Tirana

Introduction

tirana

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Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Mother Albania

Mother Albania watches over Tirana

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Mother Albania is a statue of about 12 metres high and is located at the National Martyrs Cemetery of Albania. The statue, erected in 1971, represents the country as a mother guarding over those who gave their lives for her. There are 28,000 graves of Albanian partisans in the cemetery behind the statue, all of whom died during World War II. The massive statue holds a wreath of laurels and a star. The cemetery initially also was the last resting place of former leader Enver Hoxha, but he was given a more humble grave in another public cemetery afther the fall of the Communism and the end of Albania as a closed country as well. It is a concrete statue is a work of the sculptors Kristaq Rama, Muntaz Dhrami and Shaban Hadëri. It stands on top of a 3-metre-high pedestal, on which are engraved the words "Lavdi e perjetshme deshmoreve te Atdheut" (Glory to the martyrs of the homeland forever).

Events and Festivals

Weather

The average temperature varies between 6.7 °C in January and 31 °C in July. Annual rainfall is 1,200 mm. The driest months are July and August while the wettest months are November and December.

Getting There

By Plane

Tirana International Airport (international code TIA, also known as Rinas airport or Mother Teresa airport) is located 25 kilometres northwest of the city. There are regular connections with Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, England, Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia. Albanian Airlines is the national carrier. Significant upgrades, including a new passenger terminal, were completed in March 2007 and the airport now describes itself as 'meeting international standards'. Taxis can take you to and from the airport for about 2,500 Lek (roughly €20) each way. The journey is 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. Rinas Express operates an hourly bus service between the airport and the national museum in the centre of Tirana. The one-way fare is 200 Lek.^[1]

By Train

There is a service to Shkodrar, which lies on the border with Montenegro. However, as the train is very slow and unreliable (taking about 5 hours compared to 2-2.5 hours by bus), most locals use the buses. Trains also go to Durres on the coastline, a relatively short ride and probably one of the most useful ones as the time is about the same compared to taking the bus.

By Car

By Bus

Tirana lacks a central bus station. Instead, buses arrive and depart at main road junctions around the city depending on where they arrive from and depart to. Frequent minibuses leave for Shkodra as they fill up. During the day, you rarely need to wait longer than half an hour. Buses to Berat and Durres are also frequent, but rarely have a timetable.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Almost every city or town in Albania has public internet access, usually available at an Internet cafe. Some hotels, especially in Tirana, have broadband connections in the guest rooms; a few have Wi-Fi.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Albania is: 355. To make an international call from Albania, the code is: 00.
Coverage of cell phones is good, except in the most remote, mountainous areas.

Post

Post Ashqiptare is the national postal service of Albania and services have been getting more reliable and faster over the past years. Opening times of post offices are mostly between 8:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday mornings, although the bigger ones might keep slightly longer hours, while in small towns there might be shorter hours or a lunch break. For sending other things than postcards and letters or anything of value, you might consider using a private company like UPS, TNT, FedEx or DHL.

External Links