Best Neighbourhoods in Tirana (and Where I’d Stay)
Tirana isn’t a city with one obvious “old town” the way a lot of European capitals are, it’s really a patchwork of neighbourhoods, each with a completely different personality.
I’ve lived in Albania since 2017, and over years of staying in Tirana I’ve settled on three neighbourhoods I come back to again and again.
If you’re trying to work out where to base yourself, or just want to know which part of the city to wander through, here’s my honest breakdown of Blloku, Myslym Shyri and Pazari i Ri.
1. Blloku
Blloku is the trendiest, most expensive neighbourhood in Tirana now, and it wasn’t always this way.
Under communism this was where the regime’s leadership lived, sealed off from the rest of the city, and ordinary Albanians weren’t allowed anywhere near it, which makes the neighbourhood’s total reinvention since then genuinely striking, it went from the most restricted part of Tirana to the most sought after in the space of a few decades.
Today it’s got real energy, packed with cafés and restaurants, and it’s one of the best areas in the city for people watching, you could sit outside for an hour and see more going on than in most other parts of Tirana in a full day. If you want specific recommendations, I’ve rounded up my favourite restaurants in Tirana separately.
My favourite café here is Hana Café, the cheesecake is incredible and the coffee is excellent, and my favourite restaurant in the neighbourhood is Era.
Blloku is also where you’ll find the former communist leader Enver Hoxha’s actual house, sitting on a normal street like it’s nothing, which is a strange thing to walk past casually in the middle of what’s now the city’s most fashionable district, one of those Tirana contrasts that never quite stops feeling odd.
If you want to be right in the middle of the action, with restaurants and nightlife on your doorstep, and you don’t mind paying a bit more for it, Blloku is where I’d point you. It’s also a convenient pickup point for most of my day tours from Tirana, since operators tend to default to central hotels here.
2. Myslym Shyri
This is where I normally stay when I’m in Tirana, and it’s a slightly different vibe to Blloku.
The street is named after Myslym Shyri, a 19th century Albanian nationalist figure, though these days the name is far better known for the neighbourhood than the history behind it.
It’s near Taiwan Park, and along Myslym Shyri street itself you’ll find genuinely good shopping, it’s known locally for shoes and bags specifically, the kind of street where you can actually walk into ten shops in a row rather than hunting one out.
What I like about this area is that it still feels local, even though it’s right in the centre of the city and close to everything else on this list, you’ll see as many Albanians going about their day as tourists, which isn’t always the case in Blloku. It’s exactly the kind of local texture that makes me confident answering is Tirana worth visiting.
There are some really good cafés and restaurants here too, my favourite is Tradita e Shtëpisë (which translates to “tradition of the house”), a proper spot for home-style Albanian food. If you’d rather learn to make it yourself, the Tirana cooking class covers a lot of the same dishes.
If Blloku feels a bit too polished for you, Myslym Shyri is the neighbourhood I’d suggest instead, it’s central without losing the local feel, and it tends to be a bit easier on the wallet too.
3. Pazari i Ri (the New Market)
Pazari i Ri translates to “new market”, and the neighbourhood is built around exactly that, an actual working market selling goods and souvenirs.
The market itself was redeveloped a few years back into a proper covered square, with restaurants and food stalls now sitting alongside the traditional produce and souvenir vendors, so it’s as much a place to eat as it is to shop.
I’ll be honest, because I’ve spent so much time in Tirana over the years, I know prices here run a little higher than you’ll find in other parts of the city, so it’s not necessarily where I’d go bargain hunting.
That said, it’s still a genuinely cool area to wander through and pick something up, and there are some solid restaurants and cafés dotted around it too.
It can get busy during peak season, so if you hate crowds, go earlier in the day, mid-morning on a weekday is your best bet for having the place to yourself, which lines up with what I’d generally call the best time to visit Tirana overall too.
Which Neighbourhood Is Right for You
If you want nightlife, people watching and easy access to the best bars in Tirana, pick Blloku.
If you want central but still local, and a bit cheaper, pick Myslym Shyri.
If you want a market to wander and don’t mind a bit of a crowd, pick Pazari i Ri.
I’ve based myself in all three over different trips, and honestly, Tirana is compact enough that wherever you stay, you’re never more than a short walk or a cheap taxi from the other two, so this isn’t a decision you need to overthink, and it’s part of why I’m so relaxed answering is Tirana safe.
A Quick Note on Getting Between Them
None of these three neighbourhoods are more than about a 15 to 20 minute walk from each other, and Tirana’s local buses only cost 40 lek if you’d rather not walk, so don’t let the choice of base stress you out, you’ll end up spending time in all three regardless of where you sleep, especially once you’ve got 3 days in Tirana mapped out between them, with day trips from Tirana easy to slot in from any of the three.
Three very different neighbourhoods, three very different Tiranas, and I’d happily stay in any of them again.
Once you’ve picked a base for where to stay, my full list of things to do in Tirana covers what’s worth reaching for, and if you’re arriving straight off a flight, here’s exactly how I’d get from the airport to the city.
