30+ Things To Do In Tirana, Albania – History, Food & Culture

So, you’re visiting Tirana? This is a city I got to know well during my multi-month Balkans backpacking trip. The capital of Albania will never be my favourite city in Europe but I still had a great time and found lots of things to do in Tirana, plus even more things to eat!

TIRANA ESSENTIALS

Accommodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld

Getting there: flight / car / bus

Activities in Tirana: GetYourGuide / Viator

Visiting other Balkan capitals? Check out what to do in Belgrade, Skopje, Pristina and Sarajevo

Read next: the ultimate Albania itinerary for 1-2 weeks and my Balkans itinerary for up to 2 months

How long to spend in Tirana?

A day in Tirana is enough to whizz around the highlights.

However, I would recommend spending two days in Tirana so you can head up to Dajti Mountain on day two.

How to get to Tirana

By air – Flights from other European cities start from as little as €15. Browse flights to Tirana with Skyscanner, selecting ‘whole month’ (if you can be flexible) to get the best prices.

By bus – If you’re coming by land, get the Flixbus to Tirana. I can vouch for the Flixbus as an affordable way to get around Europe. Unfortunately, it doesn’t connect cities in Albania, just Tirana with other capitals like Skopje (North Macedonia) and Podgorica (Montenegro).

No trains currently service Tirana.

Where to stay in Tirana?

• Budget – for a fun and social hostel, stay at Trip’n’Hostel or for a quieter more luxurious hostel, pick Vanilla Sky Boutique.
• Mid-range – Deluxe Tirana has breakfast, hot tub, free parking and aircon from €50 a night.
• Splash out – Arte Boutique hotel is a 5* hotel with a reasonable price tag of €170.
• Browse Tirana hostels and apartments on Booking.com and hostels on Hostelworld.

What to do in Tirana, Albania

Take a free walking tour

I regularly take free walking tours but few have been as good as this one. Perhaps it’s because Albania’s fascinating – and harrowing – history is so recent that you get a first-hand account, or at least hear stories passed down from the guides’ parents.

The tour is an incredible insight into communist rule and the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha that kept Albanians imprisoned in their country with no connection to the outside world. After learning that the locals hadn’t seen a banana until 30 years ago, my mind was truly blown!

Tirana Free Walking Tour departs daily at 10am and 2pm from Skanderbeg Square. Give what you think the tour was worth; I’d suggest at least €5-10. As well as the OG tour, they do Spanish-speaking tours, in-depth communist history tours and pub crawls at a surcharge.

Pro tip – free walking tours are a good way for solo travellers in Albania to meet others!

Just a stone’s throw from Skanderbeg Square, Bunk’Art 2 is a smaller bunker repurposed into a history museum. Although I preferred learning about Albania’s past at the House of Leaves, it’s worth a visit if you’re sightseeing in Tirana city centre and don’t have time to visit Bunk’Art1.

However, in my opinion, it’s not the best thing to do in Tirana: I was happy to leave because this smaller bunker feels claustrophobic and many of the exhibits are confronting. Sensitive types may want to give it a miss…

Entry fee: 1,000 lek (€9), or extra for a combined ticket to both Bunk’Arts.

Sightsee around Skanderbeg Square

Skanderbeg Square is the main square, surrounded by several Tirana tourist attractions. Like most European cities, statues (including the Skanderbeg Statue of a historic leader on his horse) hint at the country’s history although – unlike most cities – the square isn’t quite to scale. It’s enormous and feels eerily empty even during the busiest summer day.

A few things to do in Tirana surrounding the square include…

Attend a cultural night show

Rich Albanian culture spans centuries and can be explored as part of a fun evening out with the Albanian Night Dinner Show in Tirana. Backed by the government and the EU, this immersive show incorporates traditional costume, music and energetic circle dances (known as Valle), unique to Albania.

Alongside the lively show which starts at 7pm nightly, you’ll enjoy a 7-course menu comprising highlights from the typical cuisine. Choose to pair it with Albanian wine, which I can confirm is very good!

If you wish to buy typical handicrafts, this is THE place to do it because you can ensure nothing is mass-produced like some of the items you’ll find in local markets.

”Albanian Nights is simply exceptional! It captures the heart and soul of Albanian culture through traditional performances, music, and a welcoming atmosphere” – Trip Advisor

While the House of Leaves and Bunk’Arts will fill you in on Albania’s contemporary history, the National History Museum is one of the best places to visit in Tirana to understand the previous centuries. You can’t miss it when wandering the main square because there’s a huge mural covering the front of the museum.

Although it’s slightly old school and dry, there are interesting artefacts like mosaics, jugs and jewellery. I always marvel at how a pair of earrings from the 6th century can be in better shape than my H&M earrings I bought 3 months ago!

Entry fee: 500 lek (€4.50).

Opening times: 9am-4pm, Tues-Sun (closes at 3pm on Sun), closed Mon.

In the corner of Skanderbeg Square, this practising mosque is used by Tirana’s Muslim community. Although 70% of the population follows Islam on paper, my tour guide on the free walking tour joked that 90% have never been to the mosque! Although these stats may not be accurate, his point was clear: Albania is officially Islamic but not devout.

Still, at Et’hem Bej Mosque you will see locals at worship in this pretty mosque. Tourists are welcome to poke their heads inside; there’s no entry fee.

According to the Cloud’s website, this modern art structure is ‘inspired by the concept that geometry and constructed forms can merge with the natural and the human’. Understand? No, me neither.

Whether you’re into modern art or not, the Cloud is a quirky feature of Tirana located close to the castle. Admire the Cloud now because it moves between European cities so it won’t be here forever.

Spot music notes on Murat Toptani Street

When walking between the Cloud and Tirana Castle, take the chance to promenade along Toptani Walking Street. Named after the noble Toptani family of the Ottoman era, this is easily the nicest street in the Albanian capital with a canopy of trees shading the locals and tourists who amble by. For a relaxed thing to do in Tirana, join them!

A unique feature of Toptani Street is the pavement shaped like a music staff and the benches designed to look like music notes. Although it looks pretty, musicians may notice that the clefs are upside down and won’t create any type of melody when played together. I would never have noticed but our walking tour guide revealed this fact to us.

Although no one would associate Albania with pyramids, there’s one quirky attraction in Tirana that may surprise you.

Originally built as a museum dedicated to Enver Hoxha in the communist era, no explanation is needed as to why it fell to ruins! It’s since been used as a conference centre and a NATO base during the Kosovo War.

The fate of Tirana Pyramid was undecided while it sat as a ruin for years. Some wanted it demolished while others hope it will be repurposed, remembering this dark era of Albanian history and turning it into something better.

Recently, it has been refurbished and you can climb 100 steps to the top for city views.

Beside it is the Bell of Peace, a monument dedicated to lives lost to riots after pyramid schemes financially toppled the country in 1997.

If you’re expecting an actual castle (and I can see why you would be from the name ‘Tirana Castle’), you may be disappointed. Albania is full of castles and most places I visited had one high up with panoramic views. Tirana Castle is quite different because the historic remains no longer exist, and it’s now a modern quarter with shops and restaurants.

Still, it’s an ambient place to visit in Tirana with shops selling souvenirs (although it’s cheaper to buy them elsewhere) and some nice, sit-down restaurants, surrounded by old Byzantine/Ottoman walls. It’s particularly atmospheric when lit up at night.

Namazgjah Mosque is one of the most impressive places in Tirana with space for 10,000 worshippers (not that there are that many people practising, our walking tour joked).

For years, it was a running joke that it was set to open in January… but no one knew which year, and it seemingly never opened! However, recently this has all changed and you can finally go inside to admire the beautiful architecture and artwork.

To compare and understand the religious diversity in Albania, continue your Tirana sightseeing towards…

Katedralja Katolike (dubbed Mother Teresa Cathedral) is one of the prominent Catholic churches in Tirana. It’s an impressive building with some interesting artwork telling the story of Mother Teresa. Born in North Macedonia to Albanian parents, her life is intertwined with Albanian history and identity.

Entry is free. Next, for a cultural thing to do in Tirana, head to a third religious house…

The Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral

The Orthodox Cathedral is an important place for approximately 20% of Albanians who identify as Orthodox. With a different look to the main mosque and catholic church, this house of worship is covered in colourful religious murals beneath a vast gold chandelier and detailed ceiling that took over 3 years to complete.

It’s a beautiful building that’s worth dropping by.

Enjoy the coffee scene

The best places for speciality coffee are Omel, Kaffa and Coffee Lab. If you’re not near these Blloku cafes, find any Mulliri Vjeter: they’re the Starbucks of Tirana! The iced coffee isn’t bad although everything is served in plastic, even to drink in.

However, you don’t need a flat white to enjoy the Balkan coffee culture. Locals can be found from morning to night in cafes drinking cheap and cheerful coffee. It’s a big part of the culture so I recommend joining them!

Take a cooking class

This is a fantastic option for foodies wondering what to do in Tirana. I love doing these when I travel because they’re fun and hands-on, plus you usually make friends with other travellers and learn from the local guides.

Book a cooking class for €45 including a local market visit and the chance to try several beverages and appetisers before making your own tasty Albanian lunch.

Being so recent, Albania’s dark and fascinating history can be seen everywhere. One such place is Enver Hoxha’s old house located in Blokku south of the river. Allegedly, the interior is frozen in time as he left it.

Sadly, the residence is currently closed to visitors. What you can do is wander by and peer into the grounds of this unremarkable-looking (but historically poignant) house and grounds.

One thing’s for sure: the city around it has changed considerably! Beside it is now a KFC (jokingly called communist fried chicken), the polar opposite of the controlling regime that once prohibited independent business and wealth to individuals.

Need to escape the city? If so, one of the best things to do in Tirana is take a walk in the enormous park that dominates the south of the city. With several walking trails, a huge lake, outdoor cafes and even an outdoor cinema in the summer months, Grand Park is a wonderful oasis of peace and greenery.

Let your hair down & experience the nightlife

See the open museum of Tirana

Although there are some specifically repurposed bunkers like Bunk’art 1 and 2, there are also plenty of empty bunkers close to the city centre that act as open museums, telling the tale of Albania’s past.

Go check them out in the daytime. After dark, such spaces are probably best avoided.

Things to do near Tirana

If you have exhausted the activities in Tirana, never fear because there are lots of fantastic places nearby. A couple of day trips to consider from the capital include:

One of the most scenic places near Tirana is Lake Bovilla, just under an hour’s drive away. It’s a lovely spot for swimming and picnics in the summer and, if you’re feeling energetic, hiking adventures around its banks.

One way to visit is by hiring a rental car for the day with Rentalcars.com. Without your own transport, the best way to visit is via a small group tour with Viator includes a gentle hike up to Mount Gamti with the chance for swimming afterwards and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. A day well spent!

History buffs will enjoy a trip to Durrës, the oldest city in Albania. Durrës has two sides: the ancient ruins and the seafront. Since the beach is quite built up and crowded, I’d suggest focussing on the history of this fascinating port city, just a 40-minute drive from Tirana.

Krujë 

Where next?

I’m sure you’re exploring more of Albania than just Tirana so here are some stops I think you’ll love! Don’t forget to check out my Albania itinerary for more photos and descriptions, plus where to eat and stay in each place.

After exploring the best things to do in Tirana, head off to…

Shkodër 

Although Shkodër is a nice city in its own right, the appeal is certainly the Albanian alps that surround it. The remote Theth and Valbona region is accessed most easily from Shkodër, although even this can require a couple of connections and a ferry ride depending where you begin your hiking adventures!

From Shkodër (a 2-hour bus ride from Tirana), I embarked on a 2-night countryside escape helpfully organised by Wanderers Hostel. After a bus, a ferry ride (worth it for the amazing views alone) and another bus, I arrived in Valbona where I spent a night in a homestay before the Valbona Pass hike the following day.

Following another night in a homestay in Theth, I caught a shuttle bus back to Shkodër.

It was a wonderful experience I’ll always remember. I’d highly recommend the Theth region if you have time!

My favourite place in Albania was Gjirokastër. Although it’s technically a city, it feels more like an adorable village. With Ottoman history, pretty mosques and a colourful bazaar with shopping opportunities aplenty, it’s a calming place to relax and wander.

It also boasts unique regional dishes not found elsewhere. Foodies take note!

Hostel suggestion – Stone City is one of the best hostels I’ve stayed in. It’s like a boutique hotel with shoestring prices.

This UNESCO heritage city boasts centuries of history, surrounding countryside filled with canyons, waterfalls and wineries, and a unique dining experience at Lili Homemade Food. Although I still preferred Gjirokastër, I’d happily go to Berat again. It’s a gem!

With the beaches of Greece and the prices of Southeast Asia, this is a wonderful part of the world that I’m convinced is set to boom in coming years. Sarandë and Ksamil get all the attention (and undeniably the Ksamil beaches are something out of a luxury catalogue) but Himarë was my favourite.

There are fewer crowds, lower prices and fun hostels like Trip ‘N’ Hostel.