Parks and the outdoors in Tirana

Parks and the outdoors in Tirana

1. Do

   Ali Demi Skate Park

   The Ali-Demi skate park is a great place to go with your family because there is a nice park on one of the sides next to the skate park, there are markets, and a beautiful café shop with a playground for small children with typical swings and benches and soccer fields in the back. The skate park is full of people on bikes, roller skates, and skate boarders. The Skate Park is very good for beginners, the ramps are all cement (there is coping on the ramps). The ramps have a good variety—there are small ramps along with big ones. Almost all the ramps are shaped like a plateau they are good for caching air. There are many places to do ollies and 180s off of and other places to grind if you are an experienced skate boarder. The skate park is slightly below the rest of the park so you shouldn’t go when it’s raining because it fills up with water. There are quarter pipes along the sides of the skate park. This skate park is very fun for skaters, bikers, and rollerskaters.

2. Do

   Brar Canyon and Bridge

   Albanian: Ura e Brarit

   A panoramic canyon and Ottoman bridge just steps from the capital. Spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and Tirana. A cave and a beautiful waterfall is found near Shengjergj village.

3. Eat

   Chinese Garden

   Sit-down, table-service Chinese restaurant, serving the western-versions of Chinese food, though one will occasionally see Chinese diplomats, businesspeople and tourists eating. Good food, large portions for the main dishes, noodles and rice. On the upper level of the building. Outdoor dining available during warm months.

   Open now · closes 11 pm·around 1,000 lek

4. Do

   General's Beach

   Plazhi i Gjeneralit

   A popular seaside weekend retreat. The name stems from an Italian general who used to rest at this beach during World War II. Accommodation is available in form of wooden villas. An international resort is also being build nearby at Kalaja e Turres. Visit nearby Bashtova Castle and Shenepremte Church.

5. Do

   Grand Park along the Artificial Lake

   Parku i Madh

   People have picnics and have fun, and the natural beauty allows it because of the huge trees, open spaces, and mountains surrounding them. An artificial lake lies in the middle of the Park. It is popular with locals and tourists as a place to walk around and enjoy a lunch or coffee at one of the restaurants or cafés. Over 120 types of plants. A popular swimming pool complex is nearby.

6. Do

   Lalzi Bay Beach

   Gjiri i Lalzit

   Popular weekend beach retreat where small seaside resorts can be found. This is also where Albania's wealthy rest. Visit Skanderbeg Castle along the cost, and a small church at Rodon Cape nearby.

7. Do

   Mount Dajti National Park & Cable Car

   The most accessible mountain in the country, and many locals go there to escape the city rush and have a spit-roast lamb lunch. A sky-high, Austrian-made cable car, Dajti Express, takes 15 minutes to make the scenic trip (almost) to the top (1,611 m). Visit the new Visitor's Centre near the radio&TV towers in Fushe Dajt, opened in 2019. From the center (across the street from Luna airport bus) you can go to the Dajti Express by the blue bus line (11, direction Porcelani). From the stop Bunk'Art 1 it's 5-10 minutes walk. Alternatively you can take the bus (lines Porcelani or Kinostudio) to bus stop IKV and use a minibus shuttle to the Dajti Ekspres. (This is also explained in detail on dajtiekspres.com.). You can also hike (up) and enjoy the scenery, one way about 2–3 hr. Get off the Porcelani bus (11) one stop before Porcelani at Thesari (about 2-3 stops before Bunk'Art). There you will find the start of the hiking trail up to the upper cable car station and even further to Dajti.

   Wed–Mon 09:00-18/19:00·700/1400 lek (cable car one-way/return)

8. Do

   Murat Toptani Street

   Murat Toptani Street is a pedestrian-only street east of Rinia Park constructed with stone near the Tirana Castle walls. Traditional houses, cafes, and a local park are found here.

9. Eat

   Oda

   This restaurant inside a Tirana traditional house serves delicious traditional cuisine. Note that this is the original one — Oda Garden (aka ODS) south of Pazari is the hostile take-over one.

   noon-late·500–1,000 lek

10. See

    Piramid

    International Centre of Culture

    Completely renovated and reopened in May 2023, the pyramid was built in 1987 according to the design of Enver Hoxha's daughter and was opened as a museum dedicated to her father. In 2007 US President George W. Bush gave a speech in front of this building. The building was the most expensive erected under communism, but by 2017 it had been empty and derelict for some time and threatened with demolition, instead it was saved and rebuilt. It is possible to walk up the stairs to its peak and get a nice view of the city.

    During daylight

11. Do

    Southeast of Tirana

    Tirana's Garden (Bahcja e Tiranes)

    There are many small resorts and restaurants in Tirana's greenbelt areas of Berzhite, Petrela, and Farke along Rruga e Elbasanit and SH3. One locality features shooting range facilities, a modest golf club and horse riding, while others traditional food, wooden villa accommodations, and swimming pools. The area includes some gated communities with luxury villas and amenities. Additionally, you can visit Farka Artificial Lake Park in Farka where you can enjoy a splendid view of the Tirana Mountain Range.

12. Do

    Stroll along Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit

    Nation's Martyrs Boulevard

    A panoramic boulevard built by the Italians in the 1930s similar to the Champs de Elysee extending south from Skanderberg Square. The boulevard features Fascist, Communist, and modern architecture of government buildings, business centres and hotels. Many local parks are found here. This street runs from the south end of Skenderbeg Square, across the Lana River, to Mother Teresa Square. The sidewalks and crosswalks on this street are wider and more walkable than most in the city. If you walk southbound, the Polytechnic University of Tirana building is beautifully framed in the centre of the street. It's nice at night when all of the buildings, including the Polytechnic building, are lit up (and especially nice in December and early January when the trees and the buildings along the street are decorated with lights for the Holidays). The street passes by several Tirana landmarks, including the Park Rinia, the Pyramid, the Rogner Hotel, the President's Office, and the Palace of Congresses (event centre).

13. See

    Tanners' Bridge

    Tabak Bridge, Albanian: Ura e Tabakëve

    This is an 18th-century Ottoman period stone footbridge. The bridge was once part of the Shëngjergj Road that linked Tirana with the eastern highlands. The Shëngjergj Road furnished the city with agricultural produce and livestock. The bridge went across the Lanë stream and was adjacent to the area of butchers and leather workers. The Lanë was rerouted in the 1930s and the bridge was neglected. In the 1990s the bridge was restored to its former glory and is now used by pedestrians only. The Tanners' Bridge is composed by a main arch, on which the bridge raises in a back shape. This arch has the light span of 8 m and is built with two ranks of sideway arches which are 1 meter thick. The height from the water was 3.5 m. The pavement of the bridge with 2.5 m in width, constructed with river stones and placed without any apparent order. In the two sides of the main arch, there are two arches in the shape of circular segments with a small space

14. See

    Tirana Zoo

    Kopshti Zoologjik Tiranë

    Visiting this zoo is an odd experience; there are few animals but you will see them at remarkably close range. Nearby is the Botanical Garden featuring the best of Albania's fauna.

    Closed · opens 9 am tomorrow·Adults €10, Children under 12 €5

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Tirana (CC BY-SA 4.0).