One day in Tirana: what to do and what to see
Albania is one of the hottest tourist destinations in Europe right now.
The country that spent decades in isolation under the harsh Communist dictatorial regime led by the late Enver Hoxha, and, later, mired in years of economic and social strife, is now seeing visitor numbers soar.
A big part of this is the arrival of low cost airlines, such as Wizz Air and Ryanair, which have put Albania, and its capital in particular, in the sights of many European travellers keen to explore what was, until now, one the least visited corners of the continent.
The fact is, that if you grew up reading about Albania as Europe’s economic and political basket case, are almost guaranteed to be impressed by what you see arriving in its capital in 2025: a city that is, generally speaking, tidy and efficient and where signs of economic growth are all around. Now, I am aware that this may apply only to the capital, or to be more exact, its central areas, which is what visitors are most likely to see.
However, this is how I can best describe my impressions from the limited amount of time I spent in the city, which is, after all, what this site is about!
Getting to and from Tirana Airport to the city center
Here are a few lines about my experience traveling between Tirana International Airport and central Tirana. I must say, first of all, that my flights in and out of the city were both quite late at night (around midnight), but I think what you will read here applies to other times of the day too.
First of all, there is no rail line linking Rinas airport to central Tirana, so you will be restricted to road transport.
So, unless you are renting a car this leaves both the taxi and bus as public transportation options.
At the time of writing these lines, neither Uber nor Bolt or other international ride-hailing app were operative in Albania. I read online that there is a local app, but I am not too keen to use apps I know I won’t be using anywhere else.
So, this led me to check the bus and this was a great choice, particularly considering that the terminus station in central Tirana is on the very central Skanderbeg Square, right next to my hotel.
The bus turned out to be really efficient and amazing value. For less than €5 I got pretty much to the door of my hotel. The bus was modern and clean. It also runs 24/7!
In order to catch it, you just need to walk some 50 meters as you exit the terminal to the left and walk across a car park (on the way you will get several offers from taxi drivers to take you, but I still think the bus is very hard to beat for value if you go anywhere near Skanderbeg Square).
If the schedules haven’t changed, the bus runs with an hourly frequency. The ticket is purchased directly from the driver (see my point about cash!). The drive to the center of Tirana takes less than 30 minutes.
IMPORTANT: you are strongly advised to get some local currency upon arrival (there are a few booths at the airport) to get at least some cash with you, since Albania is extremely cash-dependent economy and you will need cash it to pay pretty much everything, including the bus!
Things to see around Tirana’s Skanderbeg Square
Skanderbeg Square is the very heart of Tirana and most of the main sights are within walking distance from it.
The square is named after Albania’s national hero, an Albanian aristocrat that fought the Ottomans in the 15th C., in fact, after rebelling against them, and set up a (more or less) independent early Albanian state.
Skanderbeg is such an important figure in Albanian history that his coat of arms was actually adopted as the flag of modern-day Albania and he has, of course, a statue in the square that bears his name, as well.
The square itself is a large open space with a rather Communist-era look (the building of the National History Museum with its Communist-Realist freeze contributes a great deal to this aesthetic). However, there are also a couple historical buildings around it and quite a few modern constructions also going up!
Several of Tirana’s main commercial streets converge on Skanderbeg Square. Those are not huge by any means, but they are quite lively and full of activity during the day.
Overall, as I mentioned in the introductory section, the city looks pretty well kept (see the nice detail of the flowers in the little space available) and the center feels pretty safe. One thing that becomes apparent is the amount of construction going on in central Tirana with quite a few high rises going up at the time of my visit.
There is also a small mountain river, the Lana, flowing through the very center of Tirana, just a few meters south of Skanderbeg Square.
Since I had only 24 hours in the city, effectively just one full day for sightseeing, I remained mostly in the central area, within a radius of one kilometer from Skanderbeg Square, but walking quite a bit in all directions. This allowed me to see some sights such as this sort of metal contraption, which seems to emulate the nearby Tirana Pyramid, or one of the city’s street markets.
Since Albania’s population is religiously mixed (muslims are the largest group, but there are also sizeable populations of both orthodox and catholic christians), it is possible to see both mosques and churches in central Tirana.
Retracing Cold War Albania at Bunk'Art 2
If you have been following this site, you are maybe aware of my interest in Cold War history. This is a topic I have covered with, for example, my visit to the Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria.
And Albania is one of the places in Europe in which the mark of the Cold War is still felt very intensely and this is, in great part, because the country suffered a particularly oppressive and isolationist regime, even by the standards of Eastern Europe at the time. In fact, Hoxha’s regime followed its own policies, refused to integrate in the Warsaw Pact and aligned with Maoist China instead. It was also a particularly paranoid regime which filled the country with thousands of bunkers and other military infrastructure.
Some of this facilities were later turned into museums and some can even be visited in Tirana. Since I had limited time I had to be selective, though. This ruled out Bunk’art 1, a large bunker complex which is located in the outskirts of the city, as well as Enver Hoxha’s villa, which was undergoing some refurbishment at the time of my visit.
So I opted for Bunk’art 2, which is another bunker complex located right in the center of the capital. The visit did not disappoint!
To access Bunk’art 2 you go literally underground. The facilities, which were built anticipating an invasion that never came, have been turned into a museum that explains how life was like under the Communist regime and how the Albanian police state worked. It also explains the fate of many of its victims.
Some of the rooms have been recreated with a great level of detail, with lots of artifacts and pictures from that era.
Definitely a recommended place to visit in central Tirana!
Climbing the Pyramid of Tirana
But perhaps the most well known landmark in Tirana is the Pyramid!
This is, well…a pyramid, which was built in the 1980s to host the Enver Hoxha museum. It was actually finished when the Communist regime was already in its death throes, so soon other uses had to be found for it.
In recent years it has been repurposed as a center for startups and to host business activities related to innovation and technology.
The most interesting thing to do, though, is to climb to its top. The pyramid is not super tall, but the height is enough to give you a good panorama of the city and its very mountainous surroundings.
I would say it is not a super impressive sight, but since it is so close to Skanderbeg Square, it takes about 5 minutes to walk there, and it is one of the best known monuments in the city, a visit is also recommended.
Visting the National Historical Museum of Albania
This is another landmark I would recommend visiting. The museum is very centrally located. In fact, I would say it is possibly the most centrally located building in the whole country, since it dominates Skanderbeg Square with its rather impressive Socialist-realist frontal mosaic.
The museum covers the history of Albania, since the pre-history all the way to the 20th C. The building is itself, not without interest. It is very Communistic in appearance, but the collections have been updated a bit. It is also the right size: quite comprehensive but not overwhelming in terms of the time it requires to go through the different collections.
What and where to eat in Tirana
On this front, my recommendations are going to be quite simple and straightforward, since didn’t have that much time to experience the culinary side of Tirana.
If short of time, head to Kavaja Street, one of the main commercial avenues to the west of Skanderbeg Square, and get some borek or some other take away food from any of the many local take away joints and bakeries there.
If you are looking for a nice place to sit down a bit, my recommendation is the following:
Oborri (right side picture below)
Rruga Naim Frashëri (one of the smaller streets off Kavaja St.)
This is a restaurant-bar with a terrace, very good wifi and some tasty food. It is a bit more pricey than other places nearby, but nice and still very good value.
Where to stay in Tirana
Hotel Europa
29 Rruga Myslym Shyri, Tirana, 1001
This is an amazingly great choice of a hotel in the very center of Tirana.
It is a relatively small hotel, you could even say “boutique”.
Its location is amazing, in the very center of the city, just two streets away from Skanderbeg Square (in a sort of backstreet, as you can see in the picture). But inside is also very modern and in contemporary style, with large rooms and a large bathroom.
Staff were also very friendly and, by the way, the breakfast was also pretty good!
I paid I think something like €45 per night and I got a lot of value for it!
Nice coworking space in central Tirana
Coolab
Rruga e Dibrës Nr.65, Tirana 1015
If you find yourself needing to do some work while in Tirana, this coworking is a great option. It is also very centrally located and it occupies a whole building in one of the main avenues in the center. Very reasonably priced, I think I paid less than €15.
Staff were also super friendly and the facilities are pretty good, modern and with super fast wifi!
