trip, the manager gifted David with a special beer glass with the bird logo of local Sabaja craft beer.
A first stop was the BunkArt 2 Museum. BunkArt 2 is located in one of 173,000 nuclear bunkers created during the decades-long dictatorship of Albania’s Enver Hoxha. BunkArt 2’s grid of underground tunnels and rooms extends much further than we expected from its modest entrance. We spent a good bit of time exploring rooms ranging from cells to command centers to photography and art installations reflecting the dark years of Albanian dictatorship. Citizens were tightly controlled and forbidden to leave Albania; foreigners were not welcome and the outside world kept at a distance. Chilling photographs and exhibits of razor-wired mountain border fences and attack dogs and their trainers paid testament to the many Albanians who died trying to escape.
BunkArt 2
We enjoyed the beautiful little Et’hem Bej Mosque just off Skanderbeg Square with its colorful painted walls and ceilings. I brought my own headscarf, but skirt wraps and scarves are available to borrow. Entrance is free, but a donation is expected. Religion was prohibited during the dictatorship and most churches and mosques were destroyed. The Et’hem Bej Mosque was declared a historic monument during the dictatorship. But in January 1991, thousands of people entered the mosque carrying flags and heralding the beginning of the end of Communism in Albania.
Et’hem Bej Mosque
For a little religious diversity, we visited the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral, a massive modern structure a short distance from the side of Skanderbeg Square opposite the Et’hem Bej Mosque. Albania is majority Muslim, but has a sizeable Christian minority and a secular government.
Tirana Castle, while preserving some of the old fortress walls, is a modern area of shops and restaurants. There’s nothing particularly historic about the place now, but it’s fun and it really comes alive on summer nights with live music at cafés, their outdoor tables full.
Downtown Tirana bustles on summer nights. People who’d taken refuge indoors during the summer heat seem to pour out onto the cooling streets. Couples, families and clusters of friends strolled the squares and parks, took photos around the Tirana Pyramid, bought treats from street vendors, and watched soccer on outdoor screens. In Blloku, cafés around the modern stadium filled as the night progressed.
Nighttime Tirana from top left, clockwise: Around Tirana Castle, Tirana Pyramid, Blloku, Mother Theresa Square, live music in front of The Cloud art installation
We found the fresh seafood at Fiore Restaurant in Blloku to be excellent, enjoying it so much we ate there two nights in a row, ordering the same mixed platter for David and grilled baby squid for me. Piping hot seasoned pizza bread, a shared enormous Fiore Salad, good wine and a complimentary platter piled high with watermelon wedges rounded out the meal. Friendly service, good air conditioning and a steady supply of ice to satisfy our American tastes made for a lovely time.
Practical info:
Although I link directly to hotels when I blog, that’s just for informational purposes. I usually book through a cashback portal, my favorite being Topcashback. That’s what I did on all of our Balkan hotels, using Booking.com via Topcashback. (I don’t always use Booking.com; Topcashback links to many travel sites and I compare cashback offers and prices before I choose. This time, Booking.com had the best deals.) Over the years, I’ve gotten over $2500 from Topcashback for travel and items that I would have bought anyway. The link here to Topcashback is to my referral link, so many thanks to anyone who uses it.
Tirana Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Center boasts a great location on Skanderbeg Square and lovely common areas, but the rooms are dated and the air conditioning struggled although it was good enough by bedtime and we slept well. It was cheap and an excellent value at €66.18/night. I chose it for our one-night stay for the location, the price, and because I thought any taxi driver would know where to find it. I wasn’t sure about language issues with a cab and didn’t want some tucked-away Airbnb or small guest house as our first, early morning stop.
MAK Albania Hotel is elegant and substantially more expensive that the Tirana Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Center, but did include an excellent breakfast. It is undergoing massive rennovation and additions which have almost the whole hotel swathed in scaffolding. I knew this in advance and did call to verify we’d have a quiet room and that the pool would be open. I’d read reviews saying that the hotel has been known to close the pool to guests for private functions, so if–like me–you want a swimming pool, it might be good to verify they have nothing booked. Perhaps because I’d called or maybe just because they weren’t full and they’re aware that the construction might be off-putting, we were upgraded on check-in to an enormous suite on a club floor with no scaffolding in front of our window and which faced the wooded park and a bit of the pool and grounds. As it was a weekend, there was no construction going on when we were there. Very nice!
