Baku

No reviews yetCity Baki, Azerbaijan

Icherisheher Old City, Baku, Baki, Azerbaijan

Maiden Tower Baku, Baku, Baki, Azerbaijan

About Baku

Baku is a city of contrasts packed onto the shore of the Caspian Sea: medieval stone lanes and caravanserais inside the old walls, grand mansions from an oil boom, and glass towers shaped like flames lighting up the night sky. The capital of Azerbaijan lies about 28 metres below sea level, making it the lowest-lying national capital in the world.

Fire has always defined the Absheron Peninsula, where natural gas seeping from the ground fed Zoroastrian and Hindu fire worship long before the industrial age. In the late 19th century Baku's oilfields made fortunes for the Nobel brothers and the Rothschilds, and by around 1900 the region produced roughly half the world's oil. That wealth built the stately facades around Fountain Square and the seaside boulevard. Newer oil money built the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Flame Towers, while the walled Old City, with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport serves the city, and day trips lead to the rock art of Gobustan and the burning hillside of Yanar Dag.

Best seasonApril-June and September-October

Ideal stay3 days

ArrivingHeydar Aliyev International Airport; trains from Tbilisi

12 Best Things to Do in Baku

Neighborhoods 2

Icherisheher Old City

Enclosed by restored stone walls, Baku's Old City is a hillside maze of narrow lanes, mosques, bathhouses and caravanserais, some...

Fountain Square Baku

Just outside the Old City walls, Fountain Square is Baku's favourite meeting place, a broad pedestrian space of fountains, cafes a...

Landmarks 2

Maiden Tower Baku

Rising beside the old sea wall, this massive stone tower is the emblem of Baku, yet its age and purpose are still debated: some sc...

Flame Towers

Completed in 2012 on a hill above the bay, these three curved glass towers hold apartments, offices and a hotel, and their facades...

History 2

Palace of the Shirvanshahs

When the Shirvanshah rulers moved their capital to Baku in the 15th century, they built this palace complex at the top of the Old...

Gobustan National Park

About an hour southwest of Baku, the rocky hills of Gobustan hold thousands of engravings of hunters, boats, dancers and animals,...

Arts 1

Heydar Aliyev Center

Designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2012, this cultural centre is famous for its white, wave-like shell that flows from the groun...

Parks 1

Baku Boulevard

Laid out in 1909 and greatly extended since, the seaside boulevard runs for kilometres along Baku Bay, lined with gardens, fountai...

Museums 1

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

Founded in 1967 and housed since 2014 in a seafront building shaped like a partly rolled carpet, this museum holds one of the worl...

Temples and Shrines 1

Ateshgah Fire Temple

In Surakhani, northeast of the centre, this fortified temple was built in the 17th and 18th centuries by Hindu traders and pilgrim...

Nature 1

Yanar Dag

On a low hillside north of Baku, natural gas escaping from the ground has burned for as long as anyone can remember, producing a w...

Viewpoints 1

Highland Park Baku

Set on the heights above the city, Highland Park offers the classic panorama of Baku Bay, the boulevard and the Old City, with the...

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Baku? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Baku? Add your best shots to the gallery.

Photo credits

Photo: Самый древний, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Franzfoto, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Interfase, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Interfase, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: İhsan Deniz Kılıçoğlu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Frokor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Emin Allahverdi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Самый древний, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: AlixSaz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bruno Girin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Francisco Anzola, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Robot8A, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Emin Allahverdi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Самый древний, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Okinawa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Interfase, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Presidential Press and Information Office, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Roberto Pappalardo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Marco Monelli, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Radosław Botev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl

Photo: Ymblanter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Frokor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: indigoprime, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Frokor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Mark Ireland (mark i geo on Flickr) https://www.flickr.com/people/mark_i_geo/, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Walter Callens, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 1.0

Photo: Aleksander Dragnes from Oslo, Norway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Radosław Botev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl

Photo: Sefer azeri, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Urek Meniashvili, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Radosław Botev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl