Sheshi Skënderbej

Tirana

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.

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Nearby Tirana attractions

1. Equestrian Statue of Skanderbeg

0.03 MILES

An impressive monument to the Albanian national hero stands in the middle of this eponymous square/traffic roundabout.

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…

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0.11 MILES

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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

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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…

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