If the flight the night before has taken away your desire to move, then there are several coffee bars where you can enjoy waking up with the typical Balkan rhythm. It doesn't matter if we know your location. In every corner of Tirana, you will find a typical coffee bar where breakfast coffee is served, at a low cost and at a pace that is the complete opposite of Starbucks. Cafe - Museum Committee Mark this bar, not only for the morning coffee, but also for the environment that resembles a museum since the furnishings are all from the communist period. (For the map click here) Espresso? If you can't part with an Italian espresso, in the heart of the former Block, Cioccolati Italiani is one of the most popular in this area, where you can also enjoy the best ice cream in town. Would you rather have a French croissant? On the same street, look for the French Patisserie, and you'll find yourself instantly catapulted to France. Also keep in mind the rule that wherever there are tall towers, there are also elegant, modern and slightly more expensive neighborhood coffee bars.

Brunch
This is the moment when perhaps a little history - culture - art could be happily discovered. We would like to suggest something not very demanding, but at the same time interesting.

National Gallery of Art
A walk on the main Boulevard of the city will take you to the National Gallery, where some of the masterpieces of Albanian visual art are displayed. Of interest are the paintings of the period of social realism, where for half a century the prevailing theme was that of the young socialist man, who had to be exalted in every form. While you're there, stop by Edison Gjergo's The Epic of the Morning Stars. What makes this masterpiece unique is the courage of the painter to break the schemes and to foresee a new day for Albania, which at the time when he painted it still seemed distant. The colors, style, and subject matter where nostalgia for a day yet to come prevails will make you understand why this painting was never allowed to be shown to the public during communism!

Lunch time
If our extended article on restaurants doesn't help you decide where to eat lunch, then we're trying to make your choice easier by assuming you've followed the route above.

10 minutes away by foot from Pedonalja, there is Oda restaurant, where typical Albanian food comes with a very high standard and very good prices. If you are looking for something refined, without leaving Pedonalja you will find Millennium, one of the most delicious and quality restaurants in Tirana, where the dishes totally justify the price.

Afternoon
Before returning to the hotel, take a stroll through the New Market, the area that has undergone the biggest transformation of the city in recent years. A noisy and colorful square, where you will find a small city within the city. Bars, cafes, restaurants and lots of interesting spaces that are worth seeing.

Evening
Tirana is considered the capital with more bars and restaurants per capita in Europe, so even in the evening you will have the luxury of choice. On the first day we would suggest to focus around the former Block area, as the most famous part of the city for nightlife.

If you are looking for a restaurant with good traditional food and good prices, Restaurant Era is a well-known name in the former Block. For those who want something more refined and comfortable, Il Gusto comes, near the Twin Towers.

Thanks to some very modern bars, you can combine food and drink in the best possible way.

Names to consider: Salt and +39.

Meanwhile, if you want to take a tour of the trendiest bars, stop at Radio – Bar, Tribecca, Nouvelle Vague, Pepper, as well as Dada (from May to September it has the nicest veranda).

If after such a long day you want to walk around the city again, buy some drinks in the neighborhood shops that are open 24 hours, and go to Mother Teresa Square, where you will find that it is the right place to end the evening in peace.