Tirana rewards more than a stopover. Beyond Skanderbeg Square and the bunker museums, the capital backs onto a mountain, a castle, a cave and a couple of lakes — all within an hour of the centre. Three days to see the city and to escape it.
Skanderbeg Square, the Et'hem Bey Mosque, the Roman floor mosaic and the Blloku cafés, then the Dajti Ekspress cable car up Mount Dajti for the forest, the trails and dinner with the city laid out below.
Bunk'Art 1, the vast communist command bunker turned museum near the cable car, then out to Petrelë castle on its rock southeast of the city for lunch over the valley — with the option to hike on to the ancient site of Persqop.
The Pëllumbas cave above the Erzen gorge and the heart-shaped Cyclops' Eye pool nearby, or an easier day on the walking and cycling trails around Lake Farka on the city's edge.
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