I plan most of my trips by reading other blogs but when I was planning our 17 nights in the Balkans I struggled to find many posts talking about the cities we were visiting. I also searched for quirky things to do in Tirana, but the internet didn’t come up with very much, and I love finding unusual or weird things to do on my trips, so I wasn’t best pleased. Now I’ve visited though, I can share two bars you should visit in Tirana, both of which qualify, in my opinion, as quirky things to do in Tirana.
Radio Bar-definitely one of the best quirky things to do in Tirana
Radio Bar was both a personal recommendation and something I’d seen mentioned on someone else’s blog post that had been printed and left in our air b & b, although I don’t think they did it justice when they described it. We had a planned night out, where we did tea and then some drinks, and Radio Bar fit nicely into our route (it’s in the Blloku neighbourhood, so fairly near Piramidia, Enver Hoxha’s house and some other bits, if you want to add some touristy things to your route!) It’s full of colour and personality and though it was a little bit quieter than we’d like as we visited early in the evening, it’s bound to get busier later.
I’m a big fan of places with an interesting vibe, I’d rather go to somewhere unusual than a chain bar, and Radio Bar, with it’s different coloured chairs and music memorabilia everywhere was definitely interesting. I’d highly recommend you visit. We paid 700 lek, around £5.60, for an IPA and a coke, so it won’t break the bank.
Komiteti Bar-another bar you should really visit when you’re in Tirana
Komiteti Bar is a cross between a museum and a bar and it’s full of interesting things to see. I spent ages wandering round taking photos when we got there and honestly if I’d looked at each thing I wanted to in detail I’d still be there now.
Komiteti sells beer and cocktails and, most importantly, 50 varieties of raki (tread very carefully if you’re starting to drink this, we learnt quickly that it’s very very strong!) We ordered a local beer for J and a Disaronno and coke for me, which cost 900 lek, around £7.50. This was a little above average for Albania but very cheap compared to the UK, and very worth it for the visit to Komiteti. We spent a couple of hours here and it was pretty quiet as we arrived just after opening, I expect it’ll get busier later in the evening and I’d recommend going early for a good look around, and staying later for the crowds.
Have you been to Tirana? Would you visit these bars?
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