Central State Museum

Lonely Planet review

The city's best museum stands 300m up Furmanov from Respublika alanghy. The Central State Museum takes you through Kazakhstan's history from bronze-age burial mounds to telecommunications and the transfer of the capital to Astana, with many beautiful artefacts. A large replica of the Golden Man stands in the entrance hall.

The downstairs rooms cover archaeological finds and early history up to Jenghiz Khan (with models of some of Kazakhstan's major monuments); the ethnographic display upstairs features a finely kitted-out yurt and some beautifully worked weaponry and horse and camel gear, plus musical instruments and exotic costumes going back to the 18th century. The upper floors cover the 20th and 21st centuries, with exhibits on some of Kazakhstan's many ethnic groups, independent Kazakhstan and a special section on the pilgrimage town of Turkistan. Get there by bus No 2 or 63 or marshrutka Nos 526, 528 or 537 up Furmanov.