Tirana

Albania’s capital city of Tirana is like no other Balkan capital cities with its iconic high-rise architecture and redesigned public spaces, and its delayed ‘Dolce Vita’ atmosphere of cafes and restaurants.

Our half day walking tour will start at the very heart of the city’s Monumental Center, where we will observe the strong differences between the overbearing communist buildings of the Palace of Culture and the National History Museum, versus the Italian governmental buildings of the 1920s by the Italian architect Armando Brasini.

As we will walk by the statue of Albania’s national hero Skenderbeg, we will head to the Et’hem Bey Mosque and the Watch Tower – reminders of Tirana’s 17th and 19th centuries expansion, and later its twentieth century turbulent history.

We will have a chance to walk on by the newly reopened Toptani castle, and the stone Tanner’s Bridge, followed by a quick stop at the Pyramid and a visit to the Blloku area, along with the dictator’s Enver Hoxha villa.