Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan's world-class observatory, founded in 1966, currently has six large telescopes beneath archetypal silver domes, most now automated. By paying a…
Must-see attractions in Azerbaijan
Baku
The greatest attraction of this museum for most visitors is the western facade of the building it inhabits: a fine early-20th-century structure with…
Azerbaijan
Zaqatala’s Russian fortress is a sprawling affair whose grey stone walls are sturdy but not really imposing. Built between 1830 and 1860, it originally…
Azerbaijan
Əshabi-Kəhf is a series of holy caves, locally believed to be the scene of a Koranic miracle in which seven pious men managed to evade their enemies by…
Azerbaijan
The minuscule village of Cek (pronounced 'Jek') is just a handful of farmsteads around a rocky knob that protrudes from a sweep of grassy mountainside…
Baku
The nearest beach to central Baku, Şixov is most fascinating for photographers who want to snap bathers gambolling on the ‘sand’ with a romantic backdrop…
Azerbaijan
Before 2006, the site of Naxçivan's 7th-century citadel was just a series of muddy undulations, almost indistinguishable from the nearby graveyard. It has…
Azerbaijan
Pir Həsən is a shrine area where you can come to have a bottle smashed over your head. Honestly. It’s considered a cure for nervousness of spirit. The…
Azerbaijan
Watch water burn at Arçivan village! What you see is a little drinking fountain beneath a concrete pergola, but the water that bubbles forth is made …
Azerbaijan
The distinctive if heavily restored mansion containing this museum was built in 1913 for the grandson of Talysh khan Mir Mustafa. It features some grave…
Baku
Directly in front of the Maiden's Tower are assorted archaeological diggings at what some consider to be the site where Jesus' disciple St Bartholomew was…
Baku
In September 2010, the world's tallest flagpole (then 162m) was installed at the Bulvar's southern tip. The world record was later snatched by Dushanbe,…
Baku
Once a Lenin Museum, this column-fronted neoclassical building has a sternly photogenic facade that looks best seen from across the Bulvar. Inside, the…
Azerbaijan
Widely touted by tour companies, this series of modest cascades with wooden access stairs is pretty enough as a place to sit on a tea platform in the cool…
Azerbaijan
The şəbəkə (stained-glass windows) featured at Xan Sarayı are laboriously made by slotting together hundreds of hand-carved wooden pieces to create…
Azerbaijan
This engrossing little museum is wonderfully old-fashioned and has very little in English, but photos show regional historical places, there's a mockup of…
Azerbaijan
This modest two-room museum celebrates the statistically high proportion of centenarians among Talysh mountain people. Most famous was Şirəli Müslümov …
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan's Gəncə-born 'national poet' (1141–1209) stands opposite the drama theatre, looking across the river towards a puppet theatre that is housed in…
Baku
This powerful 1958 fountain-statue depicts a mythical Azerbaijani hero using a giant scimitar to slay a snake-like water-spewing 'dragon'. In a pool…
Baku
One of Baku's charming oddities, this small museum presents books that are so small you'd need a magnifying glass to read the print. The fact that so many…
Azerbaijan
Old chaps in flat caps sip tea and slap dominoes all day long beneath shady chestnut and plane trees on this attractive, tree-shaded square. There's an…
Azerbaijan
Zaqatala's Old Town is centred on a pretty garden-square, above which rise two 30m tall çınar (plane trees) planted in the 1780s. To the south, there are…
Baku
Partly dating from at least 1079, this little mosque is considered the the oldest still standing in Baku. Its nickname, 'Sinıq Qala' (Broken Tower), was…
Azerbaijan
Old Town Qax is centred on cobbled İçəri Bazar, a streetscape where older houses have been given a faux-antique look on a lane guarded by castle-style…
Baku
Changing exhibitions are necessarily a little hit-and-miss at this experimental art space, which gives a platform to young or emerging new Azerbaijani…
Azerbaijan
If you're intrigued by extreme hagiographical reverence, Azerbaijan's many museums to former president Heydar Əliyev can prove sources of inspiration. And…
Baku
Since 1948 this attractively tree-shaded graveyard has been set aside as the last resting place for Azerbaijan's foremost public figures. Many of the…
Archangel Michael Russian Church
Baku
Originally built in 1845 for worshippers from the Russian Imperial Navy, today the modest Archangel Michael Russian Church is the hub for Baku’s Orthodox…
Azerbaijan
On a rocky outcrop at Ramana, this fortress tower is one of the Abşeron's most dramatic castles, but adding to the interest of the visit is the view of…
Azerbaijan
A facade like a stylised castle lures visitors to investigate this unusually professional regional museum, whose main appeal is the fine collection of…
Azerbaijan
In and around Lerik there are numerous points from which to savour wide panoramas over highland fields and serrated crags. One relatively central option…
Baku
Looking somewhere between an electricity pylon and an oil derrick, this digital clock forms a central Bulvar landmark.
Baku
Shoes walk across this gallery's fascinatingly off-beat front wall, whose centrepiece is a huge lion's face. Inside are paint splattered shirts and a…
Azerbaijan
This octagonal mosque is Quba’s most-distinctive historic building. Painted a dull red and topped with a metallic dome forming a central point like a…
Azerbaijan
Pop into this refreshingly air-conditioned centre to peruse the photographic exhibition on the life and times of the 'National Leader'. Or simply to cool…
Azerbaijan
There's nothing historic about this curious castle-like folly, an intriguing landmark on the ridge above town. It was designed to be a hotel but so poorly…
Baku
An arched gateway in the Old City wall leads from İçerişəhər metro station to a pretty handkerchief of garden. It's dominated by the superbly imaginative…
Azerbaijan
Lənkəran's grey-sand beaches aren't a big attraction if you want to swim and many are dotted with debris. Nonetheless, the coastal area around 1km north…
Baku
This 60m big wheel performs attractive light shows after dark. It spins very slowly, so a ride takes nearly 15 minutes including stops. Should you tire of…
Baku
The snazzy little funicular whisks you up from near the restaurant Chinar to the Flame Towers area in just three minutes. Time between departures can vary…
