A triangular stone fortress built for Ali Pasha on a former island, in a calm, enclosed bay south of Himarë.
Porto Palermo Castle is a three-sided fortress on a small headland in the bay of Porto Palermo, about 8 km south of Himarë on the Albanian Riviera. An inscription over the gate dates it to 1804 and credits French engineers working for Ali Pasha of Tepelena. Allow 45 minutes for the castle, or half a day with a swim in the bay.
How did a fortress end up on an island?
Drive south from Himarë and the road bends around a bay so enclosed it looks like a lake. On a green headland in the middle of it sits a low stone triangle: Porto Palermo Castle. Two hundred years ago the headland was a small island. When the French traveller François Pouqueville saw it in 1806, the fort was tied to the shore only by a low, narrow isthmus; later landfill joined it to the mainland for good.
The castle belongs to Ali Pasha of Tepelena, the ruler of Ioannina, who was worried about the open coastal side of his lands. The inscription over the entrance dates it to 1804 and names French engineers as its builders. A year earlier, in 1803, Ali Pasha had offered the fort and its harbour to Britain’s Royal Navy, when it held only four or five cannon, and the English traveller William Martin Leake found a garrison of ten men with two small guns.
Inside, the design is simple and clever: three sides, a large gun bastion at each corner, rectangular rooms where the soldiers lived, and at the centre a hexagonal hall with a domed ceiling on six pillars. A staircase leads up to the roof terrace, where the whole bay opens around you.
Our tip: park at the castle entrance, and bring something for your feet if you plan to swim. The water below the castle is crystal clear, but the rocks are home to sea urchins: step on one and the spines hurt, and they can infect the foot if they break under the skin.
The same shelter later drew a very different army: under Enver Hoxha, a submarine tunnel more than 650 metres long was cut into the northern side of the bay. It is still a military zone, seen only from a distance.
What you’ll see
A triangle on the water
Three walls and three bastions on a headland that was once an island.
The gate and its date
Above the entrance, the inscription that gives the year 1804.
The vaulted rooms
Cool, dim rooms around a domed hexagonal hall on six pillars.
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The roof terrace
The whole bay at once: the headland, the calm water and the mountains of the Riviera.
The bay in five dates
- 1803
Ali Pasha offers the fort and its harbour to Britain’s Royal Navy. It has only four or five cannon.
- 1804
The date on the inscription over the gate, which credits French engineers.
- 1806
François Pouqueville finds the fort tied to the shore by a low, narrow isthmus.
- Late 1960s
Work begins on the submarine tunnel on the northern side of the bay.
- Today
The castle is open to visitors; the tunnel stays inside a military zone.
Porto Palermo in numbers
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1804
The date on the inscription over the gate
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650 metres
And more: the Cold War submarine tunnel in the bay
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69 km
From Valza, about 1 hour 40 minutes
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8 km
South of Himarë, about 15 minutes
Where it is
On the Albanian Riviera, in the enclosed bay of Porto Palermo, about 8 km south of Himarë and just west of the coast road.
What to bring
- Cash in lek: for the entrance fee
- Water: there is little shade on the headland
- Sun hat: for the walk up and the roof terrace
- Phone torch: for the darker rooms inside
- Swimwear: the bay is calm and protected
- Water shoes: sea urchins on the rocks below the castle
- Camera: the bay from the roof terrace
Is it worth it?
Yes, if…
you are driving the Riviera, you like history you can walk through, or you want a calm bay for a swim after the visit.
Maybe not, if…
you only have a few hours in Vlorë: it is about 1 hour 40 minutes each way from Valza, so it belongs to a full Riviera day.
Check current prices and opening times before you go.
Combine it with
Continue exploring
More places and ideas for your days around Vlorë:
- All attractions around Vlorë
- The Albanian Riviera from Vlorë: one road, five different days
- Himarë travel guide
- The mythic south of Albania
- Where to stay in Vlorë: our complete guide
