The amphitheatre in the middle of town
A Roman arena for twenty thousand people lay under Durrës for centuries before anyone found it. It is a short walk from the apartment.
History · June 14, 2026 · 2 min read
Most people come to Durrës for the water and leave without knowing that one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in the Balkans sits a few streets back from the port, under the houses.
It was built in the second century, when the town was called Dyrrachium and the road to Constantinople started at its harbour. Later it was abandoned, filled in, and forgotten so completely that people built houses on top of it for generations. It was found again in the 1960s. You can still see where the excavation stopped: the far side of the bowl runs into the back walls of houses that people still live in, with washing hung out.
What there is to see
The seating is stone and largely intact on the excavated side, and you can walk down to the arena floor. It is quiet for something this size. Usually there are a few people, a lot of grass, and cats.
I would not skip the small Byzantine chapel built into one of the lower passages, centuries after the arena stopped being used. It has a wall mosaic inside, which is an odd thing to find in the corridor of a Roman theatre.
Making a morning of it
The Byzantine walls and the Venetian tower by the port are close enough to the amphitheatre to see all three on one walk. The archaeological museum is on the seafront on the way back, so you can start inland and finish by the water.
Go early. There is very little shade in the bowl, and by midday in July it holds the heat like a pan.
Getting there from the apartment
It is about fifteen minutes on foot, along the front and then inland, or five minutes in a taxi. Ask anyone in town for the amfiteatri and they will point you to it.
