Things to do in Baku
Top sights and attractions to build your days around once you know when to go.
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a 15th-century palace built by the Shirvanshahs and described by UNESCO as "one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture". It is located in the Inner City of Baku, Azerbaijan and, together with the Maiden Tower, forms an ensemble of historic monuments inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments. 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, south of the palace, a portal in the east, Murad's gate, a reservoir and the remnants of a bath house. Earlier, there was an ancient mosque, next to the mausoleum. There is still ruins of the bath to the west of the tomb.
National Art Museum of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan National Museum of Art is the biggest art museum of Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1936 in Baku and in 1943 was named after Rustam Mustafayev, a prominent Azerbaijani scenic designer and theater artist. The museum consists of two 19th-century buildings standing next to each other. The museum's total collection includes over 15,000 artworks. There are over 3,000 items in 60 rooms on permanent display. About 12,000 items are kept in storage. The museum changes the exhibits periodically so that more of these artworks can be displayed temporarily.
Maiden Tower
The Maiden Tower is a 12th-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan. Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It was built, like most buildings in the Old City, by the Iranian Shirvanshahs, and is one of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azerbaijani currency notes and official letterheads.
National Museum of History of Azerbaijan
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan is the largest museum in Azerbaijan. It is located in Baku, in the former residential house of Azerbaijani oil magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. The museum was founded in 1920, following the Russian takeover of Baku, and opened to visitors in 1921. The building itself was built by Polish architect Józef Gosławski.
Tofiq Bahramov Stadium
The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It served as the home ground for the Azerbaijan national football team until they moved to the Baku Olympic Stadium. They returned for some UEFA Euro 2024 and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. It holds 31,200 seats making it the second largest stadium in the country. The stadium is also used by the Azerbaijan Premier League clubs in the final rounds of European competitions.
Baku Zoo
Baku Zoological Park, more commonly known as Baku Zoo, is a 10.5-acre zoo located in the Narimanov district of the capital city of Azerbaijan, Baku. It features over 125 species of animals, and is one of the most popular zoos in the country.
Ateshgah of Baku
The Ateshgah of Baku, often called the "Fire Temple of Baku", is a syncretic temple in Surakhany town. Sarah Ashurbeyli notes that the Atsh is distorted Atesh (“fire”) and Atshi-Baguan means “Fires of Baguan”, referring to Baku. The word Baguan comes from the word Baga, which means “God” in Old Persian, and Bhaga. Baku gets its name from Bagavan/Bagawan/Baguan/Bhagawan. It was called Bagavan during the Sassanian rule.
Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is a museum located in Baku that displays Azerbaijani carpets and rugs with historical and modern weaving techniques and materials. It has the largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets in the world. First opened on Neftchiler Avenue in 1967, it moved to a new building in the Baku seafront park in 2014.
Azerbaijan Railway Museum
Azerbaijan Railway Museum is a railway museum in Baku, Azerbaijan. The museum was opened in 2019.
Taza Pir Mosque
The Taza Pir Mosque is a Shia Islam mosque, located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Its construction began in 1905 and was finished by 1914. The concept for the mosque as well as its financing was provided by an Azeri female philanthropist, Nabat Khanum Ashurbeyova (Ashurbeyli).
Bibi-Heybat Mosque
The Bibi-Heybat Mosque is located in the village of Bibiheybət, near Baku, Azerbaijan. The current structure, completed in the 1990s, replicates the original 13th-century mosque built at the behest of Iranian Shirvanshah Farrukhzad II Ibn Ahsitan II. The historic mosque was completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1936. It is occasionally called "the Mosque of Fatima", which is how Alexandre Dumas referred to it during his visit in the 1850s. The mosque a holy site in Shia Islam.
Baku Museum of Modern Art
Baku Museum of Modern Art is a museum of modern art located in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Places from Wikidata and Wikipedia.
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