
The underrated artsy capital named Europe's best budget city break
When branding destinations as 'affordable', we obviously need to take things with a pinch of salt, as somewhere can only really be considered cheap if you're travelling from somewhere more expensive, and that isn't the case for all visitors.
But Tirana has made our list thanks to its brilliant value when compared to the rest of Europe generally (a pint costs just €3.45, an Airbnb averages €46 per night), as well as all the top-tier things there are to do in the city.
'Tirana is steeped in Communist era history: Bunk'art 1, a Cold War bunker turned museum, and one of the city's most popular attractions costs just £4 to enter, but lots of traditional buildings have since been given vibrant makeovers in the form of street art,' reads our list, 'Then there's brilliant restaurants (like Mystic 2) and bars (such as Radio Bar), which are rustling up great dishes and cocktails at decent prices.'
If you're after some more culture, both the National History Museum and the National Gallery of Arts are worthwhile pitstops, but make sure you set aside some time to explore Mt Dajti National Park, which is around 25km east of the city, too.
Sold? Check out all of our favourite Airbnbs on offer right here, but Tirana is just one of the excellent (and affordable) cities to visit in Europe. Elsewhere on the list was the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the Croatian hub of Zagreb and the Lithuanian city of Kaunas.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
My Kitchen Rules star Zana Pali hints at new romance as she shares bikini photos on holiday in Greece after her split from husband Gianni Romano
Former reality star Zana Pali has taken to social media with a gallery of racy holiday photos. To add a bit of spice to the post, the 34-year-old My Kitchen Rules 'villain' has hinted that she is keeping male company while enjoying a getaway in the Mediterranean. Looking beach fit, the dark-haired beauty, who made headlines last week after splitting from her husband Gianni Romano, flaunted her trim physique in a gallery she shared on her Instagram on Thursday. Several images feature Zana strutting her stuff while posing against the picturesque Greek coast in a barely-there string bikini. Meanwhile, Zana also shared photos of a delicious-looking meal. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. One photo, taken of the table, shows a sumptuous dish of seafood and also features what appears to be a man's hand wrapped around a mobile device. 'Peace and happiness,' Zana captioned the post in which she identified her location as Athens, Greece. It comes after news of her marriage split with Romano rocked Brighton 's 'Golden Mile'. Gianni and Zana - a pair of lawyers who rose to fame on My Kitchen Rules in 2016 - made headlines earlier this month over their breakup. The former couple are living completely separate lives, with Zana - now a property developer and influencer - chasing the European summer with her children, while her estranged husband gets back to work in wintry Melbourne. Daily Mail Australia caught up with Gianni - a partner at the law firm Best Hooper - during his lunch break last week and noticed the father-of-two wasn't wearing his wedding ring. He did not deny splitting from Zana, and when pressed for further details of what happened, simply said: 'I don't want to talk about it.' Still, the absence of a wedding ring, the fact he no longer follows his wife on social media, and a recent real estate sale all point to the couple calling it quits. One photo, taken of the table, shows a sumptuous dish of seafood and also features what appears to be a man's hand wrapped around a mobile device The pair's family home on Brighton's 'Golden Mile' - complete with a basement nightclub and lift access - sold in the middle of last year for about $10 million. The property sits on a stretch of millionaires' row that is a magnet for Victorian socialites, with famous locals including Bec and Chris Judd. Gianni and Zana made a name for themselves among the neighbourhood's glamorous elites when they moved in with their sons Leo and Romeo, now aged six and five. Now the boys are overseas with their mother, who has been posting regularly from their luxury travels in Montenegro. While attending a wedding at the Hyatt Regency resort in the Bay of Kotor, she posted a gallery of photos with a pointed caption: 'In the end all that really matters is family.' They have also abandoned their annual tradition of jetting off on a family holiday to Europe, with Gianni choosing to stay home in Melbourne while Zana whisked their children away to The Balkans last month. News of the couple's split was all but confirmed last weekend when Zana appeared on a list of 'Melbourne's most eligible bachelorettes', published in the Herald Sun. Zana was clearly thrilled with the feature, reposting the article on her Instagram. The pair wed in November 2014 on Hayman Island and went on to welcome sons Leo and Romeo in 2018 and 2020, respectively.


Evening Standard
11 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Waitrose's summer BBQ range: unbeatable alfresco deals
Love olives? Get ready to choose between buttery Nocellara, garlic and jalapeno-stuffed, or go full Mediterranean and throw in some feta and Greek Kalamata olives too. Or simply get a mix as part of the deal, pop everything artfully into little serving bowls, and make like you've been prepping for your guests all morning.


Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Telegraph
Holiday villas reduced to ashes in Cyprus wildfires
Holiday villas have been reduced to ashes and two people have died in a Cyprus wildfire fanned by strong winds and scorching temperatures. The bodies of two people were found in a burnt car as the flames destroyed several homes and forced the evacuation of a dozen villages near Limassol on the southern side of the Mediterranean holiday island on Wednesday. Temperatures on the island are forecast to reach 44C. By Thursday, the flames had scorched 100 square kilometres (38.6 square miles) of forested hillsides popular with tourists. More than 250 firefighters and 75 vehicles were deployed to battle the blaze. The government has requested that neighbouring countries send aircraft to support the effort. Police initially reported late Wednesday that Civil Defence personnel found the charred body of a single individual inside the vehicle on a main road connecting fire-hit hillside villages. A second body was discovered early Thursday morning. Police said they are still working to identify the victims. Health authorities also said two people were admitted to hospital with severe burns, while another 16 were treated for other injuries. The blaze started in the village of Malia in the hills above the city of Limassol. Andreas Kettis, a spokesman for the fire service, said that there were 'no active fronts' in the fire, but intense 'flare-ups' continued in the area. Late on Wednesday, flames could be seen consuming trees, brush and other vegetation along a huge front burning bright orange against the backdrop of a nighttime sky. Marios Hartsiotis, the justice minister, told public broadcaster CyBC that Jordan had two firefighting aircraft on stand-by while two more were expected to come from Spain. He said 106 people were forced to spend the night in temporary accommodation after several villages were evacuated. Scores of homes have been damaged or destroyed by the fire, with 16 communities left without electricity for air-conditioning or refrigeration in the searing heat. 'When I entered my house, I saw the mountain and the valley full of flames,' said Antonis Christou, a resident of Kandou, one of the villages affected by the fire. 'I cried, really I cried, because people got burnt ... burnt while in the car.' Police on Thursday continued to block road access to the fire-afflicted communities as area residents vented against what they called a disorganised response to the huge fire. Nikos Logginos, chief of the fire service, told CyBC that he had passed on witness testimony to the police, which suggested that the blaze might have been started deliberately. Cyprus is hit by wildfires almost every year during the island's hot, dry summers. A 2021 wildfire in the Larnaca district killed four Egyptian farmworkers.