We based ourselves in Ohrid old town for 1 week in September 2025 to explore the town as well as the eastern coast of Lake Ohrid. We did not get an opportunity to explore any of the Albanian side of this inscribed site. There are many sites within Ohrid itself to visit in the old town and there are a significant number of 'small' Churches and Mosques dotted throughout the township. The significant sites though that we found were Samuel's fortress, the Church of Saints Clements of Ohrid, located in the Plaoshnik Archaeological Park, Church of Hagia Sophia and the iconic church you see in all the photos, Church of Saint Jovan. Much of the old walls remain around the old town.

It was interesting to arrive in Ohrid after the near miss that this UNESCO inscription received in 2025 about nearly being Listed as in danger, in the main due to the lack of infrastructure planning (and approvals) in the Region with the degradation of its Natural and Cultural Heritage. You can certainly witness the construction boom in the area. It is evident. It may be only a slight thing, but even in the beautiful little courtyard area we stayed in the old town, you can see modifications to buildings and structures that definitely are not keeping with the historical context of the building themselves. I am hoping that this jolt of a near miss by them this year, that this is rectified going forward. A week in Ohrid was delightful and relaxing, but if you just wanted to see the core sights, a couple of days would be sufficient. You will do yourself an injustice if you only visit for a day.

Earlier before arriving in Ohrid we drove to the Bay of Bones and visited the outdoor Prehistoric Settlement Museum, commonly referred to as Pile Dwellings Settlement. This is of course a replica; however, it is well done, and the museum itself holds a number of actual artifacts that were found in the area. There is also an old Roman fortress ruins on the hill overlooking this museum area. If you are taking a boat tour to this location though, there is insufficient time to explore the ruins of the fortress, only the prehistoric settlement museum and even then, I think you will be rushed. It's about a 30-minute stop.

The other location we visited was the monastery of St Naum and visiting this location we took a day cruise from Ohrid for 15 Euro per adult and this gave you about 3 hours there, which was sufficient time to explore the Monastery and surrounds.

We very much enjoyed this inscribed site and the town of Ohrid just wandering around the old streets and alleyways at our leisure. It was interesting that the only 2 UNESCO signs we saw though was a couple of symbols on town maps displayed in the main area and a Lions Club Plague that celebrated a 40-year anniversary. I would have thought there would have been more information celebrating this Inscription.