When I knew my internship would have been in Tirana, I want to be completely honest, I wasn’t so excited. Indeed, in Italy we have a wrong idea about Albania, but I will come back on it later on this article.

First of all, you should know I’m Chiara Anzuino, an Italian student who had the opportunity to spend a whole month working in Tirana, thanks to the European Union Erasmus Plus program, in the first month of my fourth year of high school.

Even if I’ve been here for just 1 week I want you to feel how is this city from a young student’s eyes, who has always lived with the idea of Albania as a dangerous and underdeveloped country, though, now, is luckily changing her mind.

In this article, I will present all the arguments for which you should consider Tirana as a future destination for your next travels, together with the several cons that this city actually has.

Because we want to start with the right foot, let’s talking about what I’m really loving about Albania’s capital.

The first thing I couldn’t ignore is the lifestyle timing here. Thus, I find the fact that I can eat at any restaurant at the time I prefer amazing, for example, in Tirana, you can easily walk through the center of the city at 23 pm and find so many restaurants open where having dinner. I can assure you that this pro is not so obvious, as in so many big cities it’s quite difficult to eat at the time you are used to do it as an Italian tourist.

Continuing talking about the best things about Tirana, the other argument for which you should take a visit here, is the massive choice of restaurants, clubs and funny activities to do.

Just think about the fact that in only 7 days I’ve already been to a wonderful karaoke night in a really authentic irish pub, to an amazing typical restaurants where there was an albanian band dancing and singing for all the people having dinner there, to an escape room, to a romantic open air cinema and so many other super funny and gorgeous places, included the pretty center of the city.

How can I forget one of the biggest pros of Tirana? Obviously, I’m talking about her cheap prices. Here you can easily have dinner sitting in a restaurant for 6/7€, eating ice cream for 1€ and even doing the best experiences for 10€! Isn’t it great?

To finish with best things about this city I would like to highlight the kindness and hospitality of albanians people, as they often do whatever it takes to make you feel welcomed in their country.

Anyway, because I want to give you a complete view of TIrana, let’s discuss about what I don’t really enjoy about it, as like all the other cities, there are some cons that I wouldn’t ignore.

The first disadvantage I noticed here in Tirana is the lack of an efficient transport net.

Indeed, here, it’s not possible to use Uber, e-bikes or the underground; the only way to move through the city are the buses, that at some specific times are way too full, or your feet, including some e-scooters you can rent around the center, but I wouldn’t recommend these because people don’t drive in a so safe way…Just be careful when you cross the road, even if the traffic light is green for you.

Though, one of the worst aspects of Tirana is the fact that loads of commercials here don’t accept your credit card, but want you to pay with cash, and this it’s not so comfortable for a tourist.

Then, as I am a shopping lover, I’ve to say here the shopping it’s quite mediocre, indeed, it’s difficult to find all the shops we visit in western countries, and even if you can find a known brand, it’s probable that its prices would be higher, as Albania is not a member of European Union.

In conclusion, I would still recommend Tirana to all those people who love eating well, having fun, spending less, and enjoying a new culture.

Now I’m just looking forward to discover more about this beautiful and surprising city!