The best fashion and gift stores Albania

Timetable

Stores, especially in Tirana, often close late at night, around 10pm in season. Elsewhere, they often close on Sundays, except in tourist areas.

Budget & Tips

On the country roadsides, many small farmers sell their produce, mostly organic, without the (expensive) label. Good quality, varied and inexpensive local honeys are still fairly easy to find. Stalls selling honey are indicated by signs bearing the word mjaltë ("honey").

Everywhere, small factories hum to the rhythm of the sewing machines operated by Milanese designers. The most stylish clothes are exported, but it's possible to get a suit tailored here for a bargain price. Elegant, comfortable leather moccasins are also easy to find at city entrances, in unassuming stalls such as those south of Fier.

Incidentally, since your final destination, Albania, is outside the European Union, you can take advantage of duty-free shopping.

Sales

Although Black Friday has also arrived in Albania, the country doesn't have any major sales periods, which are held over short periods all year round. A little tip: here, you don't bargain unless you buy a lot in one place. It's not part of the mentality.

What's very local

We recommend some typically Albanian handicrafts that are easy to carry, inexpensive and practical for everyday use, such as these colorful woollen handbags with a slightly Peruvian look. They can be found in stalls across the country or in the store of the National Historical Museum in Tirana. Our other favorite, almost unknown to the Albanians themselves, are the olive wood kitchen utensils. And yet, Albania has a wealth of expertise in this field.

The Kruja bazaar near Tirana, on the road to the airport, also offers interesting shopping opportunities. Its small wooden stalls, occupied by souvenir sellers and small weavers' workshops, have been restored with care and respect for the site. Shopkeepers here sell all kinds of products of varying degrees of craftsmanship. Among the most interesting are small rugs, kilims, traditional çerape or, more amusingly, a small ashtray in the shape of a marble bunker.

Tourist traps

Take the time to compare stalls when you go shopping, so that you can distinguish local production from made in China. In general, there's no obvious scam, because it's either obvious or written on. Or the seller can tell you..

Don't rush into the European department stores in Tirana either: prices aren't necessarily better than elsewhere.

Another disconcerting quirk that could be construed as a scam without actually being one: many Albanians still speak in old lek, i.e. with an extra zero. If an item you see for 1,500 lek (€10) seems a bit expensive, simply check whether it's 1,500 or 150 lek.