Must-see attractions in Almaty

  • (GERMANY OUT) Teppiche mit traditionellen Mustern - Kunsthandwerk auf dem Basar im Zentralen Staatsmuseum der Republik Kasachstan in Almaty  (Photo by snapshot-photography/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Central State Museum

    Almaty

    Almaty’s best museum takes you through Kazakhstan’s history from Bronze Age burials and nomadic culture to WWII sacrifices, telecommunications and the…

  • Kök-Töbe

    Almaty

    This 1100m hill on the city’s southeast edge is crowned by a 372m-high TV tower visible from far and wide, and affords great views over the city and the…

  • Kazakhstan Museum of Arts

    Almaty

    This is the best art collection in the country, with Kazakh, Russian and some Western European art and a room of top-class modern Kazakh handicrafts, with…

  • Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments

    Almaty

    In a striking 1908 wooden building (designed by cathedral architect Zenkov) at the east end of Panfilov Park, the city’s most original museum is a must…

  • Panfilov Park

    Almaty

    This large and attractive rectangle of greenery is one of central Almaty's most popular strolling and hangout places for all ages. At its heart stands the…

  • Respublika Alany

    Almaty

    This broad, Soviet-created ceremonial square provides a panoramic view of the snowcapped mountains on a clear morning and is surrounded by several…

  • Green Market

    Almaty

    This large, two-level market has a true flavour of Central Asia, and is worth putting on your itinerary even if you're not really food shopping. It's been…

  • WWII War Memorial

    Almaty

    This dramatic socialist-realism memorial in Panfilov Park depicts soldiers from all 15 Soviet republics bursting out of a map of the USSR. An eternal…

  • Kök-Töbe Cable Car

    Almaty

    This smooth, gleaming cable car runs from beside the Palace of the Republic up to Kök-Töbe hill on the southeast edge of Almaty, taking six minutes to…

  • Zhibek Zholy

    Almaty

    The pedestrianised stretch of this street in the lower, northern, part of the centre is Almaty’s (sort of) version of Moscow’s Arbat. It's dotted with…

  • Zenkov Cathedral

    Almaty

    Candy-coloured Zenkov Cathedral is Kazakhstan's nearest (albeit distant) relative to St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and one of Almaty’s few surviving…

  • Dawn of Freedom Monument

    Almaty

    This striking monument honours those killed and injured on Respublika alany on 17 December 1986 during the Zheltoksan (December) protests, the first…

  • Independence Monument

    Almaty

    This stone column is surmounted with a replica Golden Man standing on a winged snow leopard. Around its base are statues of a Kazakh family; behind is a…

  • Gorky Park

    Almaty

    Central Almaty’s biggest recreational park is a somewhat untidy place whose boating lakes, funfair rides, pony rides, a waterpark, rather sad zoo, cinema,…

  • Central Mosque

    Almaty

    Almaty’s multitowered, gold-domed, white-marble central mosque, built in 1999, is one of the largest in the country, with space for 3000 worshippers in…

  • Maslikhat

    Almaty

    Neoclassical-style City Council building.

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