Tirana Heritage Roots
Heritage is an important part of a city’s identity. It connects the present with the people, places, traditions, stories, and events that shaped it over time. In Tirana, this connection can be found in historic buildings, monuments, archaeological remains, old villas, urban landscapes, and the memories of the people who have lived here.
For a city changing as quickly as Tirana, keeping this connection visible is becoming increasingly important. As new buildings, roads, and neighborhoods develop, some historic places and archaeological traces can become less visible or even disappear. At the same time, many heritage sites are still outside the usual tourism experience. Visitors tend to stay around the city center, while lesser-known places and local stories often remain unexplored.
This is the context behind Tirana Heritage Roots, a one-year initiative launched by DMO Albania and funded by Boost Balkans, running from 15 October 2025 to 15 October 2026.
The project aims to document, preserve, and promote Tirana’s heritage while creating new opportunities for sustainable tourism and local development. A key part of the initiative is the use of digital tools to make the city’s history easier to discover and access.
Research, digital mapping, drone photography and video, Google Maps, visual documentation, and storytelling will be used to document Tirana’s heritage, from antiquity to the present. This work will contribute to the creation of a Digital Heritage Archive, bringing together different types of information and stories about the city.
The archive will be available through the Visit Tirana portal. Residents, visitors, researchers, tour guides, and tourism professionals will be able to explore the city through maps, photographs, videos, 360° experiences, and audio stories. In this way, digital technology can help preserve information about places that are changing, difficult to access, or not yet well known.
But Tirana Heritage Roots is not only about creating a digital record. Heritage becomes meaningful when people can experience it, understand it, and connect it with everyday life. That is why the project also focuses on community participation and sustainable tourism.
Five thematic heritage itineraries are developed, connecting heritage sites with neighborhoods, local stories, experiences, and services. The aim is to encourage visitors to look beyond the traditional city center and discover other parts of Tirana.
Local businesses will also have a role in this process. At least 10 businesses are involved in developing new tourism products and experiences, helping connect cultural heritage with local entrepreneurship. This can create opportunities for communities while encouraging tourism that values and respects the places and people behind the stories.
The project also brings together tourism operators, guides, public institutions, local stakeholders, and heritage professionals to discuss how Tirana’s heritage can become a stronger part of the city’s tourism offer and preservation efforts.
Research and experience from the initiative will feed into a policy brief with recommendations for heritage preservation and sustainable tourism, helping support future cooperation and action.
Storytelling will remain at the center of the project. Through Visit Tirana and DMO Albania’s digital channels, lesser-known places and stories can reach wider audiences and encourage both visitors and residents to see the city from a different perspective.
Ultimately, Tirana Heritage Roots is about reconnecting the city with its past while thinking about its future. By bringing together heritage, digital innovation, communities, and sustainable tourism, the project aims to keep Tirana’s history visible, accessible, and meaningful for the generations to come.
Tirana’s heritage is not simply what has survived from the past. It is part of what makes the city what it is today — and a foundation for shaping what it can become tomorrow.
More about tours and new itineraries see here
