Sheshi Skënderbej

Tirana

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Sheshi Skënderbej is the best place to start witnessing Tirana's daily goings-on. Until it was pulled down by an angry mob in 1991, a 10m-high bronze statue of Enver Hoxha stood here, watching over a mainly car-free square. Now only the equestrian statue of Skanderbeg remains, and the 'square' – once Tirana's most popular meeting point in the decades where 99% of people were forced to get around on foot – is now a huge traffic roundabout.

Early evening is a particularly nice time to come here. Buskers strum a few tunes and vendors sell popcorn and balloons as the locals stroll and chat.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Bunk'Art

    Bunk'Art

    2.72 MILES

    This fantastic conversion – from a massive Cold War bunker on the outskirts of Tirana into a history and contemporary art museum – is Albania's most…

  • Durrës Archaeological Museum

    Durrës Archaeological Museum

    19.71 MILES

    This ultra-modern, well lit and labelled museum just back from the seafront has a breathtaking collection of historical artefacts. Highlights include the…

  • Skanderberg equestrian statue in Skanderberg Square and the National History Museum.

    National History Museum

    0.11 MILES

    The largest museum in Albania holds many of the country's archaeological treasures and a replica of Skanderbeg's massive sword (how he held it, rode his…

  • Albania, Tirane, Tirana. National Art Gallery exterior facade with advertising for photography exhibition.

    National Gallery of Arts

    0.19 MILES

    Tracing the relatively brief history of Albanian painting from the early 19th century to the present day, this beautiful space also holds temporary…

  • Bunk'Art 2

    Bunk'Art 2

    0.1 MILES

    The little cousin to the main Bunk'Art, this museum, which is within a communist-era bunker and underground tunnel system below the Ministry of Internal…

  • House of Leaves

    House of Leaves

    0.15 MILES

    This grand old 1930s building started life as Albania's first maternity hospital, but within a few years the focus turned from creating new life to ending…

  • Amphitheatre of Durrës

    Amphitheatre of Durrës

    19.44 MILES

    The weathered Roman-era Amphitheatre of Durrës was built on the hillside inside the city walls in the early 2nd century AD. In its prime it had the…

  • National Ethnographic Museum

    National Ethnographic Museum

    12.39 MILES

    This traditional home in the castle complex below the Skanderbeg Museum houses one of the best ethnographic museums in the country. Set in an original…

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Nearby Tirana attractions

2. Et'hem Bey Mosque

0.05 MILES

To one side of Sheshi Skënderbej, the 1789–1823 Et'hem Bey Mosque was spared destruction during the atheism campaign of the late 1960s because of its…

3. Palace of Culture

0.06 MILES

To the east of Sheshi Skënderbej is the white stone Palace of Culture, which has a theatre, shops and art galleries. Construction of the palace began as a…

4. Bunk'Art 2

0.1 MILES

The little cousin to the main Bunk'Art, this museum, which is within a communist-era bunker and underground tunnel system below the Ministry of Internal…

5. National History Museum

0.11 MILES

The largest museum in Albania holds many of the country's archaeological treasures and a replica of Skanderbeg's massive sword (how he held it, rode his…

6. Clock Tower

0.12 MILES

Tirana's 35m-tall clock tower was completed by Ottoman architects in 1822, and it was for years the tallest building in the capital, sounding a bell every…

7. House of Leaves

0.15 MILES

This grand old 1930s building started life as Albania's first maternity hospital, but within a few years the focus turned from creating new life to ending…

8. Statue of the Unknown Partisan

0.18 MILES

The socialist realist Statue of the Unknown Partisan, just off Sheshi Skënderbej, seems to be aiming his weapons at the Parliament building (1924) down…