Once a Lenin Museum, this column-fronted neoclassical building has a sternly photogenic facade that looks best seen from across the Bulvar. Inside, the top floor holds changing exhibitions, often good and usually free. The somewhat sparse 2nd-floor Museum of Musical Culture (AZN1) will teach you what it means to be a Tarzan in Azerbaijan. The 3rd-floor Museum of Independence (AZN5) gives a somewhat dry, if unashamedly partisan, political history of the nation.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.24 MILES
Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks…
0.37 MILES
This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost historical icon, with rooftop views surveying Baku Bay and the Old City. Possibly millennia old, its…
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2.09 MILES
Yarat means 'create', a spirit that's in ample evidence in this centre's many thought-provoking installations that don't shy away from sociopolitical…
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1.11 MILES
Completed in 2012, this trio of sinuous blue-glass skyscrapers forms contemporary Baku's architectural signature. The three towers range from 28 to 33…
0.55 MILES
This splendid confection of sandstone walls and domes was the seat of northeastern Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages. Mostly 15th century…
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0.3 MILES
Ever-popular with strollers, this leafy piazza forms Central Baku’s natural focus. The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny…
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9.32 MILES
The unique Ateşgah is an 18th-century fire temple whose centrepiece is a flaming hearth. Arching above is a four-pillared stone dome with side flues which…
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1.29 MILES
This joyous tailor-made gallery uses struts and tubing to create a wide variety of intimate viewing spaces, in many of which you can recline on bean-bag…
Nearby Baku attractions
0.11 MILES
Looking somewhere between an electricity pylon and an oil derrick, this digital clock forms a central Bulvar landmark.
0.11 MILES
One of the Bulvar's striking if smaller modern constructions, the BBM is a 21st-century conference centre with a blue-glass sea-facing back, but a…
0.13 MILES
Full of rare trees, cafes, fountains and fairground rides, the central sweep of Baku's seafront park is eternally popular with families, amateur musicians…
0.15 MILES
Well-presented exhibits on Azerbaijan’s history and culture might miss the odd century here and there, but there’s more than enough to fill several hours…
0.3 MILES
Ever-popular with strollers, this leafy piazza forms Central Baku’s natural focus. The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny…
0.32 MILES
The greatest attraction of this museum for most visitors is the western facade of the building it inhabits: a fine early-20th-century structure with…
0.33 MILES
The minimal remnants of what had once been the palace, bath-house and garden of Baku's 18th-century khans is to be rebuilt as a museum, with interactive…
0.34 MILES
When active, this excellent commercial minigallery tends to highlight some of the city's more-interesting contemporary artistic trends. Check out their…