Places to discover

Old City

Icherisheher (Old City)

Baku's inhabited Old City brings stone lanes, fortress walls and caravanserais together in one walkable neighbourhood.

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Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Historic landmark

Maiden Tower

The cylindrical Maiden Tower is one of Baku's defining landmarks on the edge of the Old City.

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Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Palace museum

Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The Shirvanshahs' palace brings medieval courtyards, carved portals and royal buildings together above the Old City.

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Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

Museum of Miniature Books

A compact Old City museum celebrates the craft and curiosity of books made on a miniature scale.

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Babək Akifoğlu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Historic architecture

Multani & Bukhara Caravanserais

Two old caravanserais near the Maiden Tower recall the merchants who linked Baku with the wider trading world.

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Ludvig14 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

City square

Fountains Square

Fountains Square is a lively meeting point between Baku's old stone streets and its pedestrian shopping area.

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Bernard Gagnon · CC BY 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

City walk

Nizami Street (Torgovaya)

Nizami Street combines a pedestrian shopping promenade with the facades of oil-boom Baku.

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Sefer azeri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Seaside promenade

Baku Boulevard (Seaside National Park)

The Seaside Boulevard follows the Caspian waterfront through gardens, promenades and broad views of Baku Bay.

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TUTMOS · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Waterfront landmark

Little Venice

Little Venice adds canals, bridges and small islands to the waterfront beside the Carpet Museum.

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Dmitry Karyshev · CC BY 2.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum

A building shaped like a rolled carpet introduces the patterns and techniques of Azerbaijani carpet weaving.

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Photo and credit

Bernard Gagnon · CC BY 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Music and culture

International Mugham Center

The Mugham Center connects the waterfront with Azerbaijan's living tradition of improvised classical music.

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Natella.M · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Modern architecture

Flame Towers

Three curved glass towers make a contemporary counterpart to the stone skyline of the Old City.

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KeuleKeulmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Park and viewpoint

Highland Park (Upland Park)

Highland Park offers an elevated view across Baku Bay, the Boulevard and the changing city skyline.

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Urmen19 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

City transport

Baku Funicular

Baku's short funicular links the waterfront area with the hill near Highland Park.

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Cavad Qurbanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Memorial

Martyrs' Lane

Martyrs' Lane is a national memorial and a place for quiet reflection above Baku Bay.

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Bernard Gagnon · CC BY 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Skyline landmark

Baku TV Tower

The TV tower is a prominent landmark on the hills south-west of central Baku.

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Interfase · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Architecture and exhibitions

Heydar Aliyev Center

Zaha Hadid's flowing cultural centre is one of Baku's most distinctive contemporary buildings.

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Avisadehh · CC0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

National Museum of History of Azerbaijan (Taghiyev Palace)

The History Museum combines Azerbaijan's past with the interiors of the Taghiyev mansion.

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Urmen19 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature

An arcaded facade beside Fountains Square introduces Azerbaijan's literary heritage.

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Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

Azerbaijan National Museum of Art

Historic mansions provide a setting for Azerbaijani and international art near the Old City.

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Urek Meniashvili · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Architecture and garden

Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall & Philharmonic Garden

A concert hall and terraced garden make a calm stop outside the southern Old City walls.

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Photo and credit

Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Theatre

Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre

The ornate Opera and Ballet Theatre belongs to the architectural story of early-twentieth-century Baku.

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Urmen19 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Historic architecture

Ismailiyya Palace

Ismailiyya's pointed arches and stone ornament make it a distinctive oil-boom palace.

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Rhajizada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Historic architecture

Palace of Happiness (Mukhtarov Palace)

The Mukhtarov mansion brings neo-Gothic towers and decorative stonework to central Baku.

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Xayala Mammadli · CC0 · Resized; cropped for display

Historic architecture

Baku City Hall (City Executive Power)

The former City Duma building anchors an architecture walk near Icherisheher metro.

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Sefer azeri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Twentieth-century architecture

Government House (Dom Soviet)

Government House forms a monumental backdrop to the waterfront side of central Baku.

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Marco Monelli · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Seaside square

National Flag Square

The National Flag Square places Azerbaijan's flag against the open seafront at Bayil.

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Urek Meniashvili · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Food and market

Taza Bazaar

Taza Bazaar is associated with the produce, spices and everyday food culture of Baku.

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Shmuliko · Public domain · Resized; cropped for display

Religious heritage

Bibi-Heybat Mosque

The Bibi-Heybat Mosque is an active shrine on the coast south of central Baku.

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Ludvig14 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Religious heritage

Taza Pir Mosque

Taza Pir Mosque connects the religious life of Baku with the architecture of the oil-boom period.

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Frokor · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Museum

Villa Petrolea (Nobel Brothers House-Museum)

Villa Petrolea connects the Nobel family's oil-business history with Baku's changing eastern districts.

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Conquerer01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Contemporary art

YARAT Contemporary Art Space

YARAT offers a changing view of contemporary art on Baku's southern waterfront.

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Cavidaga · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Art museum

Baku Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art introduces Azerbaijani painting and sculpture in an open gallery setting.

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Woland de Ades · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Metro architecture

Nizami Metro Station

Nizami station turns a metro journey into an encounter with Azerbaijani literature and mosaic art.

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Tərxan Paşazadə · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · UNESCO heritage

Gobustan Rock Art (Gobustan National Historical-Artistic Reserve)

Gobustan's rock art connects a landscape of stone with the lives of people across many millennia.

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Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Nature

Gobustan Mud Volcanoes (Dashgil)

Mud cones and bare ground create a distinctive landscape in the wider Gobustan area.

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Bernard Gagnon · CC BY 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Heritage

Ateshgah Fire Temple

Ateshgah brings fire, trade routes and several religious traditions together in a courtyard complex.

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Ludvig14 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Nature

Yanar Dag (Burning Mountain)

At Yanar Dag, gas escaping through the hillside feeds a line of flames.

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Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Heritage

Mardakan Quadrangular Castle

The stone tower and enclosure at Mardakan recall the defensive architecture of Absheron.

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Rhajizada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Heritage

Ramana Castle

Ramana's stone tower stands above an Absheron landscape shaped by both fortifications and oil.

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Ludvig14 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

Outside Baku

Day trip · Open-air museum

Gala State Historical-Ethnographic Reserve

The Gala reserve introduces Absheron's settlement history, archaeology and traditional crafts.

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Wertuose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display