The city’s top sight is the citadel, the reconstructed corner of which is open to visitors. From the top of the 10th-century ramparts, the disintegrating baked-earth walls suggest hints of the seven gates and 6km of fortifications that were rebuilt in the 13th century and which mark the site of Alexander the Great’s original settlement. The citadel's military history continued into recent times when, in 1997, 300 people died in battles between Uzbek warlords and government troops.
The main section of the fort remains occupied by the army but much of the eastern wall has been rebuilt and now houses the historical Museum of Sughd Province and the Museum of Archaeology & Fortifications. A few quality souvenir shops are dotted in and around the citadel museums and along the adjacent rose gardens of Komil Khojandi Park.