Country guide
Azerbaijan lies on the boundary between Western Asia and Eastern Europe, in the South Caucasus, with the Caspian Sea along its entire eastern edge and Iran to t...
Photograph · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Azerbaijan lies on the boundary between Western Asia and Eastern Europe, in the South Caucasus, with the Caspian Sea along its entire eastern edge and Iran to the south. Baku is both the capital and the largest city.
The country is not one continuous block. The exclave of Nakhchivan is cut off from the rest by Armenian territory, and it holds the only stretch of border Azerbaijan shares with Turkey. Georgia is the neighbour to the northwest and Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north. It is one of six independent Turkic states, and the first secular democratic Muslim-majority state in the world, declared in 1918.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ludvig14 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
53 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
İçərişəhər
Baku Old City, locally called İçərişəhər, is the walled medieval core of Azerbaijan's capital. This living historic district contains the UNESCO-listed Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Maiden Tower, mosques, baths, and caravanserais.
Qız Qalası
The Maiden Tower, known locally as Qız qalası, stands as Baku's most recognisable medieval landmark and the emblematic monument of the UNESCO-listed Old City.
Şirvanşahlar Sarayı Bakı
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a fifteenth-century royal complex forming the architectural centrepiece of Baku's Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Heydər Əliyev Mərkəzi
The Heydar Aliyev Center is a cultural complex in Baku designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Completed in 2012, the building is celebrated for its fluid, curvilinear form that deliberately avoids straight lines and sharp angles.
Dənizkənarı Milli Park
Baku Boulevard, known locally as Bakı Bulvarı, is a long Caspian waterfront promenade that serves as Baku's principal public leisure corridor.
Qobustan Qayaüstü İncəsənət Mədəni Landşaftı
Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage site located south of Baku. The protected area encompasses a vast collection of rock engravings, ancient human settlements, and archaeological remains spanning multiple historical periods.
Azərbaycan Xalçası Muzeyi
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is a purpose-built institution in Baku dedicated to the preservation and display of Azerbaijani carpet weaving heritage. Its distinctive architecture resembles a rolled carpet, making it a recognisable landmark along the Caspian Sea waterfront.
Dağüstü Park
Highland Park, known locally as Dağüstü Park, is Baku's principal elevated viewpoint. It sits on a hill overlooking the Caspian Sea bay, the Boulevard promenade, and the city skyline, with the Flame Towers immediately adjacent.
Atəşgah
The Ateshgah Fire Temple is a religious-historical complex and museum located in Surakhani, on the outskirts of Baku.
Yanardağ
Yanar Dag is a continuously burning natural-gas hillside on the Absheron Peninsula near Baku, Azerbaijan. The flames emerge from the ground where natural gas seeps through porous rock and ignites upon contact with oxygen.
Flame Towers are a trio of skyscrapers in Baku, Azerbaijan, completed as a distinctive modern landmark on the Caspian Sea waterfront. The local name Alov qüllələri reflects their flame-shaped design, which references Azerbaijan's historical identity as the Land of Fire.
Milli Azərbaycan Tarixi Muzeyi
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijan's principal history collection, housed in an ornate former mansion.
Fəvvarələr Meydanı
Fountains Square is a central public space in Baku, Azerbaijan, known locally as Fəvvarələr Meydanı. The square functions as a pedestrian gathering point and downtown landmark.
Azərbaycan Milli İncəsənət Müzeyi
The Azerbaijan National Museum of Art is the country's premier institution for fine arts, housed across two adjacent historic mansions in central Baku. Its local name is Azərbaycan Milli İncəsənət Muzeyi.
Şəhidlər Xiyabanı
Martyrs' Lane is a hillside memorial cemetery in Baku, Azerbaijan, known locally as Şəhidlər Xiyabanı. It commemorates victims of Black January 1990, when Soviet forces suppressed an independence movement in the city, as well as casualties from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts.
Səadət Sarayı
The Palace of Happiness, locally known as Səadət Sarayı, is a Neo-Gothic mansion in Baku, Azerbaijan. Built during the oil boom era, it was originally the Muxtarov mansion.
Ismailiyya Palace is a Venetian Gothic building constructed during Baku's oil boom era. The palace was commissioned by Agha Musa Naghiyev in memory of his son Ismail.
Nizami Gəncəvi adına Milli Azərbaycan Ədəbiyyatı muzeyi
The Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature is a national museum dedicated to the literary heritage of Azerbaijan. Named after the 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi, it occupies a prominent landmark building located near Baku's Old City.
Bibi Heybət Məscidi
Bibi-Heybat Mosque is a rebuilt Islamic shrine mosque located on the Caspian Sea coast near Baku, Azerbaijan. Its local name is Bibiheybət məscidi. The site is a major pilgrimage destination associated with a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Heydər Məscidi
Heydar Mosque, known locally as Heydər məscidi, is a monumental modern mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan. It stands as one of the city's largest religious buildings and serves as a prominent landmark in the northern part of the city.
Kiçik Venesiya
Little Venice, known locally as Kiçik Venesiya, is a compact leisure landscape situated along Baku's waterfront boulevard. It consists of a network of artificial canals, small islands, and connecting bridges designed to evoke the atmosphere of Venice, Italy.
Bakı Gözü
The Baku Ferris Wheel, known locally as Bakı Gözü, stands as a prominent observation wheel on Baku Boulevard along the Caspian Sea waterfront. It serves as a landmark attraction offering elevated views across the urban coastline.
Beynəlxalq Muğam Mərkəzi
The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan is a purpose-built performance venue dedicated to mugham, a traditional Azerbaijani musical form recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
YARAT Contemporary Art Center
YARAT Contemporary Art Space is Baku's leading contemporary-art organisation. Its local name is YARAT Müasir İncəsənət Məkanı. The organisation operates from a converted waterfront industrial building, repurposing former industrial infrastructure for cultural use.
Museum of Modern Art
The Baku Museum of Modern Art, known locally as Bakı Müasir İncəsənət Muzeyi, is a dedicated institution for Azerbaijani avant-garde and contemporary art.
Six to nine days can cover Baku, Gobustan or Absheron and one overnight route toward Sheki or the mountains. Western Azerbaijan and remote villages add real road time, so do not schedule them as casual extensions from a three-day capital stay.
Check Azerbaijan’s official ASAN Visa portal against your nationality and intended entry date. The service states the applicable electronic-visa process; border access and passport conditions should be confirmed there rather than inferred from a previous Caucasus trip.
Baku has metro and bus services, while rail and coaches connect selected cities. Rural monuments and mountain areas often need a hired driver or car; verify current road and boundary-area access before setting out, since the shortest mapped route may not be open to visitors.
Late spring and early autumn generally balance Baku walking weather with regional travel, but the Caspian coast and highlands do not share one climate. Build dates around the highest or most exposed leg and check official access information for mountain roads.
Prices are recorded in Azerbaijani manat. Keep some AZN for smaller regional businesses and use regulated banking or exchange channels; in Baku, confirm the final manat amount before accepting a card terminal’s optional foreign-currency conversion.
Dial 112 for the recorded emergency service and expect Type C or F plugs at 220 V. Tap-water advice is Not recorded, so ask the accommodation or local utility; also retain current official guidance for any journey near restricted boundary areas.
