The city centre is the starting point: Skanderbeg Square, with its equestrian statue and the National History Museum on one side, and the Et'hem Bey Mosque in the corner — one of the few religious buildings to survive communist-era demolitions. Climb the Clock Tower beside the mosque for the best low-angle view of the square.
The Pyramid (Piramida), originally built as a museum dedicated to Enver Hoxha and now repurposed as a tech education space, is a short walk from the square. Its brutalist form is unmistakable. Bunk'Art 1 and Bunk'Art 2, both in former nuclear bunkers, are the most original museums in the city — together with the small but powerful House of Leaves, they cover the communist secret police (Sigurimi) and the long dictatorship in detail. The Martyrs' Cemetery on the city's eastern edge has good views and holds the graves of those who died in World War II resistance, and the small Postbllok Memorial at the edge of Blloku is a useful pause on any communist-era tour.
For something less heavy: the National Museum of Fine Arts, the new Resurrection Cathedral, the Tanners' Bridge, and a wander through Blloku and the Pazari i Ri district.
Mount Dajti is reached by the Dajti Express cable car from the city outskirts — a 15-minute ride to 1,600 metres with views over the city and surrounding hills. The park at the top has restaurants and hiking trails.