21. February 2025
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Places & Sights

Advent Time at Skanderbeg Square Tirana (Pictured Story)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Just two weekends before Christmas 2022, I have been to Tirana for the very first time. I was aiming to have a first overview of the Albanian capital. The country is booming, economically and as a tourist destination, so I was really curious about it. One of the key places in Tirana, without a doubt, is Skanderbeg Square – or Sheshi Skënderbej, how it is named in local language. The roughly 40,000 square meter Square in the heart of Tirana is also adjacent and close to some key attractions like National History Museum. Due to the time of year, there was some Christmas market – alike set up. As there was also a small fun fair-style Ferris Wheel, I felt that this is a nice first posting introducing you to the city. Hope you enjoy my Pictured Story.

 

Skanderbeg Square – Location & Transport

Skanderbeg Square is somehow the central place in Tirana. Apart from the sights, there are also a couple of public transport options around. This also includes the airport express bus. I took taxis to travel within the city, also as my hotel was a bit of remote. I read that during nighttime, Skanderbeg Square may be a bit of spooky – which may already be due to the sheer size.

 

 

Views from Skanderbeg Square

Here are some views of the scenery from “ground level”. I loved all the cafe and restuarant places they set up – as well as a huge area to watch the matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Christmas decoration was really nice as well. As said above, I did not go that much into photographic detail about all the vendors and booths. However, they sold food, but also a lot of local craft and other items, which was really enjoyable. In contrast to rather Central European markets, there were also quite a lot of rides and even arcade attractions like air hockey tables.

Watching Skanderbeg Square from above was of course a real treat. The admission felt to be a bit higher than I expected (500 Leke, roughly 4 EUR), but the view is cool, ain’t it? Also interesting to see the contrast between the rather traditional buildings and modern architecture. The city is full of construction work. I was really tempted to have another go during the dark, but finally opted against it.

 

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