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Hidden away in the once-exclusive Blloku district of Tirana where the political elite once lived is Vila 31, the former home of the dictator Enver Hoxha (1908-1985) sits there looking quite unassuming. Constructed between 1972 and 1973, it was designed to be modern yet suitably imposing, the kind of place where a dictator could pretend to be modest while secretly enjoying the perks of power. There was a private cinema, a basement swimming pool and even a secret tunnel to an underground bunker as nothing screams ‘I trust the people’ quite like a hidden escape route under your own living room. Although a lot of this he blamed on foreigners, whilst Albania suffered financially, Hoxha told his population that the west as so jealous of Albania’s wealth that they might invade at any time to share in the prosperity. This ridiculous lie is perhaps why Hoxha didn’t let any Albanian travel outside of the country, it all has rather North Korea vibes to it.

This entire neighbourhood was once sealed off from ordinary Albanians and only the party elite could live here, and mere mortals weren’t even allowed to walk through it. Hoxha and his family lived surrounded by books, some of them on subjects he happily banned everyone else from reading. He also spent vast sums of the country’s money on importing fashionable European interiors, whilst bankrupting the country and mocking foreign design.

When Hoxha died in 1985 and the regime collapsed a few years later, the villa became a strange sort of relic. It wasn’t demolished, because no one quite knew what to do with it, but it also wasn’t turned into a museum or shrine. For years it sat there behind drawn curtains, an awkward reminder of the past while the rest of the neighbourhood filled with lively cafes and bars. Indeed, opposite the property is a KFC, the first in Albania, which I felt the need to pop into in order to cool down. The photos are evidence of just how bloody hot it was in Tirana when I was there….

And as for now, it’s been reborn as an artist residency. The marble floors and gloomy halls that once hosted political plotting now welcome painters, writers and filmmakers. Instead of propaganda speeches, there are poetry readings and instead of whispered paranoia, there are film screenings. So a house that was once a symbol of control and isolation has become a space for creativity and free expression. A former dictator’s stronghold now full of people doing exactly what he spent decades suppressing, Hoxha would absolutely hate it and we can all drink craft beer to that thought.

This is what the Pyramid of Tirana looked like in 1996 and it had been opened in 1988 as the Enver Hoxha Museum, the inept communist leader of Albania who trashed the country’s economy and banned the entire population from travelling overseas. The now disgraced Hoxha was widely detested and as soon as communism fell the museum closed, despite it being the most expensive building constructed in the country. During the 1999 Kosovo War, it was used as a base by NATO and it was also used as a conference centre.

There was a great deal of confusion about what to do with the structure, with some people wanting it to be demolished, but there were many others who wanted it repurposed. So, in 2023, that’s what they did, they repurposed it and put steps up so that people could walk up it. This was a little bit of a throwback to the past when local kids used to climb up it and then slide down, which wasn’t quite what the authorities wanted.

Here it is today, with the interior being a little under-used, although there are cafes and some charitable institutions use the facilities.

The views from the top.

It was probably a little too hot to be climbing all these steps if I’m being honest. Climbing the steps seems popular with locals and visitors, with Tirana being increasingly visited by tourists. All this freedom would have horrified Enver Hoxha, who was perhaps rather fortunate to have died from natural causes before communism collapsed, as otherwise he would have joined his wife, Nexhmije Hoxha, in prison. The only museum to Hoxha in the city today is that which tells the story of his totalitarian rule where people lived in fear.

The craft beer scene seems to be growing in Tirana and this is one of the best reviewed taprooms in the city. I checked before ordering and was pleased that they accepted cards so that I wouldn’t miss out on any beers.

It’s a quirky and informal environment, with an outside terrace as well but there was smoking going on out there and I’m an indoors kind of person anyway.

It was all clean and comfortable, with table service available although I ordered at the bar so I could see what beers there were.

The beer selection, although a few weren’t available.

I asked if they could do me a flight of beers and I’m pleased to note that they could. He did offer me the choice of what I wanted, but I was in a reckless mood and opted for the cherry porter and let the server pick the other four. That’s about as much adventure as I need for one evening.

All the beers were brewed by the Pan’s Microbrewery and from left to right:

(i) Siringha – as lagers go this was very agreeable, light, floral and fluffy.

(ii) Vagabondi – a light and gentle IPA.

(iii) Midas Kiss – a balanced and gentle wheat beer, with some orange and more floral notes.

(iv) Cherry Porter – there’s cherry flavour in it but this was a little less balanced and was a bit clumpy, although it was still pleasant.

(v) Goat Head – full flavoured and citrusy IPA, rounded and rich.

They had brought some free nuts over to the table, but I thought I’d have the crispy chicken as well to add to the decadence of the whole arrangement. The chicken was tender and those chips were light and fluffy.

This was a really rather lovely venue and I can see why the online reviews are so positive. The service was friendly, the surroundings were comfortable and the food was of a decent quality. They didn’t have their usual full line-up of beers, but there was still plenty of choice and the server was engaging and knowledgeable about the options. The beers were all very drinkable, there was a balance to most of them and the lager and IPA were gentle and quite floral. The meal and five beers came to around £14, which is expensive for the city, but I think decent value for what is effectively an on-trend craft beer operation in the middle of a capital city.

After I declined around fifteen offers of taxis walking through the airport terminal, I found the clearly signed airport buses operated by Luna at the rear of the taxi area and these operate every hour to the city centre. They cost €4 which seems reasonable and they take cards and cash, although more on that in a moment. I realised that my hotel was around an hour walk from the city centre, but by good fortune there was a bus stop on the route which was located very near to my hotel. I asked twice about stopping here and the ticket person confirmed both times that it would stop there, although I think he thought that I was an idiot for double checking this. Fair point though. I then discovered that my PayPal card didn’t work, so I used the remaining coins that I had to pay the €4 fare, which I deliberately had kept just in case of a situation like this. That is now my emergency supply used up, as I spent the rest on an emergency Fanta in the extreme heat of Faro the other day.

Anyway, a driver got on and the bus trundled along and I knew – just knew – that when we got near my stop, it was going to sail straight past. There technically aren’t any stops en route, but they will stop on request but there’s no bell and they’re not stopping unless they need to. As we approached the stop, which is near the city’s coach station, another passenger started to make some noises about stopping but as it was in Albanian I had no idea what was being said. I decided to ask the lady next to me, who I had already established was Albanian and spoke English, if she knew whether the bus was stopping. She didn’t, but she had some conversation with the driver and she said that my stop was further away.

The bus then stopped for the other two passengers who wanted to get out and I was delighted to see the Mercure hotel only a thirty second walk away, but the driver tried to stop me getting off saying that it wasn’t my stop. I confirmed that it was and he said that it wasn’t the city centre. I did think that was fairly obvious, but I decided to force the issue as otherwise I would be walking for an hour to get back to where I was. The driver kept telling me that it wasn’t the city centre, but I got off quickly before I was bundled back in. Fortunately, I was at the hotel within one minute…. I was going to take a photo of the bus for this blog post, but I thought that I’d rush away quickly.

I’ve purchased my return ticket online for tomorrow, so hopefully nothing will go wrong. I will add that the team members were doing their best and I appreciated the driver not wanting me to be stranded near the coach station on the outskirts, even though that’s where I wanted to be stranded. I was fortunate that two other passengers wanted to get out at the stop, otherwise I might have had quite a walk back.