Pro

Safe, exotic, very welcoming place
Con

ugly outskirts
In a nutshell

Shahs, Soviets and the Oil
8 Reviews Listed under UNESCO World Heritage. It is constructed at the coast and there are different rumours about it. The most believed one is, king wants to marry with a beautiful young girl but girl does not want to. To save time she asks him to build a tower for her honour then she will marry. Once the...
4 Reviews The Shirvan-Shah's Palace ensemble (15-16th century) was built when the Shah's capital was moved from Shemakha to Baku. This was the most prominent architectural complex in the medieval city. Some of the builings in the complex far surpass the palace in splendour. Despite having built in different...
4 Reviews The Nizami museum of Azeri Literature was originally built as an hotel. It façade is decorated with dark blue and turquoise majolica. Inside the ogival arches are statues of outstanding Azeri writers of several periods: Fisuli, Vaghif, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Natavan, Djalil Mamedkulizade, Djafar...
2 Reviews Commission headed by the President Haydar Aliyev who is an architect of the Azerbaijani statehood prepared the Constitution of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan, which was adopted on November 12, 1995 through referendum and the first parliament was elected on the basis of democratic principles....
2 Reviews Originally built by local millionaire Nagiev as a tribute to his dead son and to house the Ismailia Moslem charitable society it later was later ceded to the Academy of Sciences to house its Presidium. The architecture is mock italian Gothic by Polish architect Joseph Ploshko, imitating the...
1 Review and 23 Opinions Food very good. A nice but rather soulless bar (The Britannia) which has Efes, Xerdilan, Bitburger...
The Oilman's Inn: A Curry House? A Pub?
OilyMike Says: It was a hot July afternoon and, after a long tiring meeting in Baku's Old City ( Icheri Sheher ), my colleague, Steve, and I were rushing towards the Maiden tower to have a relaxing lunch. Then suddenly, while crossing Boyuk Gala street, we came across this new brownish-red...
THE SOVIET UNION RESTAURANT & PUB: COOL FOR CATS
DAO Says: PLEASE NOTE: Often listed as U.S.S.R. Pub in guidebooks.Do you remember those fantastic basement bars in college/university with loads of character(s), cheap beer, good times and not much else? This is the bar in Baku for you! I was in the Soviet Union when I was a student,...
Assenczo Says: As in many other places where freedom has just arrived, Baku has its fare share of taxi cowboys. These sleazy crooks come in drovers to the rail station and even beyond – to the train tracks and start negotiating from there – the train platform is very long! Some start from...
Souvenir Shop: Quality Azeri Souvenirs
sebiskveradze Says: There's a small souvenir shop on the street just south of Xagani, near the Pushkin intersection. It sells high quality handmade local crafts and paintings at reasonable prices. The staff is relaxed and friendly, and you should be able to bargain if you purchase more than one...
Immigration stories never bore
Assenczo Says: Trying to leave some countries can be a pain. Azerbaijan was not the best example but provided some food for thought. At the airport border control counter a lady with a stern look took my passport and on the way to the Azeri visa page she came across my Armenian visa. The...
davido7236 Says: The traffic can be manic. We saw a burning car on our way in last time (Dec-07) near Heydar Aliyev Prospekt, and no-one appeared to be in a rush to put it out. Also, if you park in the wrong place, you may find that the police remove your number plates and you may have to...
Nuclei Says: Baku is a small place, basically you can walk anywhere. But if you need to take a taxi, you need to bargain well as there is no taximeter. Drivers ask you more when it is obvious you are a foreigner. Normally, taxi rates are low and you may not need to bargain but i paid 10...
Books - the size of your fingernails
Minashka Says: I had a VT-er friend visiting from the US recently and he told me I must put this tip on VT. So here it is – there is a Museum of Miniature Books in the Old Town in Baku. The founder is Zarifa Salahova and all of the books belong to her personal collection. 3,700 miniature...
traveloturc Says: In Azerbaijan besides some of the best caviar in the world, you will be able to taste the sturgeon itself (osetr). In fact Many second courses are prepared of fish. Sturgeon shashlik, kutum a la Azerbaijan, kuku of kutum, balyg chygyrtma( Balik Cigirtma), stuffed fish,...
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Plan a Baku vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Baku locals

Baku is the city of winds - I am crazy about my hometown... I am helplessly in love with it! No matter where I am in the world, Baku is where my heart is!!! I have given an overview of Baku on my Homepage, so I am not gonna...
127 members live in Baku

Q: is it possible to visit Baku from tehran (iran) by bus or rail...please advise Thanks in advance

A: Any trip will have to change at the border. A bus will change, a train will change. Also important are visa issues. Without putting your nationality, it is impossible to...
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1

I am crazy about my hometown... I am helplessly in love with it! No matter where I am in the world, Baku is where my heart is!!! I have given an overview of Baku on my Homepage, so I am not gonna...
2

Well...this capital seemed booming in high growth rates in all fields - from population to expats, buildings and roads, and from cars to shops and cafes. I was told casinos were the only thing no...
3

Baku will be my first Page on VirtualTourist after the Page of my hometown Zurich. My visit to Baku was actually the reason for joining VirtualTourist, the Information here helped me a lot for my...
4

I can't mention my feeling about this nice city. I journeyed to Baku by my car from Iran border (Astara). when I go trough 5 hour driving I was very tired because for speed limit(max 70 km/h) and...
5

Baku's name is orginated from one of two Persian phrases: Bagh-Kuh ("Mount of God") and bad kube ("city of winds").
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