The coastal area of Vlorë was one of those Illyrian sites that had experienced pre-urban activity beginning from the 11th–10th centuries BCE.

Aulon, from which the modern city took its name, appears in historical sources starting form the 2nd century CE.

The city took its name from Ancient Greek: Αὐλών, romanized: Aulṓn, meaning "channel, glen" that resembles an aulos instrument.

[11] The name of the city was first recorded in the 2nd century AD, by two Ancient Greek authors, Lucian and Ptolemy, the latter calling it "town and sea-port", which confirms that it was founded much earlier.

However, Aulon has not been mentioned by earlier Ancient Greek and Roman authors, who on the other hand recorded the nearby town and seaport of Oricum.

[c] In the Archaic era, the area was colonized by Ancient Greeks, who are traditionally believed to have founded Orikos, Thronion and Aulon on these shores.

[26] Thronion was attested by Pausanias (2nd century CE) as a Locrian–Euboean colony, but also by a dedication on a monument erected in Olympia, both accounts reporting that Apollonia conquered the city around 450 BCE.

Aulon, from which Vlorë took its name, was mentioned for the first time by Ptolemy (2nd century CE) among the towns of the Illyrian Taulantii.

During the Roman period, a Latin see was established and Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 124) mentions several of its bishops.

In the 11th and 12th century, Vlorë played an instrumental role in the conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and Norman Kingdom of Sicily.

[16][32] In 1321 the city being under Byzantine control was attacked by a Venetian fleet under Giovanni Michiel as a result costing the lives of many of its Greek inhabitants.

Later it become a Venetian possession in 1690 and the city was restored to the Ottomans in 1691, becoming a kaza of the Sanjak of Avlona in the vilayet (province) of Janina.

[36] The community underwent population growth in subsequent decades with Jews migrating from Corfu, Venetian ruled lands, Naples, France, and the Iberian Peninsula.

[39] Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, the Ottoman state resettled additional Jewish exiles in Vlorë toward the end of the fifteenth century.

[36] The Vlorë Jewish community took an active role in the welfare of other Jews such as managing to attain the release of war related captives present in Durrës in 1596.

[36] After the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the deterioration of security along the Ottoman controlled Adriatic and Ionian coasts, the numbers of Jews within Vlorë decreased.

[citation needed] The 1914 Vlorë Raid took place that January, and was a short-lived plot to regain Albania under Ottoman control.

After World War II, with Albania ruled by a Communist Party, the port was leased out to the Soviet Union for use as a submarine base.

Hoxha, realizing the vulnerability of Albania after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, ordered the construction of hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers.

[43] Under Hoxha, Vlorë served as an important recruiting centre for the Sigurimi; the Albanian state security, intelligence and secret police service.

[44] In 1997, Vlorë was the center of the 1997 Albanian civil unrest after the collapse of several fraudulent investment schemes that led to the downfall of the Sali Berisha administration.

[1] It also encloses the Karaburun Peninsula and Sazan Island in the west with the Shushica-Vlorë River forming its eastern border.

[46] Summers in Vlorë are dry and hot while winters experience moderate temperatures and changeable, rainy weather.

[46] Vlorë has a sunny climate with an average of 2,745.2 hours of sunshine annually, making it one of the sunniest areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

[48] The city of Vlorë remains a major seaport and commercial centre, with a significant fishing and industrial sector.

Historically, the surrounding district was mainly agricultural and pastoral, producing oats, maize, cotton, olive oil, cattle, sheep, skins, hides, and butter.

[52] The Free Economic Zone TEDA Vlorë has a strategic location, some 151 kilometres (94 miles) away from the capital Tirana.

Tourism which has always been a driving force for the city's economy has become a major industry in recent years, with many hotels, recreational centers, and vast beaches.

[62][63] The proposed location for the airport lies at the village of Akërni within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape in the north of Vlorë, which was met with widespread criticism.

[79] Labëria is distinguished for its distinct culture, landscapes and traditions and known as the birthplace of Albanian polyphonic music, which has been proclaimed by UNESCO a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.