Car Hire Tirana

It’s one of the least known capital cities of Europe having had years of strict communism impose a virtual blockade on visitors with restrictive visa requirements After the death of the communist puppet autocrat Enver Hoxha, the country became independent but unsettled, suffering during the Kosovan War and a series of catastrophic economic collapses, the worst because of an elaborate Ponzi scheme that stripped many of their wealth in the nineties.

Today, with help from the European Bank, the country is recovering and nowhere is this more evident that in the capital Tirana where daily power cuts are now almost a thing of the past and the pollution that dogged the city is finally being dealt with.  Tirana is considered an attractive city, more so because the ravages of capitalism have not yet affected it but also as the place where the cultures of the east meet those of the west.

How do I Get to Tirana?

There is only one international airport in Albania found near the village of Rinas, eleven kilometres outside Tirana. The airport has many flights from around Europe and the Middle East while two daily flights operate from London airports; Belle Air out of Stansted and BA out of Heathrow. From the airport, public transport and taxis are an adventure which often leaves you seriously out of pocket so it’s definitely worth hiring a car and preferably a 4x4 for sturdiness on Albania’s poor roads.

What Should I Make Sure I see When I’m in Tirana?

There are a lot of things to see in Tirana and many of them quite unusual. One of the best is the Clock Tower Collection where some bright spark decided that many of the historic clock towers from around Albania should be brought together in one place. The Et’hem Bey Mosque is also a sight worth seeing and is considered to be the most beautiful of the hundreds that dot the country. Piramida is the other popular sight in the city, formerly a museum to the dictator Enver Hoxha but after the fall of communism it changed to become an international events and exhibition centre.

And After Dark?

The young, and young at heart, head for Blloku, which loosely translates as ‘The Block’. Formerly the government quarter where entry was forbidden to anyone outside the inner circle, it has now become the key entertainment district of Tirana and is the haunt now of Tirana’s beautiful and trendy youth.