Must-see attractions in Baku

Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks…

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…

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…

Completed in 2012, this trio of sinuous blue-glass skyscrapers forms contemporary Baku's architectural signature. The three towers range from 28 to 33…

This splendid confection of sandstone walls and domes was the seat of northeastern Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages. Mostly 15th century…

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…

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…

From historic flatweaves to modernist picture-rugs, this tailor-made museum displays and explains a superb collection of Azerbaijani carpets. It's housed…

Full of rare trees, cafes, fountains and fairground rides, the central sweep of Baku's seafront park is eternally popular with families, amateur musicians…

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…

Hand-woven carpets using wool coloured with vegetable dyes are created before your eyes in this amazingly grand, suburban gallery-workshop that includes a…

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…

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'…

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…

Tahir Salahov is probably Azerbaijan's greatest living painter, best known for bringing deep emotional intensity into Soviet Realism. The Baku house where…

Several gleaming towers are under construction at Crescent Bay opposite Port Baku, including a potentially phenomenal architectural attention-grabber in…

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…

Though it appears relatively squat seen from outside, the interior of the Old City's carving-festooned 'Friday' mosque contains beautifully patterned…

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'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…