Tirana
5
Day Itinerary •
Albania
Five days in Tirana and its surrounds gives you the complete extraordinary range of Albania's capital and the remarkable landscapes radiating from it, from the Bunk'Art bunker museums and the vibrant Blloku district to the Albanian Alps at Valbona and Theth, the ancient Greek ruins of Apollonia, the Adriatic coast at Durres and the extraordinary castle town of Kruje. This route uses Tirana as a base for day trips in every direction. The city's extraordinary communist heritage, the Dajti cable car, Kruje castle and bazaar, Apollonia's outstanding Greek ruins, the Durres amphitheatre, a day in the extraordinary Albanian Alps at Theth with its extraordinary waterfall and the finest mountain hospitality in the Balkans.
Best Time To Visit
April to October
Getting There
Fly into Tirana (TIA), 40 min from city centre
Getting Around
Tirana walkable; rental car for all day trips
Budget Per Day
Approx 30 to 65 euros per person per day
Difficulity
Easy to moderate; Alps day is more demanding
DAY 1
TIRANA
MORNING
BUNK'ART 2 AND THE NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Start with Bunk'Art 2, the most extraordinary museum in Albania, built inside the nuclear bunker beneath the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The remarkable documentation of the Sigurimi secret police, interrogation rooms and surveillance apparatus of the Hoxha regime is genuinely extraordinary and profoundly disturbing. The National History Museum on Skanderbeg Square completes the picture with the finest overview of Albanian history from Illyrian times to the present day. Entry Bunk'Art 2 approx 500 ALL, museum approx 300 ALL. Drive: 15 min walk
MIDDAY
BLLOKU AND THE HOUSE OF LEAVES ESPIONAGE MUSEUM
The Blloku district, once the exclusive residential area of the communist elite, is now the finest cafe and restaurant quarter in Albania. Enver Hoxha's personal villa still stands at the district edge. The House of Leaves museum in a restored villa in the district is the finest espionage museum in the Balkans, housed in the former telephone surveillance centre of the Sigurimi. The extraordinary listening equipment and case files on display document the full scope of the communist surveillance state. Entry approx 400 ALL. Drive: 20 min walk
AFTERNOON
BUNK'ART 1, INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN NUCLEAR BUNKER
Bunk'Art 1 in a mountain outside Tirana is the larger and more extraordinary of the two bunker museums, a vast nuclear shelter built for 100 government officials with extraordinary sleeping quarters, a command centre, a conference room and survival equipment for a nuclear war. The bunker was never used and the scale of the construction, which consumed an extraordinary proportion of Albania's communist-era GDP, is genuinely staggering. Shuttle bus from city centre. Entry approx 700 ALL.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The artificial lake in Tirana's Grand Park was built by communist-era engineers and is the finest green space in the city. The park surrounds it with extraordinary evening walking and the Tirana skyline visible across the water. The rowing boat hire on the lake costs almost nothing and the view of the city from the water in the evening light is extraordinary.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe on Skanderbeg Square Albanian espresso at the square before the bunker opens. Costs 60 ALL and is extraordinary. | Lunch: Era Restaurant, Tirana The finest traditional Albanian restaurant in the city. Local lamb, byrek and homemade raki. | Dinner: Blloku restaurant Dinner in the former communist elite district. The contrast with the bunkers is extraordinary.
DAY 2
KRUJE AND DAJTI
MORNING
KRUJE CASTLE AND THE FINEST ALBANIAN BAZAAR
Kruje is the finest castle town in Albania, the extraordinary citadel where Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg held out against the Ottoman Empire for 25 years between 1443 and 1468. The Skanderbeg Museum inside the castle tells the story of Albania's greatest hero with remarkable exhibits. Below the castle, the extraordinary 19th-century bazaar street is the finest craft market in Albania, its wooden shops selling kilim rugs, copper work, antique Ottoman weapons and communist-era memorabilia at remarkable prices. Entry approx 300 ALL. Drive: 30 min drive back
MIDDAY
MOUNT DAJTI CABLE CAR AND MOUNTAIN LUNCH
The Dajti Express cable car from the eastern edge of Tirana climbs 1,100 metres in 15 minutes to the extraordinary mountain plateau above the city. The panorama over Tirana, the Albanian Alps and the Adriatic coast 30km west is extraordinary on clear days. The mountain restaurant serves local lamb and raki with the finest view in the Tirana region. Several marked walking trails cross the extraordinary beech and oak forest of Dajti National Park. Return cable car approx 800 ALL. Drive: 20 min drive back
AFTERNOON
TIRANA STREET ART AND EVENING CITY
Tirana has the finest urban street art scene in the Balkans, its colourful building murals commissioned by the extraordinary Mayor Edi Rama who transformed the grey communist city with colour before becoming Prime Minister. A walking tour of the city murals takes 90 minutes. The Pazari i Ri new bazaar market in the city centre is the finest food market in Tirana, its restored 1930s market building selling extraordinary local produce. The evening city is lively and completely safe.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Dollma Tekke below the Kruje castle is the finest Bektashi religious site in central Albania, a beautiful garden tekke with an extraordinary domed prayer room and a shrine to the local saint. The Bektashi order is a Sufi Muslim tradition unique to Albania and the tekke is open to all visitors regardless of religion. Free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in Tirana Early coffee before the Kruje drive. The bazaar opens early in summer. | Lunch: Dajti mountain restaurant Local lamb and raki at 1,100 metres with the extraordinary city panorama below. | Dinner: Restaurant near Pazari i Ri Fresh Albanian produce from the market cooked in the finest city restaurants. Under 15 euros.
DAY 3
APOLLONIA AND DURRES
MORNING
APOLLONIA, THE FINEST GREEK RUINS IN ALBANIA
Apollonia near Fier is one of the finest and most unvisited ancient Greek cities in the Balkans, founded in 588 BC with a population of 60,000 at its peak. Julius Caesar used it as his military base in the civil war against Pompey. The extraordinary Bouleuterion council chamber with its Doric colonnade, the Roman odeon and the outstanding site museum in a converted Byzantine monastery with its remarkable mosaic floors are all extraordinary. You will likely have the entire site to yourself. Entry approx 300 ALL. Drive: 1 hour drive north
MIDDAY
COBO WINERY AND ALBANIAN WINE TASTING
The Cobo winery near Berat is the finest wine producer in Albania, its extraordinary indigenous varieties Shesh i Zi and Shesh i Bardhe almost entirely unknown outside the country. The tasting room in a converted farmhouse offers flights of remarkable local wines at prices that seem impossibly low by any European standard. The winery also produces the finest Albanian raki from estate grapes. The drive from Apollonia takes 30 minutes. Tastings from approx 500 ALL. Drive: 1.5 hour drive back
AFTERNOON
DURRES AMPHITHEATRE AND ADRIATIC COAST
The Roman amphitheatre in Durres is the largest in the Balkans, discovered in 1966 in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. The extraordinary Byzantine chapel inside the amphitheatre with its remarkable mosaic floor is free to enter. The Durres Archaeological Museum has the finest classical collection in Albania. A final swim on the Adriatic coast before the drive back to Tirana completes an extraordinary day through three millennia of Albanian history.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The ancient city of Byllis on a plateau above the Vjosa valley is one of the finest and most completely unvisited Illyrian and Roman cities in Albania, its extraordinary city walls and theatre accessible with no entry fee and almost no signage. Ask at the Apollonia museum for directions.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Guesthouse in Tirana Hearty breakfast before the long drive day. Pack water for Apollonia. | Lunch: Cobo winery picnic Wine, local cheese and bread from the winery. An extraordinary combination. | Dinner: Restaurant in Tirana Dinner back in the capital. The Blloku or Pazari i Ri areas are both excellent.
DAY 4
THETH ALBANIAN ALPS
MORNING
DRIVE TO THETH, THE FINEST VILLAGE IN THE ALBANIAN ALPS
Theth in the Albanian Alps is the most extraordinary mountain village in Albania, a remote settlement of traditional stone tower houses in a valley surrounded by extraordinary limestone peaks. The drive from Tirana via Shkoder takes 2.5 to 3 hours, the final section on a rough road through the extraordinary Shala river gorge. The valley opens to the village with an extraordinary panorama of the Cursed Mountains above. The guesthouses in Theth provide the finest mountain hospitality in the Balkans at extraordinary value. Drive: In valley
MIDDAY
GRUNAS WATERFALL AND THE THETH VALLEY HIKE
The Grunas waterfall above Theth is the finest waterfall in the Albanian Alps, a 30-metre cascade visible from the village and reached by a 20-minute hike through the extraordinary beech forest above. The valley hike from Theth following the Shala river gives extraordinary views of the limestone peaks above and passes through traditional Albanian farm settlements still using the same agricultural methods as 200 years ago. The mountain air and silence are extraordinary. Drive: On foot
AFTERNOON
THETH LOCK-IN TOWER AND EVENING IN THE ALPS
The Kulla e Ngujimit lock-in tower in Theth is the finest surviving example of the extraordinary Albanian blood feud architecture, a stone tower where families under the threat of revenge killing were locked for protection under the Kanun customary law code. The tradition of blood feud, regulated by the Kanun but devastating to Albanian mountain communities for centuries, is explained by local guides with remarkable frankness. The evening in the valley, with the extraordinary peaks above and homemade raki, is unforgettable.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Valbona to Theth hike is the finest mountain walk in Albania, a 5-hour crossing of the Qafa e Valbones pass at 1,795 metres between the two finest valleys in the Albanian Alps. The walk can be done as a day trip with transport arranged on both sides. One of the most extraordinary mountain hikes in the Balkans. Free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in Shkoder Coffee in Shkoder before the final mountain drive to Theth. Stock up on supplies. | Lunch: Guesthouse in Theth Traditional Albanian mountain lunch at the guesthouse. Local lamb, cheese and raki. | Dinner: Guesthouse dinner, Theth The finest home cooking in Albania. Local lamb, vegetables from the garden, extraordinary raki.
DAY 5
RETURN VIA DURRES
MORNING
RETURN FROM THETH AND DRIVE TO DURRES
The drive back from Theth through the extraordinary Shala gorge to Shkoder and then south to Durres takes 2.5 hours. The Rozafa Castle above Shkoder, one of the finest medieval fortresses in Albania with extraordinary views over the confluence of three rivers and the Albanian Alps beyond, is worth a 45-minute stop on the way. Entry approx 200 ALL. Drive: 30 min drive
MIDDAY
DURRES, ROMAN CITY ON THE ADRIATIC
Durres was the most important city in Roman Illyricum and the principal gateway between Rome and the eastern empire. The extraordinary amphitheatre, the finest preserved section of the Roman and Byzantine city walls and the Archaeological Museum give 2,500 years of Albanian history in a single morning. The walk along the old walls gives the finest view over the modern city and the Adriatic. A final swim on the Adriatic beach before the drive to Tirana airport completes the five days in extraordinary style. Drive: 30 min drive
AFTERNOON
RETURN TO TIRANA FOR DEPARTURE
The drive from Durres to Tirana airport takes 30 minutes on the motorway. If time allows, a final coffee at a Tirana cafe, a last walk through the extraordinary Blloku district or a final view of Skanderbeg Square gives the finest goodbye to the most surprising capital in Europe. Albania rewards the curious traveller more than almost any country in Europe and the extraordinary value of everything encountered over five days will make every subsequent European trip feel expensive.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Shkoder old bazaar and the Mes Bridge nearby are two of the finest and least visited Ottoman sites in northern Albania. The Mes Bridge, a 13-arch stone bridge over the Kiri river built in the 18th century, is one of the most extraordinary Ottoman bridges in the Balkans. Free to visit, 10 minutes from Shkoder centre.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Guesthouse breakfast, Theth Final mountain breakfast before the return drive. Extraordinary homemade produce. | Lunch: Fresh fish restaurant, Durres Adriatic mussels, fresh fish and cold Albanian beer on the port waterfront. | Dinner: Restaurant in Tirana Final Albanian dinner if the flight allows. The Blloku cafes are open late.
Where To Stay
Tirana, all nights Hotel Rogner or Trip Inn Tirana. Approx 40 to 90 euros per night. Budget option Hostels and guesthouses in Tirana from approx 15 euros per night. Theth, Night 4 option Guesthouses in Theth village. Approx 20 to 35 euros per night including dinner.
Top Tips
1. Do Bunk'Art 2 before Bunk'Art
1. The city centre bunker gives the political context and the larger mountain bunker gives the extraordinary scale of Hoxha's paranoia.
2. The Tirana street art scene is extraordinary. The colourful murals on buildings across the city were commissioned by Mayor Rama who later became Prime Minister.
3. Theth is the finest village in the Albanian Alps and the hospitality is extraordinary. Guesthouses include dinner and breakfast for 20 to 35 euros. The valley is extraordinary.
4. Apollonia has the finest Greek ruins in Albania and you will likely have it entirely to yourself regardless of season. Allow 2 hours minimum for the extraordinary site.
5. The Kruje antique dealers have extraordinary communist-era memorabilia: Hoxha portraits, party badges, propaganda posters and military items at very low prices.
6. Albanian raki is made from grapes and is extraordinarily good. The homemade version served at guesthouses in Theth and Kruje is the finest in the country. Free refills.
Total Budget
30 to 65 euros/day