Abandoned Sea Bar

An abandoned dance bar on the beach in Durres. It shut down in 2019 after the earthquake brought down the footbridge leading to it. Photos from its working days still circulate online — it had a café, a bar, and a dance floor. The artificial pier the bridge connects to was built from bunker rubble collected from across the beach and buried on the spot.

The footbridge itself is blocked by iron gates. You can swim up to the bar and climb up the structure, or squeeze past the gates and carefully edge over the water on some pipes. Inside: rubbish and an impressive number of pigeons.

In summer the place is popular with thrill-seeking teenagers who come to jump and do flips into the water. There’s no security, though occasionally some locals show up and chase everyone off. Half an hour later, everyone climbs back up again.