Experience the dark past of Albania

A great mix between past and present, you will get to see inside Albania's archives. As we walk the city streets and colorful, graffiti-painted buildings and contrasting neighborhoods we will make stops at different locations, famous for their meaning and part in history. 

The central theme of this tour will be life during the Communist regime in the country

The core of this tour will be:

-the National Historical Museum, showcasing life in these lands from Stone Age to Communist Era to modern Albania. 

-Bunk'Art 2, an underground bunker built to sustain life in case of nuclear attack turned into a museum that showcases life in the country after WWI.

This tour will also provide more information about Tirana and Albania in general, the culture, how things work around here, everyday customs, the lifestyle, nowadays politics, tips directed especially to travelers, how to avoid 'tourist traps' and common scams etc.

1. Skanderbeg Square, At the center of Tirana, Tirana Albania

We will meet at the Skanderbeg Sq. which is the Tirana's city center. Here you will catch a glimpse of the range of influence from different invaders on the city's culture & architecture.

1. National History Museum, Sheshi Skënderbej 7, Tirana 1001, Albania

The National Museum will be our first stop. If you have a soft spot for history, here you will learn about the history of a land that has been inhabited thousands of years ago (even before the Stone Age). Walking through the pavilions we will go from the beginning to today.

1. Fortress of Justinian, Rr. Murat Toptani, next to Parliament, Tirana Albania

COFFEE STOP!

After immersing in the past we will come back to the present and have a coffee - Albanian style. The Fortress of Justinian, or the Castle of Tirana, is a 700 hundred year old castle from Byzantine-era. A site where people would fight with swords and guns turned into a chilling spot for locals and travelers, full of restaurants, cafes, art shops and more. A must-visit in Tirana.

1. BunkArt 2, Rruga Abdi Toptani, Tirana Albania

Submerge in the dark of a communist past!

The former anti-nuclear bunker of the Ministry of the Interior is a relic of a distant and obscure period of years ('44-'91). Built during the 80s, it would serve as a shelter for high-governing officials of the era in case of a nuclear or chemical attack. It was designed to survive nuclear attacks, with walls made of double concrete.

Nowadays? An ongoing-project, a museum, where all of the rooms built for the people who would live there are turned into historical and artistic exhibition rooms, with pieces of information and art installations from the communist history of Albania. 

1. Enver Hoxha Pyramid, Boulevard Deshmoret e Kombit, Tirana Albania

(The Boulevard of Tirana - Part 1/3)

The Pyramid of Tirana, or the Enver Hoxha Pyramid was built as a museum dedicated to Enver Hoxha, the supreme leader of the country and the ruler from '44-'85. His daughter was an architect and a co-designer of it. 

It has had many lives after the fall of communism in '91 - as a cultural center, a NATO base, a National Television headquarters and more. Nowadays it is under construction to turn it into an IT center for youth with a focus on computer programming, robotics, and start ups.

1. Postbllok - Checkpoint Monument, Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit, Tirana Albania

(The Boulevard of Tirana - Part 2/3)

The ‘Post-Block’ is a Memorial to the Communist Isolation. It was built by the artist and former regime dissident Fatos Lubonja and the artist Ardian Isufi. It contains three main elements: 

1. The bunker is in its original position, guarding the main entrance of the segregated residential block where the late dictator Enver Hoxha and the most senior communist officials lived from 1945-1991

2. The concrete supports are from the Spac labor camp, the most notorious labor camp of the regime, where thousands of political prisoners suffered from 1968-90.

3. The brightly painted wall is a piece of the Berlin wall, a symbol of the separatism that regimes bring to people. 

1. Blloku, Tirana Albania

(The Boulevard of Tirana - Part 3/3)

The Block - leafy, colorful, vibrant, trendy, touristy, the heart of Tirana's nightlife, one of the most famous and expensive areas. A bar in every corner, pubs, trendy cafes, fancy restaurants & boutiques, and more...today. 

But before, during our beloved communist era, it was a closed 'block', a protected precinct for the regime's elite. 

Here we will walk around what used to be the highest officials neighborhood and also by the villa of Enver Hoxha, which we will be able to see from outside (getting in is not allowed). 

1. Jenny's Food Court, Rruga Sami Frashëri 6-17, Tirana, Albania

Experience the Albanian traditional cuisine!

As promised, after all that immersion in another world, in another age, in another reality, we will come back once again to today's Tirana and have something to eat. Normally, I would want the travelers of this tour to try some Albanian flavor and cuisine. That's why we will stop at a traditional restaurant in the Block (Blloku) area and enjoy delicious local food :)