Korçë stands on a high plain in south-eastern Albania, about eight hundred and fifty metres above the sea, with bare mountains on every side. The air is cooler and drier here than on the coast, the winters are hard, and the town has a different feel from the rest of the country: tree-lined boulevards, old two-storey houses with iron balconies, and a sense of refinement that older Albanians still call the Paris of Albania, only partly joking. It was an important commercial and cultural centre in the late Ottoman period, and merchants who grew rich abroad built handsome homes here.
The town's cultural weight is real. In 1887 the first Albanian-language school was opened in Korçë, at a time when teaching in Albanian was forbidden, and the building is now a museum of education. The big Orthodox cathedral, rebuilt in the 1990s after being destroyed in the communist period, dominates the centre, and the old bazaar, with its low shops and cobbled lanes, still operates. The serenades that once echoed in the evening streets are part of local memory, and the town is known for good food, beer and a love of music.
Korçë's beer, brewed here since the 1920s, is the national favourite, and you can sample it at the terraces that fill the main boulevards in the evening. Grilled meatballs called qofte, local sausages, and stuffed vegetables are common on menus.
For riders, the area is a good base. The road to the lake at Pogradec crosses a pass and offers views over Lake Ohrid, while the mountain roads south toward Ersekë and the Greek border pass through high pastures and villages with stone houses. Surfaces vary a lot, and you should expect potholes, livestock and the occasional slow truck. Traffic in the city is chaotic, with plenty of horn-blowing, so approach with patience.
Fuel is easy, since Korçë is a town of nearly sixty thousand with several stations. In winter, snow and ice make mountain passes challenging, so aim for May to October.