Where to stay in Tirana

In Tirana a district is chosen by the evening it offers, because walking distance hardly separates them. Blloku is 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the centre and Pazari i Ri about 300 metres, so the real question is where the night should end. A quiet street, a row of bars or a market that wakes at dawn are all on offer.

A bed near Skanderbeg Square puts the mosque, Bunk'Art 2 and the Opera within a few minutes of the door. The Et'hem Bey Mosque was shut under communism, and on 18 January 1991 about 10,000 people walked in carrying flags, so the doorstep has some history of its own. Most of the hostels cluster here and in Blloku. For a first visit this is the sensible base, since the first day of any itinerary starts on the square anyway. The Porcelan line to Dajti starts at the Clock Tower by the square, one more reason for the centre if Dajti is on the plan.

The airport lies about 17 km northwest of the centre, and the airport bus ends its run behind the National Opera, about two minutes from the square, so a bed in the centre can be reached with a suitcase and no taxi. The Rinas Express leaves the airport car park every hour on the hour. Fare and ride: €4.40, 30–45 min. The same stop works for the return, which makes the centre the easiest district to arrive in and to leave.

Until communism fell, Blloku was a fenced quarter for members of the politburo, and ordinary Albanians were not let in. Today it is where the city goes out, with boutiques by day and restaurants, bars and cafés after dark, and the house of Enver Hoxha still stands among them.

Hotel Colosseo is a three-star example here, and the Postbllok memorial lies close by, so a sleepless night can at least be spent on history. The memorial opened in 2013 and keeps three pieces of the dictatorship: beams from Spaç prison, part of a concrete bunker and a section of the Berlin Wall. Choose Blloku if the evening matters most, and expect the street noise that comes with it. Anyone who wants an early night is better off in the centre.

Pazari i Ri lies about 300 m from the centre, and Trip'n'Hostel sits here. The market was built in 1931 on the site of the old bazaar and renovated in 2017. Today it sells fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, wine and raki. Restaurants and bakeries fill the buildings around it, so breakfast is a step from the door. Dorm beds in town: €10–15 (dorm bed).

What a bed costs

A dorm bed costs €10–15 (dorm bed), and a three-star hotel costs €20–35 per person, two sharing. Treat them as the level to expect, not as an offer. The simplest saving is the district itself. All three lie within fifteen minutes on foot of the square, so a cheaper bed in any of them costs nothing in transport, and the bus fare for a day on Dajti is the only ride a stay really needs.

BudgetWhat a day costs once the bed is paid for, from the bus to the museum ticket.What Tirana costs →

Getting aroundHow to get from the airport to the bed, and from the bed to the cable car.Getting around Tirana →

3 daysThree days that start from whichever district you chose.Tirana in 3 days →

When to goWhich months suit a stay, and when the rain asks for a room near the sights.The best time to visit Tirana →

FoodWhat to eat near each district, from a bakery byrek to qofte.What to eat in Tirana →

Day tripsDay trips that start from the terminals northwest of the centre.Day trips from Tirana →

MistakesThe mistakes that cost a morning, before you book.Mistakes everyone makes in Tirana →

Hidden gemsThe Pyramid, Postbllok, Pazari i Ri and the Grand Park are four places outside the main circuit, and they have a page of their own.Tirana beyond the main sights: the Pyramid, Postbllok and Pazari i Ri →