+355 4 2235 688

0

My Bookings

Home » Tirana News

Tirana News

Tirana loves you! Tips to spend St Valentine day

Albanians discover this festive day only in two last decades, after communism fall. Love and family are highly appreciated among Albanians. That’s why nowadays Valentine’s Day has become very important date. People plan at least a month before where to go, what to buy and what to do with their beloved partner. Many people choose this day to propose their partner for a marriage. This trend is growing among young Albanians Here are some tips to inspire you for a memorable Valentine’s day in Tirana and surroundings:

During the day

    A romantic dinner with your partner: Restaurants are offering good prices, delicious menus, and are well prepared for this day, offering live music, incentive games for couples etc . People prefer restaurants outside Tirana for dining as: Iluminatum, Dreri, Paradise, Prince park, Xibraku, etc, while some classic restaurants with fine italian cuisine are in walking distance from center of Tirana like: Delicatezze Di Mare, Melograno, Ottium, L’Amor, and traditional one like Era, Oda, etc.
  1. Dajti Mountain: Good escape in the fresh air, hopefully there is still some snow
  2. Durres beach: is always a good idea, a tasty meal with fresh seafood and romantic walk by the beach makes a bond
  3. Tirana big park: It the favorite place for those who want to show their love. Just a simple walk around the lake, buy a bouquet of mimosa flowers, or grabbing some from the trees, and having a good coffee or drink near the lake as the sun sets down

In the evening

  1. Concerts/ theaters: Some people prefer to spend their Valentine, watching a movie, or a theater or a concert. There are some concerts and art event in planed on the day, and the event announced by the municipality “Tirana gives love”
  2. Discos/ Night life- Especially young couple prefer to go in a disco or in a pub, or karaoke, having drinks and dancing all the night
  3. Hotels themselves offer very competitive packages with discount prices for stays on that date, combined with dinner and relaxing packages (sauna, massage et). Hotels with good offer are : Sheraton, Rogner, Theranda hotel, Xheko Imperial etc.
  4. Traveling, if you want to spend an weekend, there are packages from travel agencies with very good prices for a St Valentine day.

Gifts ideas:

Flowers are the most important and popular gifts, and Albanian women loves them, parfumes, rings and other jewelries, watches, but even dresses or shirts for men or tailored hand made gifts.

   

Top 5 things to do in Tirana for Christmas:

Museum /Galleries. You can visit National Museum and Art Gallery. In a half day walk you can see the Clock Tower, Skanderbeg Square, Ethem Bay Mosque and Pyramid. During these days there are open many exhibitions and art galleries in Tirana. There are some festive concerts organized from Tirana Municipality.

Nightlife

We suggest you to see the Christmas lights and décor from Skanderbeg square to Mother Teresa Square including the Christmas market there. You can enjoy the lively night life, a hot coffee or Albanian wine and why not an ice skating in the open area. From there you can walk to Bllok area to enjoy life music, lively bars and restaurants.

Where to eat

Tirana is a great place for food. Very good restaurants of Italian and Albanian cuisine for reasonable prices. We suggest Pizzeria Era, Juvenilja, Oda restaurant, Tajvani restaurant etc. For drink you can choose Sky tower a rotating bar, but also many bars in Block area. The street food also tastes great, especially byrek.

A view from above

You can take the cable car and climb to Mountain Dajti, wonderful experience. Enjoy the view of Tirana from Dajti Mountain and also eat traditional lunch at the restaurant on the top; play with snowballs and ride a horse. You can go to Petrela Castle, have a good lunch and enjoy the view of Tirana.

Day Tours

You know Tirana is just 30 minutes from Durres, and the same distance from Kruja. In Durres you can walk on the beach, visit Durres Roman amphitheater, second biggest in Balkans, have a tasty seafood lunch. In Kruja you can visit Skanderbeg Castle. You can also do daily trips to Shkodra, or Berat. Check for other itineraries here https://www.tirana-hotel.com/tours-to-tirana

   

Top ten things to do in Tirana:

Tirana is very beautiful and attractive even during the winter time. A Dutch tourist who visited Tirana few days ago, interviewed by Manderina Promotions team recommends these 10 things to do in Tirana in winter time. Top 10 things to do in Tirana, from a tourist point of view:

What to see:

  1. Stroll through the streets of Blloku. It is full of bars, night clubs and shops. It's the favorite place of youth. Blloku is the former exclusive neighborhood of the Communist regime and is currently the hub of cafe culture in Tirana. Having a coffee in that area is like in any other European modern city.
  2. Take a hike in the park. Tirana big park in the artificial lake is one of the main attractions of Tirana, the capital of Albania. Despite many buildings around, it remains one of the most relaxing places of the capital. There are other points of interest in the park, including the Saint Procopius Church, memorials, statues.
  3. Read or work at the Friends Book Store. There are few book stores, where you can read, work on your project and drink a warm coffee in Tirana. For me Friends book Store is like a warm house.
  4. Visit a live music bar. The bars and restaurants in Tirana are very modern, colorful, well designed and always full of young people. The music played is Albanian, Greek, and international. You can drink a cocktail and dance until morning.
  5. Visit the opera house. Opera is a trendy way of entertainment. Albanians are excellent singers
  6. Have a coffee on the terrace of Tajvani complex or any of the other terraces. Even in the winter, in Tirana most of the days are shining. You can stay outside to have a coffee, taking the sunlight.
  7. Drink a cocktail at Sky Tower. It’s a big building in the entrance of Blloku area. From there you can have the best views of Tirana by day and night, 360 degrees of your sight.
  8. Eat an Albanian dinner at Pizzeria Era. The best Albanian food you can find and taste. All the time I visit Tirana, I go there, and never been deluded.
  9. Go up to the top of Dajti mountain. A visit to the Dajti National Park is a great way to spend a day in an attractive mountainous landscape outside and literally ‘above' the city. During the winter, the mountain Dajti is a popular retreat for locals, who seldom get a chance to see snow.
  10. Visit Bunkart, the latest addition to Tirana’ s attraction. For the first time, almost 25 years after the fall of communism, the government opened the nuclear bunker built by the communist government for sheltering the leaders. Bunkart museum can be combined with other points of interest of socialist time, and can really make be a wonderful tour.

Whhere to stay

I highly recommend staying at Theranda hotel, a little gem in the heart of Tirana. Located in Blloku area it is perfect for business or leisure travelers. In five minutes’ walk you reach all main institutional and government offices for your business meetings, while in the afternoon you can relax in one of the many trendy bars and restaurants very close to Hotel. Theranda has a genuinely welcoming and hospitable staff that makes me feel home. Having the breakfast or morning coffee at its beautiful and quiet garden even in winter time, is a royal treat for everyone. You can book your stay at Theranda directly at their website www.therandahotel.com