Sarandë - Kalaja e Lëkurësit

The place was known under the Ancient Greek name "Onchesmus" and may have been a part of a proto-Greek area in early 2nd millennium BC. Bronze Age tools typical of Mycenaean Greece have been unearthed in Sarandë which date c. 1400-1100 BC. It was inhabited by the ancient Greek tribe of the Chaonians. Onchesmos flourished as the port of the Chaonian capital Phoenice (modern-day Finiq). It seems to have been a place of importance in the time of Cicero.

Saranda, then under the name of Onchesmos, is held to be the site of Albania's first synagogue, which was built in the 4th or 5th century. It is thought that it was built by the descendants of Jewish captives who arrived on the shores of Albania around 70 CE during the First Jewish–Roman War. Onchesmos' synagogue was supplanted by a church in the 6th century.

The city was probably raided by the Ostrogoths in 551 CE while during this period it became the target of piratic raids. In a medieval chronicle of 1191 the settlement appears to be abandoned.

In the early 19th century during the rule of Ali Pasha its reported that there existed a small settlement. Sarandë in the late Ottoman period consisted of only a harbour being a simple commercial station without permanent residents. In 1878, a Greek rebellion broke out, with revolutionaries taking control of Sarandë. This was suppressed by Ottoman troops. Greek troops occupied it during the Balkan Wars. Later, the town was included in the newly formed Albanian state in 1913, but this was rejected by the local Greek population, and as the Greek army withdrew to the new border, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was established.

It was then occupied by Italy between 1916 and 1920 as part of the Italian Protectorate on southern Albania. Throughout 1926–1939 of the interwar period, Italy financed extensive improvements to the harbour at Sarandë. Sarandë was a strategic port during the Italian invasion of Greece. During this occupation it was called "Porto Edda" in honor of the eldest daughter of Benito Mussolini. In 1940 the city came under the control of Greek forces. As a result of the German invasion in Greece in April 1941, the town returned to Italian control. In 1944 the town was captured by a group of British commandos and local partisans. The British troops soon withdrew from the region, leaving the region to the Albanian communist forces.

As part of the People's Republic of Albania (1945-1991) policies a number of Muslim Albanians were settled from northern Albania in the area. During this period as a result of the atheistic campaign launched by the state the church of Saint Spyridon in the harbor of the city was demolished. In 1991, after the restoration of democracy in Albania a small shrine was erected at the place of the church.

Since the fall of communism in Albania, Sarandë has become an important tourist attraction. Tourism is thus the major economic resource, while other resources include services, fisheries and construction. Recently, the town has experienced an uncontrolled construction boom which may hamper the city's future tourism potential.
The ruins of Lëkurësi Castle are located on a strategically favourable hill above Sarandë. It was built in 1537 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent as a defence against the Venetians.

Today there is a restaurant next to the castle, from whose terrace you have a good view of the sunset.