Travel in city Tirana, Albania

Tour operators have announced that during “Summer 2024” passengers departing from Katowice Airport may travel on holiday via 58 routes to 19 countries. Most destinations will be available to Greece.

I’m a travel and food writer based in London. Long intrigued by all I had heard about up-and-coming Albania, my partner Dan and I booked a four-day weekend in the capital, Tirana.

More than a dozen sweaty people in various states of undress giggled as a capoeira instructor directed us to crawl around on the floor. Make eye contact, he told us as we tried to follow the flow of one another’s bodies. But it was hard not to stare at the sparkling blue Ionian Sea.

Albania’s capital used to regularly top lists for Europe's worst city. Decades of Stalinist rule left Tirana grey and grim, lacking in both infrastructure and services. Today Tirana is – while still often chaotic – a very pleasant little city, and the cultural, entertainment and political centre of Albania. Here's our pick of the best things to do in Tirana, Albania.

Europe presents an irresistible challenge to the budget traveller. A potent mix of culture, landscape and history on the one hand and a cash-gobbling monster on the other, sticking to your daily allowance can prove tricky.