Tirana Short Break

Fly to Albania’s capital and meet your local guide for the transfer to Tirana, following by a panoramic tour. Check in to the Rogner Hotel Tirana (alternative options available) for four nights before enjoying a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. (D)

• Hotel Description

Enjoy a city tour of Tirana including visits to the National museum and Et’hem Beg Mosque. After some free time for lunch, take a short stroll to the Grand Park, located just south of central Tirana. It is a very pleasant place to wander, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Locals come here to relax around Tirana Lake (known locally as the 'artificial lake’) or perhaps take a coffee is one of the nearby cafes. Visit the well-tended cemetery for British soldiers, who died in Albania during WWII. See the National Martyrs Cemetery of Albania with its impressive statue of Mother Albania overlooking Tirana. (B)

• Hotel Description

Continue to explore Tirana with your local guide and visit the National Art Gallery, the city's art museum which has undergone a revival and now hosts a varied collection. Discover works by Albania’s earliest painters from the 1800s, Socialist Realism art depicting heroic partisans and huge statues of Lenin and Stalin, as well as an impressive selection of modern art. Take the Dajti Express cable car up 1230 metres to the top of Dajti Mountain in less than 15 minutes. This 4 km journey offers great views of the city and of Dajti National Park. Enjoy lunch at the restaurant at the top (payable locally) and take a walk in the national park. (B)

• Hotel Description

After breakfast drive to the historical town of Kruja with its panoramic mountainside location. Visit the restored Castle and Citadel, as well as the excellent Skanderbeg Museum located inside the castle and erected in memory of the Albanian national hero. Spend time shopping for souvenirs in the old restored bazaar, a typical Ottoman market. After Kruja, continue towards the coastal city of Durres, the main port and the second biggest city in the country. Here visit the main highlights of this seaside city before returning to Tirana. (B)

• Hotel Description

Morning transfer to the airport with a stop en route at Preza Castle, which is close to the airport and has magnificent views of the plain of Tirana. (B)