Blloku

Blloku is a grid of low-rise streets south of the Lana river, bounded roughly by the main boulevard to the east and Rruga e Kavajes to the north. It takes about…Blloku is a grid of low-rise streets south of the Lana river, bounded roughly by the main boulevard to the east and Rruga e Kavajes to the north. It takes about ten minutes to walk across and holds more restaurants, bars and cafes than any comparable area in the country.

What makes it worth understanding rather than just visiting is what it used to be. Until 1991 the quarter was closed: guarded checkpoints controlled the entrances, the political leadership lived inside, and ordinary Albanians could not walk through it. Enver Hoxha's villa still stands on Rruga Ismail Qemali. When the barriers came down the quarter filled with private business faster than anywhere else in Tirana, which is precisely why the density is what it is. The Postbllok memorial at the northern entrance marks the old checkpoint with a genuine concrete bunker, a section of the Berlin Wall and a pillar from the Spac labour camp.

For a visitor Blloku is the default place to eat and drink, and a common place to stay. Coffee runs all day, restaurants fill from eight, bars from ten and the clubs long after midnight. It is also the noisiest part of the city at weekends, which is the one thing to weigh before booking a room directly above a terrace.