The Caspian capital of the 'land of fire': the UNESCO-listed walled Old City of Icherisheher with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Flame Towers that light up with fire patterns every night, and Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center. A long seafront boulevard, the Carpet Museum, and outside town the ever-burning Yanar Dag, the Ateshgah fire temple, Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes. No direct flights from Ulaanbaatar — connect via Istanbul, Beijing, Astana or Almaty; Mongolian citizens get an ASAN e-visa (30 days).
🛂 Visa: e-Visa · 30 days✈ Flight: 12h☀ Best months: April, May, June, September
Orange — daytime average, blue — night, grey bars — rainfall, green — sea temperature. Best months: April, May, June, September, October.
Things to see (12)
📍🧸 for kids
Icherisheher Old City and the Maiden Tower (UNESCO)★ 4.6 (30,000)
CultureMaiden Tower around 15 AZN (students and children less, under-6s free)Daily ≈10:00–18:00
Narrow lanes of the walled Old City with bathhouses, caravanserais, mosques and craft shops. At its heart stands the mysterious 29.5 m Maiden Tower, built before the 12th century — the top floor looks over the Caspian and the city. Walk from Icherisheher metro.
Like a well-travelled friend for a first-timer: before you go, landing, SIM, transport, money, food, safety, manners, apps, leaving — step by step.
🧳Before you goMongolian citizens need a visa for Azerbaijan — get the ASAN e-visa online; entry is by air only.+
1
Visa: the evisa.gov.az e-visa
Azerbaijan's visa-free regime covers only Mongolian diplomatic and official passports. With an ordinary passport, apply online at evisa.gov.az: single entry, stay up to 30 days, valid 90 days. The state fee is $20 plus a service fee; standard decisions take 3 working days, the urgent service 3 hours (costs more). Print the e-visa and carry it with your passport.
Tip: Apply 1–2 weeks before the trip, and only on the official evisa.gov.az — intermediary sites charge extra.
Your passport must be valid at least 3 months beyond the visa's expiry (in practice 6 months from arrival). If you stay over 15 days, register with the State Migration Service online or in person — hotels usually do it, in a rented flat you do it yourself. If you don't, you pay a fine when leaving.
Azerbaijan's land borders with Georgia, Iran and Russia have stayed closed to ordinary travellers since 2020 — you can only enter by plane. You cannot come by bus or train from Tbilisi, so plan your flights. Travellers who have visited Karabakh without permission may be refused entry.
🛬Landing and getting to the citySome flights from Istanbul land at night — the H1 bus runs 24 hours, but with children a taxi is easier.+
1
H1 Aeroexpress bus — the cheap way
From Terminals 1 and 2 to 28 May metro / the central station every 20 minutes 06:00–23:15 and every 45 minutes at night, ~30 minutes. A ride is 1.30 AZN; buy a BakıKart card for 2 AZN from the machines outside the exit and top it up; several people can share one card.
Bolt and Uber work from the airport with upfront prices. Book the official Baku Taxi at the Terminal 1 desk or on 1000. Don't go with unofficial drivers touting at the exit — they charge several times more.
Azercell and Bakcell have counters in the arrivals hall; buy a tourist bundle SIM with your passport. If you use a local SIM in a foreign phone for more than 30 days, you must register its IMEI at a post office for a fee, or the phone will be blocked from the network (dial *#06# to see the IMEI).
If your phone supports eSIM, buy one from Airalo or similar before you go so you can call a Bolt as soon as you land. Free Wi-Fi is common in cafés, parks and restaurants; big hotels sometimes charge for it.
Tip: If you land at night, activate your eSIM beforehand.
🚇Getting aroundWalk the Old City, the Boulevard and Nizami Street; use the metro and Bolt for longer hops.+
1
Metro and buses — BakıKart
The metro has 2 lines, 06:00–24:00, with trains every 2–3 minutes. A metro or city bus ride costs about 0.60 AZN, paid with a BakıKart; a family can share one card. Icherisheher, Sahil and 28 May are the most useful stations for visitors.
The funicular from the Boulevard up to Highland Park is 1 AZN one way, with a technical break 13:00–14:00. Bus 184 runs to Ateshgah from Koroglu metro; for Yanar Dag, Gobustan and the mud volcanoes a taxi, tour or car with driver is easier.
Bolt and Uber are cheap in the city with prices shown upfront. If you hail a taxi on the street, agree the fare first or ask for the meter; tourists do get overcharged. Check that the seatbelts work.
💳Money+
1
Manat and cards
The currency is the manat (AZN), held at an almost fixed rate to the US dollar. Most shops and restaurants in Baku accept Visa/Mastercard; markets, small shops and places outside the city need cash. Use ATMs inside banks — card skimming happens at street ATMs.
City exchange offices and banks give good rates for dollars and euros; tugrik is not exchanged, so bring dollars from Ulaanbaatar. Changing leftover manat back is no problem. Check whether the restaurant bill already includes a service charge.
Tip: Many BakıKart machines take only cash manat — carry small notes.
🍜FoodAzerbaijani food — grilled meat, rice plov, herbs, fruit and tea; close to Mongolian tastes.+
1
What to eat
Plov (shah plov — rice baked in a thin crust of dough), kebab skewers, dovga — a yoghurt and herb soup, dushbara — tiny dumplings, qutab — thin flatbreads with herbs or meat, and dolma. After the meal, black tea in pear-shaped armudu glasses with jam and pakhlava.
Tip: Tea is usually drunk with jam or lemon instead of sugar.
2
Where to eat
The Old City and around Fountain Square cater to tourists and are pricey; the back streets off Nizami Street and around 28 May have plenty of cheaper local places. Buy fruit, dried fruit and sweets at the Teze Bazaar market.
Police 102, ambulance 103, fire 101, Ministry of Emergency Situations 112. The police number works 24 hours; if you need hospital care, call your insurer's assistance line first.
Police do ID checks, so always carry your passport and keep a copy separately. Demonstrations are illegal — keep away. Photographing military installations is forbidden; drones are confiscated at the border. Be quiet and respectful at Martyrs' Lane.
Stay away from the Armenian border and the former conflict areas in the south-west, where mines remain. Drivers are erratic — cross at crossings and take care. Summers are hot with dry wind, so carry water and a hat.
Azerbaijan is a secular state, but most people are Muslim. In mosques women cover their heads, arms and legs, and everyone removes their shoes. Western clothes are normal in Baku, but dress more modestly outside the city. During Ramadan be considerate when eating and drinking in public.
2
Hospitality
Azerbaijanis are very warm to guests; being offered tea is an honour and it is polite to accept. Bring a small gift or sweets if invited home. People give up their seats to elders. 'Salam' — hello, 'Chox sag ol' — thank you.
📱Useful apps+
1
Maps and taxis
Bolt and Uber are the most common ride-hailing apps in Baku. Google Maps shows metro and bus routes; download the city map for offline use.
The H1 bus from beside 28 May metro runs even at night; with children or luggage take Bolt or Baku Taxi. Arrive early for international flights and allow for passport-control queues. If you stayed more than 15 days, make sure you registered — otherwise you pay a fine on departure.
Carpets, samovars, copperware, antiques and paintings need an export certificate — from the seller or the Carpet Museum. Caviar exports are limited. Armudu tea glasses, jam and handicrafts make good gifts.
AI answer: double-check anything beyond our researched facts with an official source.
Apr–Oct 10:00–19:00, Nov–Mar 10:00–18:00
The 15th-century palace complex of the Shirvanshahs: the Divankhana, palace mosque, mausoleum and bathhouse — the Old City's largest monument. The museum shows royal objects, carpets and weapons. At the top of the Old City, a 10-minute walk from the Maiden Tower.
A hilltop viewpoint over the whole bay, the Caspian and the Old City. Behind it the three 190 m Flame Towers show flames and flags in LED light every night. Martyrs' Lane is a memorial — keep quiet and respectful. Ride the funicular up in 4 minutes from opposite the Carpet Museum.
Zaha Hadid's flowing white building without a single sharp angle — Baku's icon. Inside are exhibitions on Azerbaijani history, dolls, musical instruments and art. The wide lawn and giant sculptures outside are great for family photos.
Baku Boulevard — the Caspian seafront★ 4.7 (40,000)
KidsFree (boat trips and Little Venice gondolas extra)24 hours
A seaside park stretching for kilometres along the Caspian since 1909: playgrounds, cafés, the canals of 'Little Venice', bike rental and boat trips on the sea. Best for an evening stroll watching the Flame Towers light up.
CultureForeigners 10 AZN, pupils and students 3 AZN; audio guide 5 AZNTue–Fri 10:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–20:00, closed Mondays
Carpets, patterns and crafts from the 17th century to today in a building shaped like a rolled-up carpet. Azerbaijani carpet weaving is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. On the Boulevard, opposite the funicular's lower station.
The city's main pedestrian street: 19th-century stone buildings from the oil-boom era, brand shops, cafés and souvenirs. In the evening families stroll and street musicians play; a few steps from the Old City gate.
NatureCombined ticket with Ateshgah 25 AZN (valid 72 hours); less on its ownDaily; best after dark
A 10 m wall of fire fed by natural gas seeping from the ground, burning for thousands of years — the reason for the 'land of fire' name. Children love it; dress warmly on windy evenings. About 25 km north of the centre by taxi or tour.
CultureForeigners 15 AZN; 25 AZN together with Yanar DagDaily 10:00–20:00
A pentagonal walled temple built in the 17th–18th centuries by Indian merchants and fire worshippers, with an eternal flame in the centre. The cells tell the story of Zoroastrian and Hindu pilgrims. By bus 184 from Koroglu metro or by taxi.
Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes (UNESCO)★ 4.5 (10,000)
NatureReserve ≈10 AZN (museum included); local taxi to the mud volcanoes extraDaily 10:00–17:00
More than 6,000 rock carvings up to 40,000 years old — hunters, dancers, boats and animals — with a modern interactive museum. The nearby mud volcanoes bubble and burp, which children find fascinating. About 60 km south-west of the city, a half-day trip.
A white mosque with three blue domes overlooking the Caspian, rebuilt in the 1990s on the site of a 13th-century shrine. Women cover their heads (scarves lent at the door). On the way you pass old oil derricks; about 8 km south of the city.
Absheron beaches — Novkhani and Shikhov★ 4 (5,000)
BeachPublic beaches free; private beach clubs and pool complexes charge extraSwimming season ≈late June to September
Sandy Caspian beaches: Novkhani, Buzovna and Mardakan to the north, Shikhov south of the city. The water is warmest in July–August; with children, beach clubs with pools and shade are more comfortable. The water is cleaner away from the oil installations.
