Baku
A walled old city and a Shirvanshahs' palace on the Caspian, a city made rich by oil in the 1870s, and the glass Flame Towers above the seafront.
- Arrival
- Heydar Aliyev International · GYD
- To the city
- About 20 km to the centre
- Private jets
- ASG Business Aviation terminal at GYD
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Below sea level, beside the Caspian.
Baku lies 28 metres below sea level, the lowest of the world's capitals, on the western shore of the Caspian, the largest city on that sea. The walled old city keeps the Maiden Tower and the palace of the Shirvanshahs, listed together by UNESCO in 2000. Beyond the walls grew the city of the oil boom, after the Nobel brothers came in 1873 and the Rothschilds in 1882.
The modern city spreads along the seafront promenade of Baku Boulevard, with the glass Flame Towers above it and Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Centre. May to September is the season: dry, warm days and a sea that reaches the mid-twenties in August.
Arriving
A hub airline and its own jet terminal.
Heydar Aliyev International lies about twenty kilometres north-east of the centre. Terminal 1, opened in 2014, handles most international flights.
- Kuwait City 2 h 00
- Beirut 2 h 15
- Paris 5 h 15
- London 5 h 30
- Toronto 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
Dry all year. Summer is hot and almost rainless, with highs of about thirty degrees in July and August and the Caspian at 24 to 26 °C. Winters are cool, with highs of six to nine degrees.
- 7° J 23 8°
- 6° F 23 7°
- 10° M 25 7°
- 17° A 26 10°
- 22° M 13 16°
- 27° J 9 21°
- 30° J 2 24°
- 30° A 7 26°
- 26° S 17 23°
- 19° O 31 19°
- 14° N 31 14°
- 9° D 26 10°
What to see and do
Days in and around Baku.
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Landmark
Icherisheher
The walled old city, with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, on the UNESCO list since 2000.
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Landmark
Heydar Aliyev Centre
The cultural centre designed by Zaha Hadid, winner of the Pritzker Prize.
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Landmark
Yanar Dag
A fire of natural gas that never goes out, near the city.
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Culture
Gobustan National Historical and Artistic Reserve
More than 6,000 petroglyphs, carved between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago, cover the rocks of this 537 hectare reserve set up in 1966.
Official site -
Culture
Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
Shaped like a rolled carpet on the seafront park, the museum founded in 1967 moved into this building in 2014 and holds over 10,000 exhibits.
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Culture
Ateshgah Fire Temple
Monks once lived in the cells around this pentagonal courtyard, built in the 17th and 18th centuries around a fire altar and a museum since 1975.
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Culture
National Art Museum of Azerbaijan
Two 19th century mansions on Niyazi Street hold some 15,000 works, from Seljuq ceramics and Tabriz miniatures to European and Azerbaijani painting.
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Opera & music
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre
Opera and ballet have filled this house, designed by Nikolai Bayev, since it opened on 28 February 1911.
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Opera & music
Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall
Built in 1910 to 1912 as a club for wealthy Baku and modelled on Monte Carlo's casino, the hall carries the name of composer Muslim Magomayev.
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Golf
Dreamland Golf Club
Cynthia Dye laid out the 18 holes near the Caspian, opened in 2015 alongside a nine hole par three course.
On the calendar
A date to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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24–26 Sep 2027
Formula 1
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Round 16 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Baku City Circuit.
Baku City Circuit
In 11 months
Where to stay
On the seafront and under the towers.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Four Seasons Hotel Baku A beaux-arts building on the Caspian, a few steps from the old walls, and the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Azerbaijan.
- Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers 299 rooms and suites in the Flame Towers, looking down on the Old City and the sea.
- JW Marriott Absheron Baku On the main square near the seafront boulevard, with an Italian restaurant, OroNero.
- Hilton Baku In the business district, within walking distance of downtown and Government House.
- The Landmark Hotel Baku A small hotel inside a mixed-use complex, its floor-to-ceiling windows facing either the skyline or the Caspian.
- Sheraton Baku Intourist Balconies look over Baku Bay and the National Flag Square from this seafront address on Mikail Useynov Street.
- Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard Eight hundred and eighteen rooms and suites in the new White City district, on the water east of the old town.
- Hyatt Regency Baku An eight-storey building with a pool, five minutes by car from the government offices.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Azerbaijan. Art Club and OroNero are among the best rated restaurants in Baku on Tripadvisor, in its top price band; Zafferano is the main restaurant of the Four Seasons.
- Art Club Restaurant Rated 4.9 on Tripadvisor Azerbaijani $$$$ Asef Zeynalli Street, Old City
- OroNero Rated 4.8 on Tripadvisor Italian, seafood $$$$ JW Marriott Absheron, Azadliq Square
- Zafferano Signature restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel Baku Central Italian Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Neftchilar Avenue
Elsewhere in Azerbaijan
More reasons to come.
Flying to Baku?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.