

Photos: Tirana by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Wellington by lumoplank, CC0.
Tirana or Wellington?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Tirana for
- prices
- day trips
- beaches
What lies behind each score is written up on Tirana’s own page.
Choose Wellington for
- live music and the arts
- families
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Wellington’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Tirana and Wellington.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Too close to call, level with your weighting
Wins on prices and day trips with your weighting.
Wins on live music and the arts and families with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Tirana in July
Wellington in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Wellington's sunshine is measured 47 km from the centre, at Paraparaumu Aerodrome.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Tirana: 1961-1990 normals, Tirana (3 km from centre). Wellington: 1961-1990 (sunshine 1991-2020) normals, Wellington Aerodrome Aws (5.3 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Tirana | Wellington |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Albanian | English, New Zealand Sign Language, Māori |
| Currency | Lek (ALL) | New Zealand Dollar (NZD) |
| Sockets | CF220 V, 50 Hz | I230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Left |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC+12, UTC+13 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 111 |
| Elevation | 110 m | 0 m |
| Main airport | Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA)13 km from centre121 non-stop destinations | Wellington International Airport (WLG)5 km from centre20 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 14 days | 12 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Tirana | Wellington |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 389,323 | 216,200 |
| People per km² | 9,314 | 487 |
| Museums within 10 km | 11 | 12 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 5 months | None |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Tirana or Wellington somewhere new.