Language · 11 published
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 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.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
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.
23 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.
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.
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.
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.
Milli Azərbaycan Tarixi Muzeyi
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijan's principal history collection, housed in an ornate former mansion.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Miniatür kitab muzeyi
The Baku Museum of Miniature Books, known locally as Miniatür Kitab Muzeyi, is an unusual museum situated within Baku's Old City. It holds a specialist international collection devoted entirely to miniature editions of books.
Nobel Qardaşlarının Ev-Muzeyi
Villa Petrolea is the restored residence associated with the Nobel brothers, Swedish industrialists who played a major role in Baku during the late nineteenth-century oil boom.
Müslüm Maqomayev adına Azərbaycan Dövlət Akademik Filarmoniyası
Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall is a central Baku concert venue in an ornate building associated with the city's early twentieth-century oil boom. Its facade reflects the eclectic architectural character that developed as oil wealth reshaped Baku into a cosmopolitan capital.
Hökumət Evi
Government House, locally known as Hökumət Evi, is a monumental civic building on Baku’s central seafront beside Azadlıq Square. Its long formal façade, repeated arches, and imposing scale make it a defining architectural feature of this part of the boulevard.
Bakı Kristal Zalı
Baku Crystal Hall is a multipurpose indoor arena located on the waterfront of Baku, Azerbaijan. The venue was constructed to host the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest and has since become a prominent event space in the city.
Daş Salnamə Muzeyi
Stone Chronicle Museum, also known locally as Daş Salnamə Muzeyi, is a Baku museum devoted to Azerbaijan’s stone heritage.
Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkı
Military Trophies Park, known locally as Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkı, is an open-air military display in Baku. It presents equipment captured during the 2020 Second Karabakh War and serves as a state commemorative site as well as a public exhibition.
Bakı Funikulyoru
Baku Funicular is a hillside railway linking the Caspian Sea boulevard area with Highland Park above. The ride turns a steep climb into a short urban journey and gives you a changing view over Baku’s waterfront and city skyline.
Bakı Zooparkı
Baku Zoo, or Bakı Zooloji Parkı, is a rebuilt zoological park beside Dədə Qorqud Park in Azerbaijan’s capital. It is a family-oriented place where a city visit can include outdoor recreation alongside animal exhibits.
Muzey Mərkəzi
Museum Centre, or Muzey Mərkəzi, occupies the Baku building that formerly served as the Lenin Museum. The change gives the building a different civic role: its Soviet-era architectural setting now holds collections focused on Azerbaijani national heritage.
Üzeyir Hacıbəylinin ev-muzeyi
The Uzeyir Hajibeyli House Museum is the preserved former residence of Azerbaijan's foundational composer, located in Baku. Uzeyir Hajibeyli created the first opera in the Muslim world and established Azerbaijani composed classical music tradition.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
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.
