Petrela Castle

I really like to place free parking. The hike was pretty decent. The castle itself was unique. Really? It's a tower, but very interesting. The cafe upstairs is pretty fun. Great views. Nice, warm fireplace. The coffee was outstanding and the salad was super. Tasty recommend as an easy non tourist trap!!! Great views...

A good friend and I had an excellent dinner of traditional Albanian dishes at this restaurant this evening. It's a little challenging to get to, but well worth the walk. Such a view! Amazingly, the restaurant brings all of the ingredients that it uses to prepare the meals, up the kilometer-long stone path.... with donkeys 😊

Petrelë Castle is an ancient, originally Byzantine castle, built in the 6th century near Tirana. It offers beautiful views of the Erzen valley and, wait for it, a restaurant and a café - seriously bizarre, but uniquely Albanian. It's possible to park at the square in the small mountain village right below the castle, which is only a few minutes of driving from the main highway SH3 connecting Tirana to Elbasan. Then you walk up the hill on the stone walkway around the castle, where you can appreciate views of the valley below. It takes around 10 minutes to get to the castle and you don't need to be very fit to handle it. You enter through the front gate and all of a sudden, you're in a restaurant/shop/café. Tables are scattered all around the castle's grounds - in the main tower or multiple castle's buildings, on different levels, in random corners, or under a covered terrace. Strangely enough, absolutely nobody was here in April, even though it's obviously super popular place - who wouldn't like to eat at the castle? And because the place was opened and running, I ordered a (pretty bad) cappuccino, hanged around and enjoyed the views with nobody around, which was absolutely amazing! Unfortunately, it's purely commercial, a slightly overpriced for the local standards and you don't really get any interesting information about this once important historical place, which is sad. So, would I come back again? Probably not. Was it cool to visit at least once? Hell yes, especially outside of the tourist season. And you can get info about its history online, or from your favourite AI.

It is a short drive to the top. You have a 5 minute walk up the rock path to the Castle. There were a lot of sheep along the way chewing on the grass. The Castle has a lot of cute cats that look to be living there also. We had some coffee at the restaurant and took pictures from the magnificent view. It was worth the drive and the walk! The Petrela Castle was part of the signaling and defense system of Krujë Castle. The castles signaled to each other by means of fires. During Skanderbeg’s fight against the Ottomans, the Petrela Castle used to be under the command of Mamica Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's sister. Today there is a restaurant inside the castle. The castle site has views of the Erzen valley, the hills, olive groves, and surrounding mountains.

Honestly, I have no opinion about the food. The view, ambience, and the historical structure were stunning. Climbing the stairs toward the castle was an especially thrilling experience. However i can't say the same about the staff's math skills. Additionally, the fact that they only accept cash is, in my opinion, a significant drawback. Nov18

Very small castle with a Breathtaking views! Highly recommended to visit if you're in the area!

It really worth it for the view ! It’s an old castle, transform in a restaurant. We had a beer on the top (will they let you just take a look ? IDK, but take a drink it’s a good break). You park the car downstairs and it’s approximately 10-15 minutes to go up, it’s a bit hard, but slowly it’s fine !

This review is about the Castle and not the restaurant that was there, which I didn't get to go inside because it wasn't open at the time. The Petrela Castle is a beautiful historical place. The stairs and the path to the top of the castle give you an amazing view with Tirana on one side and the hill surroundings on the other. You get why they built the castle there, it's a very strategic location protected from all sides. They also had done a good job digging and cleaning the place up so the path would be clear and you could get to see details on the castle. They had also included some boards where you could read some more information about the history of the castle. It's a 20 min ride from Tirana and a fun way to spend 2 or 3 hours. I highly recommend it.