We get on the bus direction Tirana without much joy, basically for two reasons:
- Most travelers had told us that it had (almost) nothing worthwhile.
- We were so happy on the coast of Montenegro that we went to a chaotic city, with no apparent attractions and no beach ... puff, it gave us a bit of laziness.
We even considered skipping the capital of Albania but hey, who knows if we are going to come back here one day and also ... we will have to check if 'the bad reviews' about Tirana were true ... so we went there.
BORDER MONTENEGRO - ALBANIA ANOTHER WORLD
The first impression was that the bus did not cross the border with Albania, it crossed the border with another continent! We felt in Asia: animals crossing the road, cars, trucks and motorcycles sliding on steel without order or logic, street markets full of colors and people ... and much, much, A LOT of chaos. We were definitely entering another Europe.
WELCOME TO TIRANA (THAT DOESN'T TRIANA)
We already realized in the two hours of bus ride through this country that 'Albania has a special color' but its capital is Tirana, not Triana, huh Jairo ?! We also realized that in Albania there are no bus stations as God commands and we were 'abandoned' in a roundabout with terrible traffic 'to know where'. Thanks to the GPS we were able to locate ourselves and a few kilometers later we arrived at our hotel without a hair in its place ... so that they say we live on vacation!
Indeed, as we had been warned, Tirana is not the most wonderful capital in the world: it does not have large architectural monuments or an infinite list of things and activities to do, although we have to say, honestly, that we thought it was a very lively and interesting city. It has been a pleasure to walk through its streets and begin to touch the reality of Albanian life, sit on its benches to watch the old men watching other old men look at other old men, listen to the beautiful Albanian accent (the way they have to pronounce the Erre is irresistible!) and have cold (and cheap) beers on their terraces. Of course, that does not have much to do does not mean that it has nothing to do, so let's tell you ...
Tip: if you only have a few hours to discover Tirana, we recommend you to take a tour. This lasts 3 hours and has a price of € 18 (you will visit the main tourist places of the city).
If you prefer to visit it for free here are the best things to see in Tirana:
SKANDERBEG PLACE
With the welcome of chaos, traffic and delirium that Albania had given us, we expected a square similar to one of Dante's hell songs. We failed: the center of Tirana turned out to be a super quiet place (trafficked, yes) but appealing and full of green spaces. The Skanderbeg square owes its name to the most beloved hero in all of Albania: George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. The reason therefore love for this figure is none other than the ability of this 'commander' to prevent the Ottoman invasion between 1444 and 1466. After his death, in 1468, the Turks managed to enter Albania where they would stay until the beginning of the twentieth century, that, if you're not good at calculations, it's a long time! Today, in the homonymous square, you can see a statue of Skanderbeg on his horse, although the attractions of the place do not end here: in the Skanderberg Square you can find the National History Museum, the Opera House, several institutional buildings , the clock tower and the beautiful mosque of Et'hem Bey.
As a curiosity to tell you that the square was home to two other statues: that of former dictator Enver Hoxha, the other key figure in the history of Albania and that of Stalin. Why aren't they there? Because during a demonstration, after the fall of communism in 1991, the statue of the Albanian communist leader was torn down by demonstrators. As for the statue of Stalin it was beheaded and demolished. The communist dictatorship of Hoxha was one of the toughest and crudest in history.
ET'HEM BAY MOSQUE
To those who wait for one of the biggest and most striking mosques in the Arab world, we already say that they can be disappointed: from the outside the mosque does not seem anything special, although once inside things change ... the small prayer room seemed like a real gem although more The architectural importance of this mosque is moral: during the communist regime the churches and mosques in the country were closed until in 1991, 10,000 Muslims decided to enter this mosque by force and pray. This was an unprecedented historical event and was a giant step towards the fall of Albanian communism.
ALBANIA NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
In this museum you can take a tour of the history of Albania (with enough emphasis on the communist period). If you decide to keep an eye, all the legends and explanations are in Albanian so, either you go with a guide, or you will understand very little. The most famous of the museum, however, is on its exterior facade: a mosaic, called 'the Albanians'representing the evolution of Albanian society from the Illyrians to the communist revolutionaries of the 20th century.
BOULEVAR DËSHMORËT E KOMBIT
During the occupation of Albania during World War II, Mussolini decided that he needed a large street where he could organize his military stops: the Boulevar Dëshmorët e Kombit was born. Today, fortunately, there is no trace of Mussolini, or of stops, or military. What remains is a boulevard full of government buildings and the odd curiosities like ...
THE PIRAMID
A building loved by many and hated by many others, but certainly curious. The Pyramid was built by the desire of the daughter of the former communist leader in 1988, with the idea of paying homage to Hoxha, although the tribute itself did not last long: after a few years the Pyramid was transformed into a disco called La Mummy, and it is that, after the fall of communism, among the people there was not much desire to pay tribute to a leader who led the country to absolute poverty (Albania is the second poorest country in Europe, only surpassed by Moldova). Today the Pyramid is the meeting point for young people having fun taking selfies on the steep slopes of its facade. 'The Mummy' will be twisting in his sarcophagus ... I would never have thought he would say this: for us the Pyramid has a roll!
THE BUNKER
Going down from the Pyramid, towards the Plaza de Madre Teresa de Calcutta, you come across something very peculiar: a bunker. What does a bunker do in the center of the capital of Albania? The same as the other 700,000 bunkers spread across the country: nothing. Here we are going to tell you a curious story: Hoxha, suffering a conspiranic nationalist delirium, decided to isolate (and isolate) the country from the rest of the world (Soviet Union and China included, since he considered them too liberal ... wtf!). He decided to build more than 700,000 cement bunkers around the country to defend himself from a worldwide attack that never came. Today these bunkers are still there and it is not difficult to see them while traveling through the country (there are hidden among trees, incorporated into orchards, next to houses, near the roads, transformed into mini-bars ...). Come on, a curiosity!
The side of the bunker is a piece of the Berlin wall, brought here after its fall.
BLLOKU
What today is the coolest neighborhood in Tirana, full of cafés and trendy restaurants, was the residential neighborhood of the communist leaders until the regime's downfall. They say that when Blloku finally unveiled the rest of the town, people were horrified to discover that while they lived sunk in poverty and sacrifice, those who led their country lived well-off and surrounded by luxuries. History repeats itself over and over the world, doesn't it?
MORE THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN TIRANA
Discover the hidden statues in the Art Museum, survive the infernal traffic, taste the (super cheap) desserts of their patisseries (don't miss the lokum), have a beer in a bar, walk through the neighborhood markets, get lost in the streets Secondary, freaking out with the amount of electrical cables that are on the streets and above all ... start scratching the surface of a very, very, very interesting country that is in Europe, but where the old continent ceases to be itself.
Tip: if you have more time it is highly recommended to visit Berat. There are even day tours from Tirana, like this one. Although we went 2 days, for free and it's very simple, cheer up 🙂
USEFUL INFO
- Where to sleep in Tirana: we did it at the Hotel Antigone
- How to get to Tirana from Kotor by bus (via Budva): there are no direct buses from Kotor, we made Kotor-Budva, night in Budva, Budva-Ulcinj, Ulcinj-Tirana (with change in Skhoder). The price of the tickets and the travel time was:
- Kotor-Budva: € 3.5, 1 hour and a half
- Budva-Ulcinj: € 7, 2 hours
- Ulcjini-Tirana (with change in Skhoder): € 10.5 3 hours. There are direct shuttles from Kotor that leave you for € 30 in Tirana, it is certainly a more comfortable solution although a little more expensive.
