Is the Emerging City of Tirana Worth Visiting in 2023?

Is Tirana worth visiting?

Tirana is becoming increasingly popular amongst western tourists. With direct flights now available from many European airports, Albania’s capital city is more accessible than ever. But is Tirana worth visiting?

Amazing architecture, good quality cuisine, cheap (and potent) booze and friendly locals puts the city on a lot of bucket lists. We visited in the spring to see for ourselves. Our itinerary for the day involved having one half of the day below ground in a nuclear bunker then the other half spent 1,613m above the city on a cable car. We explore whether Tirana is worth visiting and whether it falls above or below visitors’ expectations?

Bunk’Art 1, Tirana

First stop, Bunk’Art. This is a museum exhibition set inside the atomic bunker of Dictator Enver Hoxha. However, this is not your regular, stuffy museum. The exhibition displays relics of a not so distant past when Albania was one of Europe’s most secretive countries. Its paranoid dictator created a Bunkerization Project during the Cold War. This resulted in tens of thousands of bunkers being built across Albania. This particular bunker in Tirana was designed to shelter up to 300 military personnel, including some of the country’s most important men, and was opened to the public in 2014 as a museum.

How to get to Bunk’Art

Reaching Bunk’Art from the city centre is relatively straight forward.

Bus: There is a bus departing from the Palace of Culture by Skanderbeg square, destined for ‘Linzë’. This will take you near the bunker entrance tunnel in around 15 minutes, costing about €0.40. From the bus stop there is a 5 minute walk to the ticket booth (through quite a dark tunnel) and then another 5 minutes on foot to the entrance.

Walk: We decided to walk the whole way, which took about an hour in total. This is a great option if you have the time. You can see it on the map HERE but Google does not provide public transport options. We found an amazing fruit stall on the way selling fresh fruit juice which was a great refreshment on a warm day. There is also an interesting mixture of different types of architecture to look at as you walk. You always find something when walking in Tirana!

Taxi: You can hail a cab from the centre which could cost around 700 – 1000Lek each way (€5.50 – €8).

Entry Fee: Entry to Bunk’Art costs 500Lek – about €4.

Arrival at Bunk’Art

On arrival at the bunker you will pass through an eerie, long, dark tunnel leading to the entrance of the exhibition. This is set just beside an active Albanian Military base. Entering the bunker itself requires passing through several thick, concrete doors. Then there is the decontamination shower, which fortunately is no longer in use! Once inside, you can explore the furnished rooms, walk through the long, echoing corridors and peruse Albania’s history from 1939 to the fall of Communism in the late 1980s. Air raid sirens sound and original news reels play on the old television sets giving an authentic, and slightly intimidating, experience.

The bunker is set out over several floors. Continuing down the many flights of stairs, we begin to realize the size of the bunker and the scale of the national bunkarization project. When we visited in the spring, we saw very few other tourists. This only adding to the already creepy atmosphere.

The exhibition gives a terrifying insight into the paranoia of Enver Hoxha and the propaganda and violence used during his rule. Visiting Bunk’Art was a chilling, yet fascinating, look into the history of a country that most people in Western Europe, and the wider world, know very little about.

Despite being 20m below ground, Bunk’art reached way above any expectations we had of the museum and we would recommend it to anyone interested in history, politics or urban exploration. At least 1-2 hours is a good amount of time to spend here but there is enough information to occupy the most part of a day.

There is also a Bunk’Art 2 located in the very centre of Tirana, just off Skanderbeg Square. The focus of this exhibition is the history of the Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1912 to 1991 and reveals the secrets of “Sigurimi”, the political police.

Dajti Ekspres cable car

Still trying to work out if Tirana is worth visiting, we visit the cities other extreme. Very close to Bunk’Art is the Dajti Ekspres cable car. This is the longest cable car in the Balkans and in 15 mins you will travel far above Tirana up to the top of Dajti Mountain, standing at 1,613m. The cars are Austrian made and very safe but this is not a trip for the faint hearted.

After travelling from well below ground, we end up high above sea level. The views of the city are incredible and as Tirana fades into the distance you pass over small, rural houses and farms, a little lake and plenty of greenery. Upon reaching the top you can take a break at the Dajti Tower hotel which has a rotating bar and a viewing terrace where you can gaze over Tirana and beyond. Mount Dajti National Park is located near the summit.

It is well worth exploring the trails that wind up and down the mountain but make sure you keep going beyond the fairground style antics located as you get off the car, unless of course that’s your thing!

How to get to the Dajti Ekspres

Bus: To get to the beginning of the Dajti Ekspres cable car you can take the bus to Linzë from the Palace of Culture by Skanderbeg Square. To return, the same bus will depart from the other side of the road.

Walk: You can easily walk from the centre in about an hour. See the route HERE. If you are already at Bunk’Art, it is a 5-10 minute walk uphill check it out on the map HERE.

Taxi: You can also hail a cab from the centre but this could cost 700 – 1000Lek each way (€5.50 – €8).

Entry Fee: A return ticket on the cable car costs 800Lek which is around €6.50. There are also concession options.

It is very easy to do both the cable car and the bunker in one day and still have time to enjoy a leisurely lunch. Whilst in Tirana we did a lot more exploring which you can read about in our post “7 of the Best Things to do in Tirana“.

So, Is Tirana Worth Visiting?

So, is Tirana worth visiting? Having read before our visit that Tirana was “the next Berlin” (as so many places often are) we were sure it would end up falling slightly below par. However, the Albanian capital is full of fascinating history, friendly people and surrounded by spectacular, untouched countryside.

We visited in the spring when the weather was pleasantly warm. In the summer the temperatures can often reach 40°C and in the winter the mountains are covered in snow. Spring and Autumn are probably the best times to visit.

This city of extremes provided far more than we had hoped for and landed well above our high expectations. Tirana is most definitely worth visiting!

For More Information on Tirana

• Bunk’Art Website can be accessed HERE
• Dajti Ekspres Website can be accessed HERE
• Tirana Tourist info can be accessed HERE

Where to go next?

Why not try taking the bus from Tirana to Podgorica, Montenegro. Read our blog HERE to find out why you must take this trip and how to do it.

Final note: Things change in Albania all the time and there is not much information online. We would definitely advise checking with a local where possible. We found people to be really friendly and super helpful.

Have you visited Tirana? Are you planning a trip and need more information? Drop a comment in the box, we’d love to hear from you!

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Is Tirana Worth Visiting? YES!!