Mind-Blowing Baku: Discover 25 Must-See Sights

By Anna Purpurpurpur

Baku is a mighty capital of Azerbaijan sitting on the shores of Caspian sea and showcasing the country’s oil-derived wealth through a number of modern attractions.

However there are lots of sights to explore for those who prefer history too because Caucasian region has been inhabited for thousands of years and has seen many things throughout its existence.

See my selection of spots to visit and to admire, both new and old, posh and raw.

And of course, there are lots of fabulous spots for gastronomical experiences!

1. Heydar Aliyev Center

Heydar Aliyev Center is a fantastic architectural masterpiece by Zaha Hadid, a museum and a cultural centre.

The centre opened in 2012 and is named after Heydar Aliyev, the first secretary of Soviet Azerbaijan (1969-1982) and the president of Azerbaijan (1993-2003).

It’s a great starting point to learn various aspects of Azerbaijani culture and heritage: for instance, to see traditional carpet themes and ornaments.

Another thing to do is to admire the art of doll making with the rarest dolls in the collection made by Azerbaijan’s first doll-makers Luisa Daghistanly and Solmaz Musayeva.

There’s also a fantastic representation of traditional musical instruments such as kamancha, garmon, saz, balaban and so on: you can not only see them on display, but also hear them and watch them in the making!

Exhibition Mini Azerbaijan features a few dozen of the most prominent architectural sites of the country (including the centre itself of course!). There’s also a car collection and a number of modern art objects.

2. Flame Towers

The Flame Towers are the most recognizable modern landmark of Baku opened in 2013: these flame-shaped skyscrapers refer to Azerbaijan being nicknamed The Land of Fire, and three flames being featured in the flag and Coat of arms of Baku as fire played the most important symbolic role throughout the country’s history.

Actually, the highest skyscraper of Baku is Baku tower (see below), and the Flame towers are only 182 metre high but thanks to being situated on a hill, it feels like they dominate the city. The Flame towers have beautiful illumination at night featuring flames, figurines waving a flag, and the national flag of Azerbaijan.

I’d also suggest visiting the Balcon cafe at the Fairmont hotel in one of the towers: they have very nice desserts there!

If you think that flame towers are the highest skyscrapers of Baku, this is not true! For instance, SOCAR tower, the headquarters of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) shaped as a twisted knot and completed in 2026 was the tallest Baku building. But now even the SOCOR towers are surpassed by Baku tower, which opened in 2020! As far as I understand, you cannot visit any of them but you can spot them – for instance when you come from the airport to the city centre.

3. Baku Old City

Baku Old city is one of the top sights to see in Azerbaijan! Its entangled cobbled streets of İçəri şəhər [Icheri sheher].

This inner part of the old city, surrounded by a mighty wall with towers is a UNESCO World Heritage site with some old buildings dating to the 11-12th century or even earlier.

There are a few important sites to see such as Palace of the Shirvanshah, Maiden Tower, a few bath houses such as Haji Gayib’s bathhouse dating to the 15th century – and see the info about the Maiden tower below! There are also a few historical mosques such as the Juma mosque.

You might think that this is just another touristy area – and is some ways this is totally true, because there are lots of vendors aggressively selling you goods or waiters trying to tempt you to visit their restaurants. At the same time, it has an unbeatable charm of historical roads and old buildings what would attract you again and again.

For instance, we returned there almost every day during our week trip!

Besides that, there are lots of corners and small streets to explore, and they all look absolutely different during a various light conditions during the day. What a treat to a photographer!

Also some famous Soviet movies were shot right here, on Kiçik Qala küçəsi street, such as the ‘Diamond arm’, or Бриллиантовая Рука in Russian, and ‘Amphibian Man’, or Человек-амфибия.

And if you’re a cat person, you’ll love this area indeed because there were lot of friendly cute cates in the old city!

When in the old city, you might want to visit Qaynana restaurant (meaning mother – in – law) for some traditional Azerbaijani food like pilaf (featured), Lula kebab, Qutab, or Gürzə dumplings. For desserts, go to the Karavan cafe: their tea set with nuts, jams and chocolate is very good.

4. Maiden Tower

The Maiden Tower is one of the main symbols of Baku, and you can observe it from the outside (which I suggest you do) or climb it.

The view from the top of it over the old city is nice but quite restricted and the exhibition of the inner museum is pretty small.

It’s still unclear what the purpose of this tower was: it might be just a fortification or an observatory or it might even had some spiritual significance – you can learn about it when visiting the tower.

5. Shirvanshahs Palace

The Shirvanshahs are the dynasty that controlled this area for 7 centuries, from around the 9th century to the 16th century. And they needed a new palace after their old one in Shamakha city was destroyed by an earthquake – so Baku became a new social, commercial and administrative centre!

The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a historical complex of the 15th century which is considered a medieval masterpiece of Azerbaijan and has been transformed and enlarged during a few centuries. It consists of the several buildings.

Inside the palace itself there is a museum now. The tomb of Shah in the Divankhane courtyard remains unfinished and this space could have been used for the State council meetings – the octagonal building is probably the most famous of them all. The tomb of Shirvanshahs’s family built in 1435-1436 was erected for Khalilullah’s I mother and his small son, and later on, Khalilullah I, his wife and his other two sons were also buried here.

The tomb of the court scientist Seyid Yahya Bakuvi is located behind the palace. The old mosque dates to 1441. You can also have a look at the old bathhouse. And there are also the Murad gates, the traces of the shooting dating to the 20th century and there are the ruins of a few more buildings.

And of course, don’t miss the exposition about the Shirvanshahs inside the palace itself (it used to be much larger) – and for a small additional fee you can visit a small exhibition about jewelry and coins.

6. Museum of Miniature Books

Another museum worth your time in the Old city is the Museum of miniature books.

It’s a private museum of small printed books collected by Salakhova Zarifa Teymur and opened in 2002. The books are displayed in 39 glass cases divided by some general topics with lots of attention given to the classical authors and to the Azerbaijani and Russian masterpieces. T

he rarest books here are micro-books: one 0.75*0.75 mm and three in 2*2 mm format by “Toppan” Publishing House, Tokyo, Japan; and a few slightly bigger German books. This museum also has the World Guinness Record for the largest collection of miniature books! You can also buy some magnetic mini books here as a souvenir.

7. Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is an absolutely unique museum dedicated solely to the carpets, its ornaments, weaving and storing of the historical exhibits.

As Azerbaijan is one of the oldest carpet centers in the world, the weaving art reached the highest level here.

You’ll learn about different types of carpets, dye methods and you can even witness a real weaver making a carpet right in front of you.

The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum was founded in 1967 but the current building where the museum resides now opened to the public in 2014. This building is astonishing: it imitates a folded carpet!

8. Atashgah Fire temple

The Atashgah of Surakhany located a short ride from Baku Centre is one of the most unique places in Azerbaijan. It is an ancient temple of fire-worshippers with thousands of people still visiting it every year.

The temple probably dates back to the 16th-17th centuries but this site had “holy fires” long before that: as we know now, thanks to the natural resources: gas simply leaked through the ground here. Because of that it was considered a holy place by Zoroastrians before the temple was built and they still come to celebrate one of their main holidays here, Novruz. Other people who came here were Sikh and Hindu with the latest worshiping Ganesha, Shiva and other deities here.

In the second half of the 19th century the trade with India decreased, the Silk Road became less and less important, the oil industry started to develop and eventually the temple ceased to operate as a religious site in 1886. Sadly, the archaeological research here doesn’t give much information because in the 20th century all this area was used for oil extraction. However it’s still been uncovered that this site had a gas supply system, places of ritual and of sacrifice.

Although the museum collection is rather small today and the gas to the temple is supplied not directly from the ground, but from the Baku pipes, it’s still an impressive historical and spiritual place you won’t regret visiting!

9. Baku boulevard

Baku boulevard is one of the nicest attractions in the city. What a view you’ll get on a clear day on the TV tower, Flame towers and the National Flag square at sunset!

The boulevard was established in 1909 and stretches for many kilometres (the maximum estimation I’ve seen is 25km after the recent extensions) along the shore of the Caspian Sea.

There are quite a few attractions there such as the Baku Puppet Theatre, the shopping centers, Baku Eye, Carpet museum, the Parachute tower and at the end of it you can find the Crystal palace built for the Eurovision.

10. Baku Funicular

If you want to get to the Flame towers and Martyrs’ alley from the Baku boulevard and the museum of carpet, the easiest way is to use the Baku funicular!

It’s 455 m long and a coach with capacity of 28 people takes off every 10 min. Initially it opened in 1960 but was renovated in 2012 in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest.

11. Dağüstü park

Dağüstü park, or the Highland park, sitting high up on the hill is one of the best spots to admire the seaside panorama of Baku. And yes, you get here by the Baku funicular.

You can spot the promenade along the Caspian Sea, the Baku Eye Ferris wheel, the Crescent Bay skyscraper complex (also known as The Crescent Development Project), and National Flag Square. It was a bit windy during our trip in winter but I presume it would be a perfect summer spot with lots of pine trees!

12. Martyrs’s alley

Martyrs’s alley located in Dagüstü park is a dignified and peaceful burial on the site of Soviet Kirov park dedicated to the people killed by Soviet army during the anti-Soviet uprising in 1990 (called Black January) and the fallen during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1988-1994.

You can also see a memorial with Eternal Flame coming out of a large star – it was inaugurated in 1998. Other important sites here are the Turkish Mosque of the Martyrs and another memorial dedicated to Turkish Martyrs killed during the Battle of Baku in 1918.

13. Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature

Next, we’re visiting Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature. Unfortunately, it’s forbidden to shoot inside but it’s a great museum about the most famous Azerbaijani poets, writers, dramatists and philosophers up to the late 20th century.

The museum is named after famous poet of the 12th century Nizami Ganjavi, and you’ll learn here about the history of the country and about lives and main pieces of Mahammad Fuzuli, Molla Panah Vagif, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Khurshidbanu Natavan, Jalil Mammadguluzade and others. There are a few dozen rooms spread through two floors (other floors are not accessible for the public). Our visit was accompanied by a great guide (I’m not sure you can visit without one).

14. Baku Zoo

Baku Zoo, or Bakı Zooloji Parkı, is a small but nicely made zoological park – it was refurbished in 2021 but initially the first Baku zoo was established in 1928 and is considered the oldest in the country.

Start your visit with aquaterrarium and then proceed to see kengurus, or tigers, or flamingoes or monkeys – in total, there are 125 species of animals and birds in the zoological park. The zoo also works as a conservation centre.

If you visit Baku with kids, don’t miss it!

15. National Museum of History of Azerbaijan

The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan is located inside the former residence of famous industrial magnate and philanthropist Hajji Mirza Zeynalabdin Taghi oghlu Taghiyev (his residence was confiscated by the Soviet government).

As the title suggests, here you can get the insights into all stages of Baku history, from ancient habitants of this area and their petroglyphs, through the pre-Muslim stages of development to the more modern times when Azerbaijan was included into Russian empire, then claimed a part of USSR and finally became an independent country.

After you visit the main exposition, proceed to see the restored rooms of the Memorial Museum of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

16. Baku Eye

Baku Ferris Wheel, or Baku eye, opened in 2014 is an important landmark located by the Caspian Sea and it should be giving a nice panoramic view of the city.

We tried to visit it because it should be open daily from 12 to 8 however for some reason it was closed – probably for maintenance.

17. Azerbaijan National Museum of Art

Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, the largest art museum of the country founded in 1936, occupies two gorgeous mansions of the 19th century recently connected by a glass building.

You can find different periods and countries represented here, but the overall number of exhibits available fur visitors is not very big. However, the overall museum collection is over 17.000 exhibits!

You can find here Russian, Soviet and of course Azerbaijani art too!

I also must note that you can take photos with a camera here without paying an extra fee (around 25£, as I’ve been told later at the exit), and although the staff seems to be friendly they watch your every step (I felt like I was back in Russia).

18. Palace of Happiness

We also passed by the Palace of Happiness, former Mukhtarov Palace: it’s a beautiful historical building dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Famous old magnate Murtuza Mukhtarov built it for his wife Liza-Khanum Tuganova.

It’s now known as Palace of Marriage Registrations, and as you see, it’s completely contrasting with all other buildings in Baku because it’s built in Neo-Gothic style. And again a very sad story followed because of the Soviet occupation (as well as in the Museum of the history of Azerbaijan): once the Soviet soldiers tried to occupy Mukhtarov’s palace, he shot a few of them and committed suicide.

19. Taza Pir Mosque

Taza Pir Mosque from the outside is gorgeous and is probably one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Baku! It was built in 1905-1914, and it was commissioned not by men as usual, but by a woman, Nabat Khanum Ashurbeyova, a philanthropist from a noble Azerbaijani family. You can also visit other mosques in Baku such as the Blue mosque or historical Juma mosque.

20. Yasil Market

Yasil market is a place for food enthusiasts especially if you like veggies and fruits!

It’s a traditional market with locals selling pomegranates, tangerines, apples, berries, tomatoes, zucchini, eggs, spices, sweets, fresh juices, herbs and even meat and fish here. Everything is super fresh and the vendors are very excited trying to sell you goods!

21. Crescent Development Project

The Crescent Development Project, also known as or The Crescent Bay, is a gorgeous skyscraper complex designed by a Korean company called Heerim Architects and consisting of a hotel, residential buildings and Crescent Mall.

Its most prominent feature is a Crescent-shaped building referring to the Azerbaijani flag and symbols of islam. It’s a fantastic modern landmark especially beautiful at night when it gleams with lights! Part of the project called Full Moon Bay was cancelled though.

22. National Flag Square

The National Flag square is seen from many points of Baku. It’s a large quare built for the sole purpose: to house a large flag pole with a giant Azerbaijani flag on it.

Initially it was 162 metres high and became the highest in the world – but then it was decided to make it even taller, and now it’s 191 metres tall! Back in time it was the tallest in the world, now even after the reconstruction it’s the second one (after Cairo) however it’s still an impressive patriotic sign.

23. House of Government

The House of Government in Baku is a monumental administrative building used by various ministries of Azerbaijan – you won’t miss it! It’s located close to the Baku Boulevard and was clearly seen from our hotel.

The Government House was erected in 1935-1953 for the needs of the Soviet government and a square was constructed in front of it too.

24. Fountain Square and the downtown

The Fountain Square is one of the prettiest squares in the city located in the liveliest part of Baku close to the Old city.

If you’re looking for cafes, restaurants, boutiques etc, come here, to the Baku downtown, without hesitation!

We visited Baku during winter holidays, and this area of Fountain Square and the adjacent streets had a Winter market, lots of decorations and illumination. Another – more quiet – spot to walk around is Filarmoniya Bağı, Philharmonic park, by the walls of old town.

25. Shopping malls: Port Baku mall, Crescent Mall, Dəniz Mall, 28 Mall

Baku is not short of shopping malls, and just let me introduce a few of them. Port Baku mall is the most high-end one, selling luxury brands such as Burberry, and high end brands such as Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren as well as home interiors goods, skincare and perfumery. It’s a very modern and good-looking mall, however it’s not very big. Crescent Mall located within the premises of the Crescent Development Project has a selection of more affordable brands such as Zara, Mango, Pandora, a supermarket, and lots of cafes like Starbucks, Coffeemania or Gloria Jeans coffee.

Dəniz Mall is located right on the Baku Boulevard close to the Carpet museum and Baku eye, and its architecture is fantastic! Especially if you look at it at night. Inside there is a big selection of fashion brands, kids friendly areas, cafes, and in the middle of it there is a large fountain! We absolutely adored Vasilchuk chaikhona there!

Finally, the last mall we visited was 28 Mall: it might’ve been the least lush of them all but it had everything you need from a mall: food court, kids playground activities, fashion shops, bookstore and so on.

Where to stay in Baku?

The JW Marriott Absheron Baku is a fantastic luxury hotel very conveniently located by the Baku boulevard and the crescent development complex. In the past, a posh Absheron Hotel stood on this exact spot however it was demolished in 2009 and instead of it now we have a brand-new JW Marriott.

New hotel had 21 floors with a pool on the top floor. The rooms were stylish and well-made, with absolutely astonishing views over Baku and super friendly staff.