In which quarter house in Tirana?

A trip to the Balkans and Albania this summer? Discover in which area to stay in Tirana!

When we leave in the Balkans, we go to one of the cradles of Europe. Anticipate to know where to stay in Tirana can be reassuring. Capital of the Albania , Tirana is located in the center of the country and in the hinterland. With a population of 726,547, the urban area has around one million inhabitants. Founded in 1620, Tirana is the country's main industrial and cultural centre. The period of communist dictatorship is very pregnant, although since its democratic opening, the city is described as frenetic, animated, and pleasant to visit. And no, Tirana is not just chaotic, bottled and polluted.

Renting a sleeping accommodation in Tirana will be affordable to all budgets. However, some neighbourhoods are gentrifying. Modernization also takes place in Albania, and increases the cost of local life. This is in which area to stay in Tirana.

Downtown

The city centre of Tirana is a pack of historic buildings, squares, small parks, fenced boulevards. The city centre runs north of the Lana River docks, and offers more than one tourist activity worthy of interest: the Tirana Pyramid, amidst Enver Hoxha’s madness. Especially, enjoy being in Tirana to visit the Bunk’Art, the antinuclear bunker of Encver Hoxha, built secretly between 1972 and 1978. Today, it is an underground museum to revitalize the harsh conditions of life under the dictatorship and the challenges of the Cold War through exhibitions combining the history of the country and modern art.

The visit, chronological, began in 1939 by the Italian occupation and ended in 1991 by the end of the communist dictatorship. Do you like history and culture? The National Historic Museum is a must for a stay in Albania, especially if you choose to stay in Tirana. The museum is the largest museum in Albania, retracing prehistoric, Greek and Roman, medieval and Albanian Renaissance periods. At the outset, enjoy Skanderbeg Square, an important gathering space combining the fascist Italian style, the Stalinist Soviet era and the Ottoman style.

Blloku

Formerly reserved for the political elite during the communist dictatorship from 1945 to 1991, the Bloc is the most trendy district of Tirana: the youth is there to go out in the evening. There is therefore a high concentration of bars in the middle of residential buildings. You will also find many luxury boutiques, cafes and restaurants as well as nightclubs. Consumption is not expensive and the colourful facades are a privileged place of street art .

Many hotels allow you to stay in Tirana and in the Bloc, and you can also stay at home (via Airbnb ). South of the neighborhood stretches a lung of greenery of 289 hectares, surrounded by a large lake: the Grand Park of Tirana, known as Parku i Madh, ideal for a relaxing break away from the noisy boulevards of the city centre. If you’re young, it’s probably the best place to stay in Tirana.

Main photo credit: Flickr – Mat Sloughter