A plan for Baku

Baku is on the coast of the Caspian Sea on the southern coast of the Absheron Peninsula. There are three major divisions in Baku: İçəri Şəhər (the Old Town), the Soviet-built city, and the newest part of the city. The population in 2020 was 2.3 million.

The city of Baku is on the semi-arid and dusty Absheron peninsula. The center of Baku is a patch of green in a largely brown area because of the many liters of water that is piped daily to the city. The city has a metro, a well-developed bus and minibus network, and a large area for walking, including the Inner Walled City, The Boluvar, and Fountain Square.

Reading the book Ali and Nino is a good way to get into the mood.

Climate

A curious fact about Baku is that its average year-round temperature (14.2°C/57.6°F) matches the average temperature of the entire landmass of the earth to within a tenth of degree. However, seasonal temperature variations are less than in many continental regions at this latitude (about 40 degrees north) owing to the presence of the Caspian Sea. Summers are hot and dry, winters cool, moderately wet and breezy. There is frequent night frost and occasional snowfall during winter. Baku averages 200 mm (8 in) and is the driest place in Azerbaijan. Baku is very breezy most of the year.

Old Town (Icheri Sheher)

There are a number of interesting sites within Baku's walled fortress, the Old City (a UNESCO World Heritage site), which can all be seen on foot in one day:

1 The Palace of the Shirvan Shahs (Shirvanshahs' Palace; Azerbaijani: Şirvanşahlar sarayı, Russian: Дворец Ширваншахов), Sabayil (Metro Icherisheher 200 m), ☏ +994 12 492-1073, fax: +994 12 437-1246, info@shirvanshah.az. Daily: Apr-Oct 10:00-19:00, Nov-Mar 10:00-18:00. The medieval palace of the Shirvan Shahs is the highlight of the Old City and a must see for any tourist in Baku. The complex contains the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the burial-vaults, the shah's mosque with a minaret, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mausoleum, a portal in the east - Murad's gate, a reservoir and the remnants of the bath-house. The main building of the complex was started in 1411 by Shirvanshah Sheykh Ibrahim I. The two-storey building of the palace numbers about 50 different dimensions and outlines of the constructions connected with 3 narrow winding staircases. Foreigners 10 manat, locals 2 manat, 2 manat to take photos. (updated Oct 2017)

2 Saray Mosque (Palatial mosque, Shahs-khans mosque, Azerbaijani: Saray məscidi, Russian: Дворцовая мечеть). Plan of the mosque is rectangular. There is a small hall, small prayer room for women and serving rooms. The northern portal, rotated to a burial vault of Shirvanshahs is more solemn than the eastern one. The latter, which was coming down to underground exit, was intended for habitants of the palace. - Interior. Two-tier windowed prayer room is covered with cupola with spherical sails. Mihrab is located in the southern end of the palace. Cupola area over one a tier women's prayer room ceding to cupola of the hall with its dimensions and replacing its outlines. Aperture of the mosque's portal is clearly described on the severe background of prismatic volume, ended with two cupolas with slightly sharpening calottes. - Minaret. Trunk of the minaret is surrounded by an inscription, a ligature of which has a date of 845 (1441/42). Details of sherefe's stalactites are subtly modeled.

In the evening, go to the national opera on Nizami street. Otherwise, go to the rooftop bar at Sultan Inn in the Old City for a drink and excellent views of the Maiden Tower, Caspian sea and the TV tower.

Boat tours of Baku. Offered from the Baku Blvd. Lasts 40 minutes. 6 manat.

1 Pantomima theatre (Pantomima Teatrı), 49 Azadliq Ave, ☏ +994 12 4414756. Offered from the Baku Blvd. Lasts 40 minutes. 6 manat.

2 National Opera and Ballet (Opera Və Balet Teatrı), 95 Nizami St, ☏ +994 12 4931651.

3 Baku Funicular Railroad. Runs from the square on Neftchilar Avenue up to the Alley of the Marytrs. 1 manat.

4 Aqua Park Baku, Rashid Behbudov, 59, ☏ +994 12 4470303. US$19 for ages 7 and up.

5 Baku Entertainment Center (Bakı Əyləncə Mərkəzi), Khatai District, F. Bayramov St, 1130/33, ☏ +994 12 490-22-22, fax: +994 012 490-22-05, info@bem.az. Baku Entertainment center has been around for more than half a decade. It has a shopping center, bowling alley certified by the AMF, health club, conference venue with a capacity of 350 people, and various restaurants and clubs.

6 Mini-Venice. 10:30-23:30. A charming little complex of man-made waterways accessible on a boat. There are also some restaurants in the immediate proximity. The ticket booth is 10-15 meters to the right when coming from the north. It is cheap but the signage to the ticket booth is lacking. (updated Jun 2018)

Football. The men's national team play soccer at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, capacity 31,000. Five clubs in the city play in the Premier League, Azerbaijan's top tier. (updated Jul 2023)

7 Azersun stadium. Qarabağ FK. Capacity 5,800. (updated May 2019)

8 ASK Arena (Inter Arena, Shafa stadium). Keşla FK (formerly Inter Baku). Capacity 8,200. (updated May 2019)

9 Bakcell Arena (Eighth Kilometer District Stadium). Neftçi. Capacity 11,000. (updated May 2019)

Zira Olympic sports complex. Zira FK (updated Jul 2023)

Asco Arena. Sabail FK. (updated Jul 2023)

10 Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium (1 km north of city centre, metro Ganjlik). As the previous stadia are small by European standards, big club games may transfer to this stadium. E.g. a host venue for the Euro 2020 tournament.

There are many restaurants in Baku and kebab shops can be found easily for a quick meal.

Budget

In the city centre

1 Half Way Inn, 6, 28 May St (Bus 2, 61, 85, 88, 90, 95 to Milli Bank), ☏ +994 12 5980905. International cuisine. 5-10 manat.

2 Nergiz Restaurant, Fountain Square, 9 Tərlan. (updated May 2022)

3 Bizim Ev Restaurant & Cafe, 7 Khagani Street. (updated May 2022)

4 Doner House, 16/21 Azadliq Ave. (updated May 2022)

Around the historic city centre

5 Lavas Bistro / Fasali Cafe (Right outside Icherisheher metro, on the left). Two take-away places, one next to the other, run by the same people. Do a wide range of usual Azeri/Turkish take-away food - but good quality, very popular with the locals, expect to queue! 3 manat for a kebab/pancake which will completely fill you up.

6 Lezzet Taste Shop, Ahmad Javad St. (updated May 2022)

Mid-range

Azerbaijani/Turkish

Anadolu, Pushkin St 5 & Rasul Rza St 3/5, ☏ +994 12 498-87-58, +994 012 498-804. Turkish/European restaurant. 8-15 manat.

7 Firuze Restaurant, 14 Tarlan Aliyarbeyov, ☏ +994 503186545, +994 124939634. 12:00-01:00. Serves excellent, very filling Piti. [1]. (updated Sep 2019)

Tonqal Restoranı, 82, Acad, Hasan Aliyeve St, ☏ +994 12 449-91-98. The various meat dishes include kebabs and organ-meat-based delicacies.

Lido, Cnr of Nkhchivani St, ☏ +994 12 462-94-49. European and Azeri cuisine.

Masal, 29/44 Mahammad Hadi Rd, ☏ +994 50 600 60 25. Kebabs, or, if you prefer, flatbreads and pizza.

Mugam Club, 9 A. Rzayeva St, ☏ +994 12 492-40-85. European and Azeri cuisine. 10-15 manat.

Namli Kebab, Mardanov Brothers st., 3 (close to Russian Dramatic Theatre and Austin Hotel), ☏ +994 12 493 03 98. Turkish and Azeri cuisine. 10-15 manat.

Georgian

8 U Dali, 5, Mirza Ibrahimov Street (Bus to 'Şahmat məktəbi' or M 'Nizami' 0.6km N), ☏ +994 12 4949356. Georgian cuisine. 3-6 manat.

Western

Sultan Inn rooftop or Meridien hotel rooftop restaurants for European/fusion with excellent views or head back to the Fountain Square for a greater variety of inexpensive cuisine.

Gazelli Cafe, 93 Nizami St, ☏ +994 12 404 93 00. European cafe that does up some stylish and tasteful plates. 5-16 manat.

Dolce Vita, 19 Aziz Aliyev St, ☏ +994 50 273 99 19. Italian restaurant. Offerings include a duck or meatball salad.

Tea houses (Çayxanalar)

There are many outdoor tea houses (çayxanalar) serving tea and sweets that offer a sense of the local culture. If you are adventurous, try challenging a local Bakuvian to a game of backgammon (nard) or dominoes.

Cafés

There is a good selection of cafés throughout Baku. Expect to pay Western prices for your coffee.

Aroma Cafe, 18, U. Hajibayov St, ☏ +994 12-598-07-07.

Azza Cafe, 1, I. Safarli St/Fountains Sq, ☏ +994 12 437 0111, kafe@azza.az. 12-23. They bake cakes aside from doing coffee.

Baku Roasting Company, Alasgar Alakbarov Street, 12 (Near Ramstore in Elmlar), ☏ +994 12 510 98 76. Tue-Sun 09:00-21:00. Here you can get a nice roast and maybe an egg burrito type of thing as well. 2.5-7 manat.

Chocolates Cafe Baku, Yusif Mammadaliyev str. 4, ☏ +994 12 498 72 60. Not just coffee and chocolatey desserts, but sandwiches too.

Bars and pubs

Although tea houses (çay xanalar) (found throughout Azerbaijan) serve local beer (piva) - draft at 50 qapick/glass or bottles at 70 qapick/bottle or vodka (araq) at 2 manat/bottle, for anything exotic (e.g. tequila, gin, or rum), you will have to go to a normal bar or hotel and pay Western prices there.

The Lounge & Bar, 6 Izmir St (in Hyatt Hotel), ☏ +994 12 490 12 34. A distinguished place to have a drink

Caspian Bar, 20 Tbilisi Avenue (inside the Grand Hotel Europe), ☏ +994 12 490 70 90.

Finnegan's, 8 Abdulkarim Ali-Zadeh St, ☏ +994 12 498 65 64. Next to History Museum. Free wifi. Good beer prices and Happy Hour offers. Ridiculously expensive wine, however. It doesn't serve Guinness. April 2016.

360 Bar, 1B Azadlig Avenue (in the Hilton Baku), ☏ +994 12 464 50 00. Here you can have a refreshment from atop the Hilton hotel tower, or, if you prefer to stay more grounded, there is also the Sugar Lounge below offering tea, baklava and vodka.

Victor's Bar, 1, Azadlig St (in the Park Inn by Radisson Baku Hotel), ☏ +994 12-490-60-00. Classy cocktails

The Phoenix Bar, 10, Mammadaliyev St, ☏ +994 12 305 90 90. Lots of booze on hand here.

Hops Pub Baku, 24 Tarlan Aliyarbeyov St, ☏ +994 50 700 55 37. Good for socializing and a game of snooker or pool.

Caledonia Bar, 20 Qachaq Nabi, ☏ +994 50 653 05 03, dave@Caledoniabar.Com. 09:30-late. Offers a familiar pub atmosphere with photos and memorabilia from Scotland. Screens for watching sporting events.

On foot

There are pedestrian alleys and streets around the Fountain Square, the seafront, and the old town. You can walk to other places, too, but you might have to cross busy streets since there aren't always pedestrian tunnels available. The zebra crossings work with an "I'm feeling lucky" principle and aren't usually exactly safe, especially at night. At night, use your phone screen (not your flashlight) to indicate to the approaching cars that you are crossing the street, and follow other people.

By bicycle

Baku is a great town to get around in by bicycle. Except for the up-town, the city, including old town (İçəri Şəhər) and down-town is fairly flat, and though there are some streets that are dangerous to ride, there is almost always a safe, fast route to your destination.

While there are no separate bike lanes on the streets, and cars and cyclists often share narrow streets of Baku, the city is very bike-friendly. While cycling on the street, be very careful watch out for other cyclists, always keep closer to foot-walk side of the street, and show other traffic where you are going (e.g., by holding out your hand) in order to avoid accidents and smoothen the traffic flow.

MyBike, Asef Zeynalli Street, Ichari Shahar. A bicycle rental shop. Make sure to get a good lock (or two), and to use it. If you want to know the best routes, you should get a copy of the beautifully designed Baku by Bike plan, which is available at all bike rental points of MyBike. A passport or identity card must be shown and a refundable deposit is required. While this service is quite convenient, be sure to bring ID or passport and contact information, including hotel phone number, to speed up the paperwork. 10-20 manat per day.

By bus/minibus

Buses and minibuses cost 0.60 manat (July 2026) per person and can take you to almost any place within Baku. Destinations are usually posted on the front and the right side of the bus.

Newer buses (the red ones) only accept electronic cash in the form of metro cards, available at any metro station. Some larger bus stations have machines to top-up cards, but not to buy new ones.

Baku is considered a safe city, nevertheless common sense is useful as in all other big cities. Homeless people do not harass or attack people and are safe to be around. The biggest problem in Baku is driving. Many drivers do not obey rules and speed.

The security is rather high, with regular security checks at some attractions and metro stations. The metro has police guarding both ends of the escalators.

Since the Karabakh conflict re-ignited in September 2020, security has been further tightened.

Emergency contact numbers

Ambulance: 103

Fire: 101

Gas Emergency 104

Speaking Clock 106

Police: 102

You must speak in Azeri, Turkish or Russian to communicate your needs. It would be a good idea to memorize key phrases before coming to Azerbaijan - see the Talk section for phrasebooks. The police are friendly and try to be helpful. Be nice and understanding and don't get frustrated if you don't understand each other immediately. Write down your phone's IMEI code in case it gets lost so it is easier for the police to find.

Safety tips

The roads can be treacherous at night due to unseen potholes and dimly lit cars. Most areas in and near the downtown are safe. There are some underpasses under particularly busy roads (some with escalators), and some zebra crossings and traffic lights. Watch out for traffic police if otherwise crossing a busy road, they may try to fine you 20 manat for a traffic offence (even though the locals do it constantly).