Essential Travel Destinations # 1 - Berat, Albania

Every country has at least one standout travel destination that features in all the tourist brochures and is considered the finest example of the national culture, architecture or landscape. In this new section called 'Unmissable Destinations' I'll highlight some of the finest attractions in the region of Central and Eastern Europe which should be on everyone's itinerary.

Berat is a remarkable town on the Osum river in south-central Albania. Packed full of distinctive white-washed Ottoman-era houses, the town luckily managed to slip through the communist period with its historic character still intact thanks to its status as a protected museum city under Enver Hoxha's regime. A huge medieval citadel known as the Kala sits perched on a clifftop above the town, providing superlative views of the surrounding Tomorr mountains and the surrounding countryside.

A collection of unique Ottoman buildings wrapped around the foot of the hill give the town its nickname of 'the city of a thousand windows', since they feature rows of large windowpanes which appear to be stacked on top of one another as the buildings climb up the steep hillside. The old town area known as Mangalem has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site and is now carefully preserved.

The lower town contains a number of historic mosques which are worth visiting such as the leaded mosque, and an Ottoman-era Han, a traditional traveller's inn. The city was founded over 2000 years ago, but the current name of 'Berat' is thought to be derived from the Serbian name 'Beligrad' (White City) which is how it was known during the Middle Ages.

An ethnographic museum is located inside a traditional Ottoman house and features displays on daily life in Berat through the centuries. Another worthwhile museum is the Onufri museum located inside a former church; it includes a fantastic collection of medieval byzantine icons by the 16th-century Albanian painter known as Onufri. Just inside the main gates of the Kala is an excellent restaurant which makes a good spot for lunch while exploring the fortress.

A number of restaurants in the lower town can also provide traditional Albanian meals. The easiest way to travel from Tirana to Berat is by furgon (minibus), which costs about 500 Lek. Buses also make this journey. The best place to stay is at Berat Backpackers, a hostel (currently the only one in the town) located across the river and up the hill from Mangalem.

Beautiful Towns # 5 - Kruja, Albania

This small historic town sits on a steep mountainside north of the capital Tirana. The drive up the winding road full of hairpin turns is thrilling and impossibly scenic, particularly if you're bouncing up and down and hanging on for dear life in the back of a Furgon (An Albanian taxivan).

The town features an old cobbled market bazaar with many brightly-coloured carpets and metalwork for sale, as well as a few souvenirs for the relatively small number of foreign tourists that make it here. Kruja castle is the former stronghold of the country's greatest hero, Skanderbeg, who united the Albanian princes in their fight against the invasion of the Ottoman Turks.

Skanderbeg kept the Ottomans at bay for 35 years (1443 to 1478) during four sieges that were made on the castle. Although he was killed in the final siege and the castle fell shortly after, today he is revered as the greatest of all Albanians. Today a museum to Skanderbeg sits at the centre of the castle complex; it was designed by the daughter and son-in-law of the communist dictator Enver Hoxha and originally contained exhibits where Skanderbeg and Hoxha were given equal billing as heroes of the state. In the modern museum all traces of Hoxha have been removed, and the museum is now dedicated solely to Skanderbeg and provides a broad overview of Albanian history in the Ottoman period.

The town of Kruja and its connection to Skanderbeg continue to be a source of pride and inspiration for all Albanians. Kruja can be reached from Tirana by bus or taxivan and makes an easy daytrip from the capital. There are a number of traditional restaurants in the historic part of the town to try local cuisine.