Vanity Fair: Reasons why you should visit Tirana

2024-03-26 11:05:00, Aktualitet CNA

The prestigious Vanity Fair has devoted an article to Albania, mainly to the capital Tirana, listing the reasons why they should visit it.

According to Vanity Fair, Tirana is the ideal destination for a weekend unlike any other. There are many reasons to visit it: its proximity to Italy, its Mediterranean climate, its original museums, its unique mix of architecture and a cuisine one of the best in Southern Europe.

Last year, Albania attracted more than 10 million tourists (according to Instat, the Albanian National Institute of Statistics) and most of them also stopped in Tirana. This year, the figures, according to statistics, will be even higher. Here are the reasons why you should visit Tirana.

The city is a unique blend of architecture

There are few capitals in Europe where you can find a Catholic church, an Orthodox church and a mosque within a few meters. Where buildings from the communist era are accompanied by palaces, bunkers and brutalist Italian-style structures. Tirana is one of them. It is enough to walk through the streets of the center to immediately realize the unique mix of architecture that characterizes the chaotic Albanian capital.

Have a coffee – as good as an Italian one – at the Millennium Garden, along Pedonale, the pleasant pedestrian street in the center, or at the Opera Café on Skënderbej Square, and then start exploring Tirana. The large square, in the center of which is the statue of the national hero of the same name from the 1400s, the National Museum, the Clock Tower, the Opera and the Et'Hem Bey Mosque. A few meters further, the Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection appears. Up to St. Paul's Catholic Cathedral and Namazgjah Mosque, the largest in the Balkans.

Vanity Fair: Reasons why you should visit Tirana

It is close and easy to reach

If until a few years ago it was complicated and expensive to get to Tirana, today, thanks to numerous air connections, you can get to Albania in less than two hours by flight from Italy.

Its free

Tirana, in fact, compared to other capitals and cities, even in the Balkan region, is still cheap in terms of prices. Especially when it comes to restaurants, museums and hotels. The cost of entrance tickets to the main museums ranges from €3 to €6. For €50-60 you sleep in a double room with breakfast included.

Albanian cuisine is excellent

Gastronomy is one of the good reasons to travel to Tirana. In recent years, Albanian cuisine has developed at an extraordinary pace, especially in the capital. The restaurant's offerings range from traditional dishes to contemporary menus, to a successful mix of both. Most of the Albanian chefs who have gained experience in the best European restaurants have returned to their homeland and opened their own restaurants.

Example of religious tolerance

Albania is very tolerant of all religious beliefs. Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Catholic Christians, Jews and Bektashis live in its territory. Tirana is also home to the Bektashi World Center, an unmistakable, unique place in Europe. It is a large teqe with hypnotic marble mosaics, rooms dedicated to worship and a museum, in whose rooms the history of the Bektashis is told.

Vanity Fair: Reasons why you should visit Tirana

Museums

Some of the most original museums of the old continent are located in Albania, in Tirana. BunkArt1 is a museum built inside a giant bunker on the outskirts of the city. Seven floors underground where the country's history is narrated from the Italian fascist occupation to communism. In the city center, on the other hand, BunkArt2 - built on the premises of the old bunker of the Ministry of the Interior - is the stop to deepen your knowledge on the history of communist Albania during the years of Enver Hoxha's dictatorship. Finally, in the former headquarters of the secret police, the Council of Europe Museum Prize-winning House of Leaves is dedicated to espionage during the dictatorship. Lots of events to mark in your diary

Getting bored in Tirana? Impossible.

The city was the European Youth Capital in 2022, the European Capital of Sport in 2023 and in 2025 it will be the Mediterranean Capital of Culture. Numerous events take place throughout the year. In May, the Day of Colors Festival. At the beginning of September, the Mural Festival, dedicated to street art, attracts artists from all over the world who create murals on the facades of the capital's buildings. If you love cinematography, the TIFF-Tirana International Film Festival, focusing on the artists of the region, is the event that should be marked in your diary. The Tirana Marathon has been a regular event for several years already in autumn. The Book Festival is the largest Albanian event dedicated to the world of publishing and is held every year in November. Finally, in December, Piazza Scandeberg transforms into a huge Christmas village with food stalls, wooden houses and games.

Superstition? Doesn't exist here (yet)

Tirana is the ideal destination. It is the city where you can hide for a few days to escape the crowds. A destination for under-tourism, Tirana is a young, non-bloated capital that turns out to be a surprise. A weekend here is an opportunity not only to save money and stress, but also to discover a new city in a deeper, ethical and conscious way.

It is near the sea

Not even 40 km separate Tirana from Durrës, a city overlooking the Adriatic and the main Albanian port. If you have a travel day available and want to spend a few hours at the beach, it's easy to organize a trip out of the city starting from the capital. Durrës is one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean./ CNA