Lëkurësi Castle

Sarandë, Albania

Lëkurësi Castle is on a strategic hill point overlooking the town of Saranda, southeast of the town centre. From here one can control the whole town as well as the islands of Ksamil. The castle was built in 1537 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who had attacked Corfu and needed to control the harbor of Saranda and the road that connected it with Butrint.

The region traditionally belonged to the southern part of the region of Himara. At the end of the 18th century the castle was attacked by Ali Pasha of Ioannina and the surrounding habitation raided.

The castle used to withhold the old Lëkurës village. It has a square shape with two round towers on its north-western and south-eastern corners. To climb up to the castle, visitors need to leave the main road on Qafë Gjashtë and go up the town hill from the other side of the town.

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Address

Lëkurës, Sarandë, Albania
See all sites in Sarandë

Details

Founded: 1537
Category: Castles and fortifications in Albania

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

alessia mongelli (2 years ago)
It was supposed to be a historical place, but it is modified completely in a restaurant. However, I went there in closing time so I cannot rate the dishes and services. Anyway, my 1 star is due to the monkey left alone in a cage. In Albania, I do not know if keeping wild tropical animal is allowed
Miroslav Medic (2 years ago)
I will not rate restaurant, because it was morning and it was closed, no guests. I could only saw that there is huge huge terrace with many tables and seats and very nice looking. Place is amazing, view on whole bay and city. Must see when you are in Saranda. Top atraction. You can go up with car and park at top of the hill.
Michał Mufinek (2 years ago)
Interesting place, great view. Sadly not too much to visit, its mainly restaurant placed inside old walls and nothing more. Still if you are around, worth to visit
Chaz Josephs (2 years ago)
This place was amazing to visit. My partner and I got a taxi from town and the driver waited for us for 40 minutes and then drove us back into town. This cost us 20€ which was a great price to us. The view is like nothing else. It's free to enter and look around, and there's a bar inside. They did food, but we only got coffees -- I had an iced latte while my partner had an iced cappucino. Had to wait a while because the machine had only just been turned on, but wasn't a problem as we just sat in the sun admiring the view. The only downside was that they only took cash and no card, and since we were visiting while on holiday in Corfu, we only had euros with us. This would have been more problematic had we bought a full meal, but luckily we only needed a small amount of cash for the coffees and they accepted euros. Deducting one star due to this as it was inconvenient. There's plenty of seating and the place was deserted except us and a couple doing a wedding photoshoot. Would strongly recommend.
Lewis Mindy (3 years ago)
Quiet in the winter months but it's free which is a pleasant bonus. It's a nice walk up a narrow road off the main road. Plenty of parking places if you go by car. Some lovely views from the castle and there's a lighthouse on the way up and some old bunkers.
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