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Tashkent

Sprawling Tashkent (Toshkent) is Central Asia’s hub and the place where everything in Uzbekistan happens. It's one part newly built national capital, thick with the institutions of power, one part leafy Soviet city, and yet another part quiet Uzbek town, where traditionally clad farmers cart their wares through a maze of mud-walled houses to the grinding crowds of the bazaar. Tashkent is a fascinating jumble of contradictions that's well worth exploring over several days.

Like most places that travelers use mainly to get somewhere else, Tashkent doesn't always immediately charm visitors, but it's a surprisingly fun and interesting place, with the best restaurants, museums and nightlife in the country. There’s also plenty of opportunity to escape the metropolis for great hiking, rafting and skiing in Ugam-Chatkal National Park, just a 1½-hour drive away.

Explore Tashkent

  • Chorsu Bazaar

    Tashkent’s most famous farmers market, topped by a giant green dome, is a delightful slice of city life spilling into the streets off the Old Town’s…

  • S

    State Fine Arts Museum

    The four floors of this excellent museum walk you through 1500 years of art in Uzbekistan, from 7th-century Buddhist relics from Kuva and the Greek…

  • M

    Museum of Applied Arts

    The Museum of Applied Arts occupies an exquisite house full of bright ghanch (carved and painted plaster) and carved wood. It was built in the 1930s, at…

  • E

    Earthquake Memorial

    The New Soviet men and women who rebuilt Tashkent after the 1966 earthquake are remembered in stone at the Earthquake Memorial just north of Mustaqilik…

  • M

    Moyie Mubarek Library Museum

    The primary attraction of Khast Imom square is this library museum, which houses the 7th-century Osman Quran (Uthman Quran), said to be the world’s oldest…

  • M

    Minor Mosque

    The striking new Minor Mosque, also known as the white mosque for the colour of its marble, is proof that Uzbekistan still knows how to create sublime…

  • A

    Assumption Cathedral

    It's impossible to miss the handsome gold onion domes, pastel blue walls and 50m bell tower of the impressive Assumption Cathedral. Built in 1958 and…

  • Statue of Timur

    Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tashkent.

  • See

    Chorsu Bazaar

    Tashkent’s most famous farmers market, topped by a giant green dome, is a delightful slice of city life spilling into the streets off the Old Town’s…

  • See

    State Fine Arts Museum

    The four floors of this excellent museum walk you through 1500 years of art in Uzbekistan, from 7th-century Buddhist relics from Kuva and the Greek…

  • See

    Museum of Applied Arts

    The Museum of Applied Arts occupies an exquisite house full of bright ghanch (carved and painted plaster) and carved wood. It was built in the 1930s, at…

  • See

    Earthquake Memorial

    The New Soviet men and women who rebuilt Tashkent after the 1966 earthquake are remembered in stone at the Earthquake Memorial just north of Mustaqilik…

  • See

    Moyie Mubarek Library Museum

    The primary attraction of Khast Imom square is this library museum, which houses the 7th-century Osman Quran (Uthman Quran), said to be the world’s oldest…

  • See

    Minor Mosque

    The striking new Minor Mosque, also known as the white mosque for the colour of its marble, is proof that Uzbekistan still knows how to create sublime…

  • See

    Assumption Cathedral

    It's impossible to miss the handsome gold onion domes, pastel blue walls and 50m bell tower of the impressive Assumption Cathedral. Built in 1958 and…

  • See

    Statue of Timur

    Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.

Guidebooks

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