Baku
Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks…
Must-see attractions in Baku
Baku
This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost historical icon, with rooftop views surveying Baku Bay and the Old City. Possibly millennia old, its…
Baku
Yarat means 'create', a spirit that's in ample evidence in this centre's many thought-provoking installations that don't shy away from sociopolitical…
Baku
Completed in 2012, this trio of sinuous blue-glass skyscrapers forms contemporary Baku's architectural signature. The three towers range from 28 to 33…
Baku
This splendid confection of sandstone walls and domes was the seat of northeastern Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages. Mostly 15th century…
Baku
Ever-popular with strollers, this leafy piazza forms Central Baku’s natural focus. The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny…
Baku
This joyous tailor-made gallery uses struts and tubing to create a wide variety of intimate viewing spaces, in many of which you can recline on bean-bag…
Baku
From historic flatweaves to modernist picture-rugs, this tailor-made museum displays and explains a superb collection of Azerbaijani carpets. It's housed…
Baku
Full of rare trees, cafes, fountains and fairground rides, the central sweep of Baku's seafront park is eternally popular with families, amateur musicians…
Baku
The most notable feature of the 'Highland Park' that stretches south from the Flame Towers is this sombre row of grave memorials – Bakuvian victims of the…
Baku
Hand-woven carpets using wool coloured with vegetable dyes are created before your eyes in this amazingly grand, suburban gallery-workshop that includes a…
Baku
Well-presented exhibits on Azerbaijan’s history and culture might miss the odd century here and there, but there’s more than enough to fill several hours…
Baku
Worth a quick stop en route to Qobustan, this 1998 neo-Ottoman-style mosque replaced a 13th-century original demolished by the Soviets 'for road widening'…
Baku
Designed like an eight-petalled flower but five stories high and made of steel and glass, this giant project has been under construction since 2007 and…
Baku
Tahir Salahov is probably Azerbaijan's greatest living painter, best known for bringing deep emotional intensity into Soviet Realism. The Baku house where…
Baku
Several gleaming towers are under construction at Crescent Bay opposite Port Baku, including a potentially phenomenal architectural attention-grabber in…
Baku
Housed in two century-old oil-boom mansions, Baku’s foremost collection of classical art ranges from 17th-century French landscapes to Meiji-era Japanese…
Baku
Though it appears relatively squat seen from outside, the interior of the Old City's carving-festooned 'Friday' mosque contains beautifully patterned…
Baku
The grandest historic mosque in central Baku, Təzə Pir was built between 1903 and 1914, funded by a female philanthropist. More-recent renovations added…
Baku
Baku's most striking Soviet-era building is a gigantic stone construction fronted by an impressive series of layered stone arches and topped by rows of…
Baku
Of all the free-to-enter commercial galleries in Baku's atmospheric Old City, Q has the finest collection of 20th-century Azerbaijani art. It often stocks…
Baku
When active, this excellent commercial minigallery tends to highlight some of the city's more-interesting contemporary artistic trends. Check out their…
Baku
Private gallery with changing modern-art exhibitions. It's tucked between a pretty shaded garden and a section of city wall that features a medieval-style…
Baku
No, it's not Lenin. This truly gigantic Soviet-era statue actually honours Nәriman Nәrimanov, Azerbaijan's first communist-era leader.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Baku
Looking somewhere between an electricity pylon and an oil derrick, this digital clock forms a central Bulvar landmark.
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…
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…