Baku City Center

• Old City (Icherisheher): A UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the iconic Maiden Tower and Shirvanshahs’ Palace, with alleyways full of carpet shops and teahouses. (Half a day)
• Maiden Tower: A 12th-century tower with a spiral staircase leading to the top, offering panoramic views of the Caspian Sea and the Old City. (1 hour)
• Shirvanshahs’ Palace: A 15th-century palace complex featuring a mosque, mausoleum, and bathhouse, all well preserved. (1.5 hours)
• Flame Towers: Three flame-shaped skyscrapers that form Baku’s new skyline, with a light show on the hour at night. (Exterior and distant viewing: 1 hour)
• Heydar Aliyev Center: A white, flowing building designed by Zaha Hadid; both the exhibitions and the architecture itself are worth visiting. (2 hours)
• Seaside Boulevard: The longest promenade by the Caspian Sea, featuring a Ferris wheel, sailboats, and a miniature train. (Evening)

Baku Suburbs

• Gobustan Rock Art: A UNESCO World Heritage Site with 6,000-year-old carvings depicting hunting and dancing scenes. (2–3 hours)
• Mud Volcanoes: The largest concentration of mud volcanoes in the world, where cold mud bubbles up like a lunar landscape. (2 hours)
• Yanar Dag (Burning Mountain): A hillside where natural gas burns continuously, day and night. (1 hour)
• Ateshgah Fire Temple: A fire-worshipping shrine built by Persian and Indian merchants. (1 hour)

Outside Baku

• Sheki Khan’s Palace: An 18th-century summer palace with stained-glass windows, a gem of Silk Road architecture. (1.5 hours)
• Sheki Caravanserai: A former Silk Road inn now operating as a hotel where you can stay overnight. (Half a night)
• Quba: A red-painted town in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, known as the “Apple City” and home to a community of Mountain Jews. (One day)
• Naftalan Oil Baths: A globally unique therapeutic oil-bathing experience that attracts curious visitors. (Half a day)