The back story
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The back story
Old Tirana: the square, the castle and the bazaar, the back story
From an Ottoman market town to a planned capital: the story of the streets around Skanderbeg Square, the castle and the New Bazaar.
Neighbourhood guide · the historic centre
Old Town & the New Bazaar: Our Favourites
Skanderbeg Square, the Et’hem Bey Mosque, the castle walls, Bunk’Art 2 and the New Bazaar, with where to eat, drink, shop and stay in the historic centre.
What's onThis week in Tirana
What to see
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The heart of Tirana
Skanderbeg Square
Tirana’s vast pedestrian main square, paved with stone from across Albania, ringed by the mosque, the museum, the opera and the ministries.
Sheshi SkënderbejExplore View on map
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Frescoes of trees and waterfalls
Et’hem Bey Mosque
A small, exquisite mosque from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, painted with frescoes of trees, waterfalls and bridges.
Sheshi SkënderbejExplore View on map
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Climb for the view
Clock Tower of Tirana
The 19th-century clock tower beside the Et’hem Bey Mosque, which you can climb.
Sheshi SkënderbejExplore View on map
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Khrushchev laid the first stone
Palace of Culture
The long colonnaded building on the east side of Skanderbeg Square, home to the Opera and the National Library.
Sheshi SkënderbejExplore View on map
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Under the city centre
Bunk’Art 2
A bunker near Skanderbeg Square, built for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, now a museum of the police and the secret police.
Rruga Abdi ToptaniExplore View on map
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Old walls, new cafés
Tirana Castle & Murat Toptani street
Fragments of the old castle walls along a pedestrian street of restaurants and shops.
Shëtitorja Murat ToptaniExplore View on map
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Eight columns from 1817
Kapllan Pasha Tomb
An eight-columned Ottoman tomb of 1817, the last survivor of the cemetery of a mosque destroyed in the Second World War.
Rruga 28 NëntoriExplore View on map
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An 18th-century footbridge
Tanners’ Bridge
A small Ottoman stone bridge, once on the road to the leather-workers’ quarter.
Rruga ElbasanitExplore View on map
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Fruit, cheese, raki and terraces
New Bazaar (Pazari i Ri)
Tirana’s renovated central market: fruit and vegetable stalls, cheese, honey and raki, surrounded by restaurants and cafés.
Sheshi Avni RustemiExplore View on map
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The new great mosque
Great Mosque of Tirana (Namazgah)
The large new mosque near the Parliament, one of the biggest in the Balkans.
Rruga KavajësExplore View on map
Where to eat
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Old-house Albanian cooking
Oda
A traditional Albanian restaurant in an old house near the New Bazaar, with rugs, wooden ceilings and dishes from across the country.
Rruga Riza JasaExplore View on map
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Katunar and proud
Ceren Ismet Shehu
A long-standing Tirana grill near the castle known for farm-raised meat and plates of local appetisers.
Rruga Ismail Qemali, near Tirana CastleExplore View on map
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Burgers by the bazaar
Stephen Center
A café-restaurant and guesthouse by the New Bazaar, known for American-style burgers and breakfasts.
Coffee and drinks
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A café full of memories
Komiteti – Kafe Muzeum
A café-bar filled with furniture and everyday objects from 20th-century Albanian homes, with a long list of raki.
Rruga Fatmir Haxhiu 2Explore View on map
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Under the Palace arches
Café Botanica
A green bistro café under the arches of the Palace of Culture, looking onto Skanderbeg Square.
Palace of Culture, Sheshi SkënderbejExplore View on map
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A family name from 1924
Reka Pastry
A family pastry shop whose story goes back to 1924, with shops at the New Bazaar and in Komuna e Parisit.
Pazari i RiExplore View on map
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Beside the Toptani Seraj
Noor
A cosy bar with a small terrace next to the historic Toptani Seraj, serving Spritz cocktails and Italian food.
Rruga Abdi ToptaniExplore View on map
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A sommelier on hand
Filari Wine Bar
A wine bar inside the Tirana Castle complex pairing Albanian and Italian wines with Italian and Mediterranean dishes.
Tirana Castle, Shëtitorja Murat ToptaniExplore View on map
Where to shop
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Raki, honey and mountain tea
New Bazaar market halls
The covered halls of the New Bazaar, for local produce, raki, honey, cheese and mountain tea.
Sheshi Avni RustemiExplore View on map
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By the castle walls
Murat Toptani street crafts
Small shops and stalls by the old castle walls, with crafts and souvenirs.
Shëtitorja Murat ToptaniExplore View on map
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Central mall
Toptani Shopping Center
A central shopping centre on the pedestrian Murat Toptani street, near Skanderbeg Square.
Rruga Abdi ToptaniExplore View on map
Where to stay
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350 m from the square
Areela Boutique Hotel
A recently renovated design hotel in one of Tirana’s oldest neighbourhoods, 350 m from Skanderbeg Square.
Rruga Mahmut Fortuzi 5Explore View on map
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Old Town location
Capital Tirana Hotel
A central hotel on Rruga Qemal Stafa in the Old Town, very close to Skanderbeg Square.
Rruga Qemal StafaExplore View on map
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Behind the Opera
Hotel Opera
A central hotel just behind the Palace of Culture and Skanderbeg Square.
Rruga Urani PanoExplore View on map
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On Skanderbeg Square
Tirana International Hotel
The hotel on Skanderbeg Square itself, with rooms looking over the city’s heart.
Sheshi Skënderbej 8Explore View on map
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A tower by the square
Maritim Hotel Plaza Tirana
A five-star tower hotel a short walk from Skanderbeg Square, with rooftop views.
Rruga Abdi Toptani 18Explore View on map
Share your Old Town & New Bazaar tips
Been there? Share your experience and tips with other visitors.
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