The Azerbaijani capital located on the shores of the Caspian Sea of Caspian Baku combines a medieval old city with unusual architecture, uniting Persian, Turkic, Soviet and European motifs. This is the place where the West meets the East. We tell you why go to Baku and what to do there.
How to get
A ticket from Moscow to Baku costs from 8,000 rubles. Aeroflot, Utair and Iraero fly, travel time 3 hours 25 minutes. Since mid -June, Azerbaijani Azal and Buta Airways resumed flights to Russia. You can also fly away from St. Petersburg, Astrakhan, Mineral Water and Kazan.
Airplanes fly to the Heydar Aliyev airport, from where the express-outlet rounded around the clock. The passage costs 1.3 manat, but you can’t pay with a card or in cash, you need to buy at the exit from the Bakikart travel terminal. They can also pay for travel in public transport Baku. You can replenish the balance in newspaper kiosks and in Bakikart terminals at metro stations and bus stops.
Entrance rules
Russian tourists can visit Azerbaijan on a passport, without a visa in the country is allowed to be no more than 90 days. For entry, you need a certificate of vaccination from the COVID-19 or a certificate of the transmitted disease, issued no earlier than 90 days before the trip. PCR tests are not required.
Where to stop
To be a step from the main attractions, choose housing in the Sabail district, this is the very center of Baku. A little cheaper, but also close to the center – Narimanovsky and Nasiminsky districts. And if your goal is a beach vacation, stop in the Khazar district, for example, in the village of Mardakeyan or Bilgia.
We picked up hotels in Baku with good ratings of visitors for every taste and budget:
- Luxury Apartment (rating 9.7 out of 10) – large light apartments in a new building in the city center with a balcony and sea views. The cost of accommodation starts from 3,820 rubles*.
- Boulevard TIN (rating 9.5 out of 10) – a budget hotel in the center of Baku. The standard number for two without breakfast will cost 2,800 rubles*.
- Promenade Hotel Baku (rating 9.3 out of 10) – a hotel at the beginning of Primorsky Boulevard near the Shirvanshahs Palace. The de-Lux number with a view of the attraction and breakfast costs 8,400 rubles*.
- Theatrum Hotel Baku (rating 9.1 out of 10) is an old five -star hotel in the center of Baku. Daily accommodation in the housekeeper number with King-Sayz bed and breakfast starts at 4,400 rubles*.
- Khazar inji (rating 9.0 out of 10) – a hotel with a pool and breakfast at the Caspian Sea in the village of Mardakean. The number for two overlooking the sea will cost 8,000 rubles*
What to do
In order to walk around Baku without haste, see all the main attractions and is chased by the Azerbaijani capital, you need at least three days. If you plan to go to sea, add another day.
Count all medieval buildings in the old city
Icheri Sheher, or the old city – the heart of Baku and the real open -air museum. It is surrounded by a medieval fortress wall, beyond which the city did not grow until the 19th century. Therefore, the development inside is dense: there are no large courtyards and gardens, at home there are a wall to the wall, a lot of labyrinths from narrow streets. And this adds comfort and atmospheres, especially in the evening, when local residents are preparing dinner, playing backgammon or just spending time on the street outside the cup of tea.
Among the attractions of the Old City is the girl’s tower and the Shirvanshahs Palace. The tower is shrouded in secrets and legends: its date of construction and its original purpose are still unknown. The palace was built in the 15th century as a residence of the rulers of Shirvan – a Muslim state in the territory of modern Azerbaijan. In addition to the palace itself, the architectural complex includes a mosque, mausoleum, tomb, bathhouse and sofa khan. The entrance ticket costs 15 manat.
Repeat scenes from Soviet films
Thanks to the imagination of filmmakers in Soviet times, the Baku streets often turned into foreign ones: either Tegeran, then Argentinean, then Istanbul, or even even some fabulous ones. Therefore, even if you were not in Baku, his streets will seem familiar to you.
For example, the famous scene of the fall from the “Diamond Hand” was shot on Kitik-Gala Street. And in the frames of the “man-amphibian” you can discern the fortress wall and the Icher-Sheheer tower.
To visit the caravanserae
Baku was a large shopping center on the Silk Road, so special places for traders and travelers-caravanserais were built throughout the city. Some of them have been preserved, and now there are restaurants, craft workshops, hotels or trading markets on their territory.
One of the popular caravanseraev in the Old City-the Karvansaray Azerbaijani restaurant-is a two-minute walk from the girl’s tower.
Walk in the center of Heydar Aliyev
The cultural center of Heydar Aliyev is an example of modern architecture. The snow -white futuristic building almost without a single straight line was designed by the architect Zahi Hadid.
Come here is at least twice: in the afternoon to look at the exhibitions, and in the evening to walk in a nearby park with art objects and admire the illumination of the building. Entrance – 15 manat, on Mondays the center does not work.
Buy sweets and spices in the eastern bazaar
The largest Baku market – the Yashil bazaar – is in a pair of quarters from the center of Heydar Aliyev. Such a variety of dried fruits, sweets, spices, herbs and delicacies cannot be found in ordinary supermarkets. They say that even vegetables and fruits for each seller are different in taste. It is dangerous to go on an empty stomach here!
Life in the bazaar boils especially violently on the weekend, come for the latest products in the morning. Do not forget to bargain with sellers and feel free to try their goods. As a souvenir, take pistachios with honey, saffron and sesame seeds, as well as halva, baklava, tea and fragrant seasonings.
To taste the national cuisine
Azerbaijani cuisine is a combination of Turkish, Central Asian and Persian recipes and traditions. And this is not only tea, kebabs, baklava and different types of pilaf. Here they love Dolma (minced meat with rice and spices, wrapped in grape leaves), Dyushbaru (dumplings in the broth), DovSU (yogurt soup with spinach), kutaba (cakes) and lavant (filling of walnuts, onions and sauce from plums).
National cuisine dishes are served in Sumakh, Dolma and Qaynana restaurants. National Azerbaijani Breakfast-Omlet with Bakinsky tomatoes-should taste Burc Qala and Wood House Baku. And go to the tea party with a baklava go to çay Evi 145 and Pakhlava.
To love the carpets
The minimum program is to go to the carpet museum (whose building is also in the shape of a carpet!) And find out why they mean so much in Azerbaijani culture. There is a huge exposition of carpets of different eras, sizes, designs and weaving techniques. In one of the halls, you can even observe the carpet of a real craftswoman. And in a souvenir store you can buy both a whole carpet and its miniature option. It is better to go to the museum with an excursion or take an audio guide (8 manat). Entrance – 7 manat.
Walk along Primorsky Boulevard and find small Venice
A walk around the boulevard is the opportunity to see almost the entire Baku from the Caspian side. There are a lot of greenery, among the trees there are baobabs, there is a bicycle, a Ferris wheel, fountains, children’s carousels and street food tents. Locals love to walk along the boulevard both in a sunny day and in the evening, when the backlight turns on.
A part of the guests of the Primorsky Boulevard is a beloved Oasis Malaya Venice, an artificially created system of channels and islands. This is a recreation area with openwork bridges, restaurants in the Venetian style and green islands. You can walk on foot between the islands or ride through the channels on real Italian gondolas for 3 manat.
Ride on a funicular to the Nagorno Park
In 5 minutes, a silent car rises from the center of Baku directly to the fiery towers and to the Nagoric Park. There is a sightseeing site with a view of the city and Primorsky Boulevard. Moreover, there are many local residents among passengers who use a funicular not as an attraction, but as a transport to get home.
Especially spectacular to rise on a funicular at sunset, when the illumination turns on and the city sparkles with a million lights. The passage costs 1 manat, Monday – a day off. You can go down the steps through the green alley next to the rails.
Spend a day on the beach
You can’t swim in Baku itself – there is an oil field nearby, so the sea is dirty here. But you can go to the villages of Bilgia or Mardakeyan, which is 30–40 kilometers from the city. The water of the Caspian Sea in these places is clean and transparent, and sandy beaches are equipped with sunbeds and umbrellas. Some beaches are free, other closed and belong to sanatoriums or five -star hotels. There are two water parks – Dalga Beach Aquapark Resort in Mardakyan and Bilgah Beach in Bilgia. You can get to the villages by buses 172 and 182 or a taxi.
*Prices are valid at the time of publication.
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