What to see in Baku on your own in 3 days from the sights and where to take a walk in the evening? Where to go with children and how to entertain them during their stay in the capital? What excursions are necessary to choose, where to find programs in Russian? How much do group and individual tours of the city and surroundings cost.
Baku is a city from oriental tales about Aladdin, gin and princess Jasmine. At present, it is one of the cities that harmoniously combine the antiquity of the East and modern buildings, made in a special, unusual, unique style characteristic of oriental people.
Baku is a great tourist center. To enjoy the beauty of this ancient city, you need to spend at least three days in it, and preferably a whole week.
What to see in Baku and its surroundings?
Azerbaijan is one of the most ancient states; people have been living on the territories of this country for more than 4000 years. Baku is the pearl of this ancient heritage. Let's look at the most interesting places in Baku, which you should definitely see with your own eyes, at the end of the material on the map you can see all the sights of the capital, description, and their location.
Icheri-Sheher region. Kingdom of cats
The most ancient district of the city of Baku is called Icheri-Sheher. It is there that the historical monuments of the ancient past are concentrated.
The first thing that catches your eye when visiting the ancient quarter. This is a huge number of cats of different stripes and colors. Cats are the true owners of the ancient city.
It is Icheri-Sheher that reminds us of the fairy tales about Aladdin. Walking along its narrow streets, it seems that an agile monkey is about to jump out from around the corner, followed by a clever little boy. The famous scene from The Diamond Arm was filmed here.
The most famous places: Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower. The interior decoration of these architectural monuments is not particularly impressive, but from the outside they look interesting. They have their own special energy. And when you think how many secrets they keep in themselves, what they could tell, fantasy draws pictures of princesses running up the steps, formidable guards and wise sultans.
Baths of Haji Gaib
Not far from the Maiden Tower is an ancient hamam, dug in the 20s of the last century. Hamam is not functioning, at present it is just the historical heritage of the ancient state.
Muhammad Mosque
Another monument that has survived from ancient times is the Mosque of Muhammad, as it is also called. The mosque is made in a rather austere style, without the usual oriental lace in the ornament, which does not spoil it at all.
Bibi-Heybat Mosque
A stunningly beautiful structure, which is about 1000 years old by the standards of historians. The building was almost completely destroyed in 1936 and was restored according to ancient sketches only at the end of the last century.
Mosque Tezepir
Another beautiful mosque located in Baku. It was built in the period from 1905 to 1914, functioned until the October Revolution, then it was closed. During the Soviet era, the mosque housed first a warehouse, then the building was reconstructed into a cinema. Currently, it is a functioning mosque with women's and men's halls.
Despite its antiquity, the mosque was heated in a very modern way - warm floors, hot steam passed through special channels, warming the entire room from the inside.
Heydar Mosque
Not so long ago, the building was erected in honor of Heydar Aliyev; construction ended in 2014. The project is made in the style of Shirvan-Absheron architecture, each of the four towers reaches 96 meters.
- Address: Binagadi district, Gamzy Babashova, 1107
Flame Towers
The symbol of modern Baku is the flame towers - three skyscrapers built in the form of three tongues of flame. Skyscrapers rise above the entire city and are visible from any point of it. In the evening, the towers are illuminated with red light, and then a huge fiery flower is lit over the city.
Modern Art Museum
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Baku speaks for itself. As soon as you approach the building, you understand that it will be unexpected, interesting, unusual, unusual, boundless. The avant-garde lives in every element inscribed in the museum building. The museum presents a collection of the best sculptors and avant-garde artists of Azerbaijan.
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center
Have you ever wanted to experience a science fiction movie? Feel yourself in another reality, walk on walls, feel like in space? Then you come here, to the Heydar Aliyev Center. This center is unusual and incomparable, it amazes with its originality, smooth lines, curves. It seems that in this place completely different laws of physics operate. In fact, this is a museum of the history of Azerbaijan with many interesting expositions. To visit Baku and not visit it is a big omission.
You will be interested in:
Carpet Museum
Do you want oriental flavor? Then visit the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. The history of the creation of carpets is kept here. Did you think that carpets are boring and uninteresting? You will be convinced that this is a fundamentally wrong opinion. Few people thought about how diverse carpets are. The Carpet Museum will reveal a special philosophy and allow you to look differently at the bright, colorful interior detail.
Baku embankment
The visiting card of the city of Baku is its embankment, a meeting place for local residents closely intertwined with tourists. A walk along the embankment is a fascinating event. A refreshing wind from the Caspian Sea, greenery, flowers, a wide alley, warm sun, beautiful views. For a walk, you can allocate a whole evening, leisurely enjoy the evening Baku.
State Flag Square
Another excellent place for an evening promenade is the State Flag Square, which is magnificent in the light of evening lanterns.
Where to walk in the city?
There are many places for walking along shady alleys and green parks in Baku. We definitely recommend visiting the following territories:
- Seaside Park,
- Heydar Aliyev Square,
- Sahil Park,
- Huseyn Javid Park,
- Upland Park.
It is also recommended to visit the wonder of nature - burning Mount Yanardag, with natural eternal fire. The fire at the foot of this mountain has not died out for more than one hundred years, it is believed that the mountain was a place of worship for fire worshipers. A visit to the miracle of nature is not free, but also not too expensive. The entrance to the foot of the mountain will cost 2 manats. Although, they say, you can get to the mountain and completely free of charge, if you go around the hill from the other side.
by the way, if you like to travel to the sights on your own, then we advise you to rent a car. This way you can see a lot more than you plan. Economybokings will help you to rent a car in Baku at the best prices. He is looking for the best options among all companies.
Prices for excursions in Baku and its surroundings
As in any tourist center, there are excursion guide services in Baku, excursions can be ordered both upon arrival on the spot, and using Internet services, which contain information about all walks around the world. Prices for excursions in Baku in Russian will range from $ 30 to $ 140. The most expensive are out-of-town excursions with transport costs.
All tours can be divided into points:
- Group programs
- Sightseeing around the city
- Out of town
- History and architecture
- Gastronomic
- Photoshoot
- Museums
Choose a tour program
Where can you go on excursions in Baku?
Which of the tours are the most popular? Among the most demanded is an excursion around the evening Baku. Its cost is approximately $ 90-100 per person.
We advise sightseeing tours around the city. They will cost approximately $ 120 per person.If you cannot decide what is better to see in Baku from the sights, take a sightseeing tour. It will include all the most interesting places, you do not need to solve the transport issue, and the guide will also tell you about everything in detail. Such a trip is also suitable in the case of a limited time visiting the city.
There is a separate excursion around the old city, its cost will be about 30 euros, excursions are conducted in three languages.
Where to go in Baku with children and what to do?
In Baku, as in any large city, there are places to visit them with children, the most interesting are:
- Baku zoo - this is not the best zoo in the world, however, it is interesting in its own way;
- Historical and Ethnographic Museum "Gala" - a magnificent open-air museum. There are many exhibits here, ranging from historical artifacts, ending with a collection of robots and a mini - farm with sheep;
- of the parks, the most interesting for children is Upland park;
- Ferris wheelfrom which you can see the city from a bird's eye view;
- in summer you can visit aquapark, which is located on the territory of the hotel called Kempinski.
Where to stay in Baku
What can you see on your own in 3-5 days?
First day of walking
The more time you plan to spend in Baku. All the more measured and unhurried can be a review of sights. 3-5 days is an ideal time to fully appreciate and consider all the most significant places in this amazing city.
- It is best to start from the ancient part of the capital of Azerbaijan - Icheri Sheher... You can go to it along the Primorskaya embankment, through the State Flag Square and the Flame Towers, then go down through the Martyrs' Alley to the old city.
- Through the square, with the monument to the poet Wahid, moving along the Kremlin wall, on the right side of it, we will get to the street where the famous scene from the film "The Diamond Arm" was filmed.
- Going further, the gaze opens ancient mosques and Maiden's tower, at the top of the tower there is an observation deck, you can climb it for 4 manats. Next, the palace of the Shirvanshahs awaits us. The palace can be viewed from the outside, if you want to see the interior decoration, you will have to pay 4 manats for an adult and 20 coins (qepiks) for a child.
- Don't rush to leave Old city, imbued with its atmosphere, wander its streets.
- Going out to the metro station of the same name with the old district and walking a little up and to the right, you can get to Fountain Square... Having familiarized ourselves with the area, we go further to the center. It will not be possible to pass by Heydar Aliyev, the building will fascinate even on the way from the airport to the city center. It is easy to recognize it, it is so extraordinary that it catches the eye and does not let go.
- Ateshgah Temple of Fire Worshipers located near the Korogly metro station. The temple was built around a natural eternal fire, now there is also a fire burning there in the middle of the temple, in the place where the altar of fire worshipers was, only the gas is already supplied through a special pipe.
- The next item would be Gobustan reserve with its rock paintings, mud volcanoes are also located there. The burning mountain can be visited on a separate day, and the evening on return can be devoted to walks in the evening Baku.
Maiden's Tower
Second day of visit
The next day can be dedicated whole visit to Baku museums, as well as walks in picturesque parks.
Visiting Baku is mainly walking, of course, you can choose car excursions, but the atmosphere of the city is lost this way. In this regard, prepare comfortable shoes, it is advisable to abandon heels, since the streets are paved pavements, especially in the old city.
While in the capital, you should also take into account that factthat the city is part of the Muslim world. Girls should not dress too frankly, and among the male population it is not customary to wear short shorts.
Another not unimportant fact Is a strong, constant wind. The presence of wind on the streets of Baku has its advantages - it blows and does not allow the sun to create a suffocating heat. There are also disadvantages to this, wide skirts and loose hair can become your trouble for the entire time you visit the city, constantly distracting attention to yourself.
Vacation prices
On the second day, we definitely advise you to go to the Museum of Miniature Books