Find places in Azerbaijan

Must-Haves

• Icheri Sheher (Old City) (Old City)
  A walled UNESCO listed old town of lanes, caravanserais, mosques and carpet shops.
• Palace of the Shirvanshahs (Old City)
  The fifteenth century royal complex of the Shirvan rulers, with tombs, a mosque and a bathhouse.
• Maiden Tower (Old City)
  The city's mysterious stone tower, with a small museum and views over the Old City and bay.
• Heydar Aliyev Center (Heydar Aliyev Avenue)
  Zaha Hadid's flowing white building, with exhibitions inside and great photos outside.
• Azerbaijan Carpet Museum (Seaside Boulevard)
  A museum shaped like a rolled carpet, holding centuries of Azerbaijani weaving.

Must-Haves

• Baku Boulevard (Seaside Boulevard)
  The long seafront park where all of Baku strolls on summer evenings.
• Highland Park and Martyrs' Lane (Yasamal)
  The best view of the bay and the Flame Towers, beside a solemn memorial avenue.
• Fountains Square (City centre)
  The busy heart of the modern city, lined with cafés and shops near the Old City walls.
• Nizami Street (City centre)
  Baku's grand pedestrian shopping street of nineteenth century oil boom facades.

Fun for Everyone

• Baku Funicular (Seaside Boulevard)
  A short ride up from the boulevard to Highland Park, easy for children and older travellers.

Must-Haves

• Yanar Dag (Mammadli, Absheron)
  A hillside that has burned with natural gas for decades, most dramatic after dark.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gobustan mud volcanoes (Gobustan)
  Small bubbling cones of cold grey mud in a strange, lunar landscape.
• Shikhov Beach (Bayil coast)
  The nearest beach to the centre, busy with Baku families on summer weekends.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Taza Bazaar (Narimanov)
  The city's best food market for fruit, cheese, herbs, caviar sellers and spices.
• Yashil Bazaar (Narimanov)
  A big, lively green market where locals shop for produce and pickles.

Must-Haves

• Old City carpet shops (Old City)
  Lanes of dealers selling old and new carpets, good for browsing and learning.

Fun for Everyone

• Port Baku Mall (Neftchilar Avenue)
  A modern seafront mall with international brands and cafés.
• 28 Mall (28 May)
  A central mall near the railway station, handy for SIM cards and essentials.

Must-Haves

• Shirvanshah Muzey Restoran (Salatyn Asgarova Street)
  A restaurant in an old house filled with antiques, serving classic Azerbaijani dishes.
• Firuze (Old City)
  A cosy basement restaurant near Fountains Square popular for plov and dolma.
• Sumakh (Ahmad Javad Street)
  A modern take on Azerbaijani home cooking, loved by locals.

Great for Date Night

• Chinar (Shovkat Alakbarova Street)
  A stylish restaurant and lounge for Asian food and a smart night out.
• Nergiz (Fountains Square)
  A traditional restaurant with live music and generous Azerbaijani set dishes.

Must-Haves

• Old City tea houses at the Maiden Tower (Old City)
  Sit on cushions for black tea with jam and sweets in the old lanes.

Great for Date Night

• 360 Bar (Hilton Baku)
  A rotating top floor bar with views of the bay and the Flame Towers.
• Le Boulevard Bar at the Four Seasons (Neftchilar Avenue)
  A grand hotel bar facing the seafront, ideal for a special drink.

Fun for Everyone

• Torqovaya bar strip (Nizami Street area)
  The pubs and bars around the pedestrian centre where evenings start.

Must-Haves

• Novruz celebrations (Old City and Boulevard)
  The spring new year in March, with bonfires, sweets and folk performances.

Fun for Everyone

• Baku Jazz Festival (Various venues)
  An annual festival celebrating the city's long jazz and mugham fusion tradition.
• Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Old City street circuit)
  A street race that loops around the Old City walls and the boulevard.

Must-Haves

• Four Seasons Hotel Baku (Neftchilar Avenue)
  A grand Beaux Arts style hotel on the boulevard at the edge of the Old City.

Great for Date Night

• Fairmont Baku Flame Towers (Flame Towers)
  Rooms inside the city's most famous skyline towers, with sweeping views.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Old City guesthouses (Old City)
  Small family run guesthouses inside the walls, steps from the sights.

Fun for Everyone

• JW Marriott Absheron Baku (Azadliq Square)
  A big seafront hotel with a pool, convenient for families.

Must-Haves

• Palace of the Shaki Khans (Old Town)
  An eighteenth century palace with dazzling shebeke stained glass and painted walls.
• Kish Albanian Church (Kish village)
  A small round church museum in a pretty village above Sheki, from the Caucasian Albanian era.

Fun for Everyone

• Lower Caravanserai (Old Town)
  A second great caravanserai, worth a look at its courtyard and gates.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Shebeke workshops (Old Town)
  Watch craftsmen fit thousands of wooden pieces and coloured glass without glue or nails.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sheki Khan's House (Old Town)
  A smaller painted house of the khans, often quieter than the main palace.

Must-Haves

• Upper Caravanserai (Old Town)
  Sleep in a restored Silk Road inn with rooms around an arched courtyard.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Old Town guesthouses (Old Town)
  Family homes with fruit trees and home cooked breakfasts.

Must-Haves

• Piti at a local restaurant (Old Town)
  The town's famous lamb and chickpea stew, cooked and served in a clay pot.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Sheki halva sellers (Old Town)
  Layered rice noodle and nut halva made in Sheki and sold fresh from trays.

Fun for Everyone

• Sheki silk shops (Old Town)
  Silk scarves called kelagayi, a UNESCO listed craft, sold near the palace.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gelersen Gorersen Fortress (Above Sheki)
  A short hike to medieval fortress ruins with views over the forested hills.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Old Town tea houses (Old Town)
  Tea with lemon, jam and halva under the plane trees.

Must-Haves

• Tufandag Mountain Resort (Tufandag)
  Cable cars climb into the mountains for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.
• Nohur Lake (Nohur)
  A calm lake with mountain reflections, popular for picnics and boating.

Fun for Everyone

• Yeddi Gozel waterfall (Vandam)
  The Seven Beauties falls, reached by steps through the forest.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lahij (Ismayilli)
  A stone mountain village of coppersmiths on the road from Baku, a short detour.

Fun for Everyone

• Gabaland (Gabala town)
  An amusement park with rides that families from across the country visit.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ancient Gabala archaeological site (Chukhur Gabala)
  The ruins of a capital of Caucasian Albania, with a small museum.
• Nij village (Nij)
  Home of the Udi people and their ancient church, a rare survivor of the old faith.
• Diri Baba Mausoleum (Maraza)
  A two storey tomb built into a cliff face beside the Baku road.

Must-Haves

• Shamakhi Juma Mosque (Shamakhi)
  One of the oldest mosques in the Caucasus, on the road from Baku.

Fun for Everyone

• Qafqaz Riverside Resort (Gabala)
  A big resort hotel with pools, popular with families.

Great for Date Night

• Chenot Palace Gabala (Gabala)
  A wellness retreat in the forest for a quiet, restful stay.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Roadside tandir bread bakeries (Gabala road)
  Fresh bread baked in clay ovens along the road through the villages.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lahij copper workshops (Lahij)
  Watch artisans hammer copper pots and trays in tiny workshops.

Must-Haves

• Khinalug (Khinalug)
  One of the highest villages in the Caucasus, with its own language and stone houses.
• Red Village (Qirmizi Qasaba) (Across the river from Quba)
  A rare mountain Jewish town with synagogues and a quiet, unique history.

Fun for Everyone

• Quba Genocide Memorial Complex (Quba)
  A memorial and museum on the 1918 massacres, sobering but important locally.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Juma Mosque Quba (Quba town)
  A distinctive octagonal mosque in the centre of the town.

Must-Haves

• Shahdag National Park (Shahdag)
  Mountain valleys and peaks for hiking and horse riding.

Off the Beaten Path

• Afurja waterfall (Afurja)
  A tall waterfall a short walk from the road to Khinalug.
• Laza village (Gusar)
  A village beneath sheer cliffs and waterfalls, beautiful in summer.
• Candy Cane Mountains (Siyazan)
  Striped red and white hills near the road from Baku, great for photos.

Fun for Everyone

• Tenghi Canyon (Tenghi)
  A narrow gorge of high rock walls on the way to the high villages.

Must-Haves

• Shahdag Mountain Resort (Gusar)
  The country's main ski resort, with summer cable cars and mountain biking.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Quba apple sellers (Quba road)
  Roadside stalls of apples and fruit preserves from Quba's famous orchards.

Great for Date Night

• Shahdag Hotel and Spa (Shahdag Mountain Resort)
  A mountain hotel by the slopes with a spa.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Khinalug homestays (Khinalug)
  Sleep in a village home and share dinner with the family.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Quba chaykhanas (Quba town)
  Tea houses where local men play backgammon over tea.

Must-Haves

• Hirkan National Park (Lankaran)
  Ancient relict forest of ironwood trees, home of rare Caspian wildlife.

Fun for Everyone

• Lankaran beaches (Caspian coast)
  Quiet Caspian beaches backed by forest and fields.
• Khanbulan Lake (Lankaran)
  A reservoir in the forest, popular for picnics.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lerik (Lerik)
  Mountain villages above the south coast known for long lived residents.

Fun for Everyone

• Tea plantations (Lankaran)
  Green hills of tea gardens, a classic sight of the south.

Must-Haves

• Lankaran Fortress and lighthouse (Lankaran town)
  A round tower and lighthouse from the town's fortress past.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mir Mustafa Khan Palace (Lankaran town)
  A small palace museum with a red brick facade.
• Astara (Astara)
  The border town with Iran, with tea gardens and a frontier feel.

Must-Haves

• Lavangi at local restaurants (Lankaran town)
  Chicken or fish stuffed with walnuts and sour plum, the dish of the south.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Lankaran bazaar (Lankaran town)
  A busy market of citrus, tea and southern produce.

Fun for Everyone

• Lankaran Springs Wellness Resort (Lankaran)
  A wellness resort with pools and forest surroundings.