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WHAT TO SEE IN TIRANA

Tirana, the heart and capital of Albania, like all other European cities has never-ending
movement and energy. With its clubs, bars, cafes, and taverns, Tirana is worth discovering
by both day and night.

Below you can find some tips and information so you can tour the city in total freedom.

DAJTI EKSPRES

This cable-car is a fun family day out and a superb introduction to the city, taking you up by gondola to the dramatic mountain on Tirana’s eastern edge. The cable-car spans a kilometer, making it the longest in the Balkans, and rises more than 800 meters up the mountainside. The journey will take about 15 minutes and at the top there’s a tourism complex with restaurants and hotels. Of course, the view over the city will be memorable, but there are also year-round activities on the table, including trekking and horseback riding in summer, and skiing in winter.

GRAND PARK

Just south of the prestigious Blloku district is Tirana’s Grand Park, which is the city center’s top spot for fresh air and a bit of exercise. It covers 230 hectares and encloses a large artificial lake. Famously the Presidential Palace can be found here, which was originally designated as a residence for King Zog I but was completed just a few years before communism. There are also tombs to several Albanian national heroes in the park, among them politicians, writers and philosophers. Throughout the year you can find people fishing on the lakeshore, which indicates the improving water quality, while outdoor swimming is available in summer.

CAVE OF PELLUMBAS

Spend a day around the village of Pellumbas. Here you can take hikes and scramble your way up to a beautiful natural monument. There’s a trail from the village that meanders through the mountains for two kilometers before you get to a cave packed with stalagmites and stalactites, but also with evidence of human activity going back than 300,000 years.

THE PIRAMIDA

It’s an unforgettable and culturally significant building from 1987, completed not long before the fall of communism. It was intended as a museum to honor the country’s despotic dictator Enver Hoxha who ruled from 1944-85, but naturally these plans were torn up after 1990. Now it’s at the crux of a debate on how to deal with the period after the Second World War, when Albania suffered 45 years of isolation.

NATIONAL HISTORIC MUSEUM

The museum is organized by pavilions, each covering a different period in the region’s history, from ancient times up to the 21st century. The most valuable in terms of archaeological wealth is the Pavilion of Antiquity, where there’s a great collection of almost 600 items spanning the late-Palaeolithic to the early-Middle Ages. The most treasured exhibit is the Beauty of Durrës, which is from the 4th century BC and is the most cherished ancient mosaic in the country.

DAJTI MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

If you want to really get out and experience the natural scenery here, take the trail that connects Mount Dajti with Mount Tujani, which rises to 1,580 metres. This peak is the highest in the park and can be scaled on foot if you’re a regular hiker. The view from the top is what the effort is for, not least because it includes the vast water reservoir, Lake Bovilla. Surrounding this lake are sheer cliffs that also provide some excellent climbing walls.

SKANDERBEG SQUARE

This is where Tirana’s premier monuments are all assembled, including the Clock Tower, Et’hem Bey Mosque and the National History Museum. It is named after George Castriot, an Albanian national hero, credited with halting the advance of the Ottoman Empire into central Europe. There’s a monument to Skanderbeg in the square, which occupies the spot where a communist-era statue of Josef Stalin once stood. The architecture surrounding the square is neo-renaissance, and there’s a large lawn with flower beds to round off the stately atmosphere. Skanderbeg is the city’s main venue for popular celebrations, such as 100 years of Albanian Independence in 2012.

RRUGA MURAT TOPTANI

Rruga Murat Toptani is a handsome promenade between the Parliament Building and the National Art Gallery. The name of this popular artery comes from the Toptani Family, who held sway in Ottoman Albania from the 1700s right up to the Second World War. The street is especially grand in summer when the twin rows of plane trees offer shade from the sun. Along the route you can admire some of the city’s old fortifications, dating to the time when the Toptanis vied for control of Tirana with other powerful local families.

SPILLE BEACH

Spille bears all the hallmarks of a European beach resort, with restaurants, sports facilities and more, but the prices for stuff like refreshments, chairs and parasols are way more reasonable than you’ll find in more famous beach destinations.

CLOCK TOWER

One of the city’s most photographed landmarks, especially when it’s illuminated at night, the Clock Tower goes back to 1822 when it was completed by the court poet Haxhi Et’hem Bey. You can scale the tower’s narrow spiral staircase free of charge and take in the lovely vistas of Tirana’s city-center.