Tirana

Tirana is a city that still surprises visitors who expect a drab post-communist capital. Instead, the center feels almost playfully colorful: former dictator Enver Hoxha's grim apartment blocks were repainted in bright oranges, blues, and yellows during Edi Rama's mayoral tenure, and that impulse toward reinvention has continued as the city has grown rapidly since the 2000s.

Skanderbeg Square anchors the center, ringed by the National History Museum, the Et'hem Bey Mosque, and an Orthodox cathedral, a mix that reflects Albania's religious diversity. The Bunk'Art museums, built into massive Cold War-era bunkers on the city's edge and in the center, are the most vivid way to understand the paranoia and isolation of Hoxha's regime, which cut Albania off from nearly everyone, including its communist allies.

Blloku, once a restricted neighborhood for party elites, is now the trendiest part of town, full of cafes, bars, and boutiques. The pace is relaxed, English is common among younger residents, and prices remain low compared to most European capitals.

Tirana isn't full of conventional sights, and a day or two is usually enough before heading to the coast or mountains, but it's an interesting, unpretentious entry point into a country still redefining itself.