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Author name: Elvis Plaku

Elvis Plaku was born and raised in Tirana and has lived in Albania his whole life. He has been blogging about Albanian culture, travel and everyday life since 2004 — one of the country's longest-running English-language blogs. By day he runs the web agency Sfida.PRO; here he writes as a local, sharing the Albania he actually knows.

The ancient Greek theatre at Butrint, Albania first UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by dense forest

Culture & Traditions, History

UNESCO Sites in Albania: A Local’s Complete Guide

Elvis Plaku / 9 September 2026

Every UNESCO site in Albania, explained: Butrint, Berat, Gjirokastër, the Ohrid region, iso-polyphony and the xhubleta — by a lifelong Tirana local.

View across Tirana, Albania, showing the mix of hotels and residential buildings across the city

Albanian Blogger

Tirana Hotels: Where to Stay, by Neighbourhood (A Local’s Guide)

Elvis Plaku / 2 September 2026

Live prices: compare places to stay in Tirana The map below pulls live availability and nightly rates from the major

Two Dajti-Express gondola cabins at the lower station, with an informational sign showing the cable car's stats: opened 28 July 2005, 4,354 meters long, 15-minute ride

History

Dajti Ekspres: Riding the Cable Car Up Tirana’s Mountain Balcony

Elvis Plaku / 26 August 2026

Ride Dajti Ekspres, the cable car up Tirana’s ‘balcony’ mountain. Current prices, hours, what’s at the top, and honest tips from a lifelong Tirana local.

Elevated view of Gjirokastra's densely packed stone-roofed houses climbing the hillside below the fortress

Day Trips, History

Gjirokastër, Albania: Inside the UNESCO City of Stone

Elvis Plaku / 23 August 2026

Explore Gjirokastra, Albania’s UNESCO ‘City of Stone’: the hilltop castle, Cold War spy plane, Ottoman bazaar, tower houses, and Kadare’s birthplace.

The Artificial Lake at the Grand Park of Tirana with the tree-lined promenade along its shore

History

Grand Park of Tirana: How Locals Spend a Day at the Lake

Elvis Plaku / 19 August 2026

Tirana’s Grand Park and Artificial Lake, the green heart south of Blloku, where locals run, picnic, and take the evening xhiro around the water.

The renovated Pyramid of Tirana in October 2023, its stepped exterior and terraced roof rising over the boulevard with the European Trade Center and Downtown One towers behind it

History

The Pyramid of Tirana: From Hoxha’s Museum to Tech Hub

Elvis Plaku / 12 August 2026

Piramida went from a 1988 museum for dictator Enver Hoxha to a graffiti ruin kids slid down, then reopened in 2023 as Tirana’s free-to-climb tech hub.