Baku in 3 days: Old City, Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Center and Gobustan

Three days is enough to see the core of Baku without a rush, and the city rewards a plan that groups sights by district instead of by theme. Day one stays inside the Old City walls and on the Seaside Boulevard, day two moves to the modern and oil-boom city, and day three leaves for Gobustan. This plan sits inside the Baku travel guide and assumes an arrival by air, since FCDO says air is the only way into Azerbaijan without restrictions.

The plan assumes a base in the Old City, on Nizami Street or on the Boulevard, which keeps most days on foot. The where to stay in Baku guide compares four bases. Times are typical visit lengths, not guarantees, and opening hours change, so check the official page of any museum before you build a day around it. If rain is forecast, swap the days as described in the rain plan below.

The plan stays in and around Baku. FCDO advises against all travel within 5 km of the Armenia border and against all but essential travel to the south-western districts including Kelbajar, Lachin, Shusha, Khankendi and Aghdam, and none of this itinerary goes near them. Gobustan lies about 60 km south of Baku, according to the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, well outside those areas.

Start early inside the walls. The Icherisheher administration says the Old City is an open area and gives the Maiden Tower and the Shirvanshahs' Palace as its most visited monuments, both open daily from 10:00 to 19:00. Begin at the palace, a 15th-century complex that includes the main building, the Divankhana, a royal mausoleum, a mosque and a bathhouse, all in local golden limestone. Then walk to the Maiden Tower, which stands 28 meters high with eight floors inside, and which researchers date in its oldest parts to the 6th and 7th centuries BC.

The official Old City museums page lists all hours and the full price list, including lower child and student rates. Two stops are free: the Museum of Holy Relics in the Beyler Mosque, open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, and the Sirataghli complex north of the Maiden Tower. The Museum of Archaeology is free and opens daily except Mondays, 10:00 to 18:00, so plan around that if your day one falls on a Monday.

After the main monuments, wander without a route. The Old City has historic mosques, caravanserais and hammams beside small galleries and cafes, and the tourism board mentions the Museum of Miniature Books, whose collection includes a book measuring just 2 by 2 millimeters, and a marionette theater. If you want a map and a brochure, the Tourist Information Center at 55 Boyuk Gala Street is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, and tourism board information points sell tickets for Old City attractions at the Maiden Tower and the Shirvanshahs' Palace.

In the afternoon, step out of the walls and onto the Seaside Boulevard. The tourism board says it was founded in 1909 and is now a long promenade of parks and cafes. The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, in a building shaped like a rolled-up carpet, holds over 6,000 Azerbaijani carpets, and carpet weaving is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Walk to the Baku Eye and Little Venice for the bay, and end the day with dinner on the promenade or back in the lanes.

Day two shows the other Baku. Begin at the Heydar Aliyev Center, the curved building designed by Zaha Hadid that opened in 2012 and has no single straight line, according to the tourism board. It houses a museum on the life of Heydar Aliyev, a Mini Azerbaijan exhibition and a collection of classic cars, and it is surrounded by a park. Hours and ticket rules change with exhibitions, so check the center's official site before you go. Allow a couple of hours, plus time for the park.

From the center, shift to the oil-boom city. The tourism board describes the fin-de-siecle buildings that rose around the Old City when the oil industry took off in the late 1800s, a blend of Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical and Art Nouveau that earned Baku the nickname Paris of the Caucasus, with many designed by European architects and a notable group of Polish architects. The board names the Philharmonic, the city executive power building, the Palace of Happiness, the Institute of Manuscripts and the Church of the Saviour among them. You can see most from the street; guided walks are offered by local operators.

Spend the middle of the day at Yashil Bazaar, the tourism board's pick for a food bazaar. It describes it as one of the largest food bazaars in the Caucasus, with fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts and dried fruit, and delicacies such as caviar and saffron. Vendors let you taste before you buy, and haggling is normal. If you buy caviar, note the tourism board's mention of a 125 g export limit, and if you buy carpets or antiques, FCDO says you need an export certificate from the vendor or from the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

Finish at Highland Park for the skyline. The tourism board calls it the best viewpoint in the city, with the Old City and Maiden Tower on one side and the Flame Towers on the other, and says the park is at its best after sunset. Ride the historic Baku Funicular up, or take a taxi, and come down for dinner. Check the funicular's operating hours on the day, because they were not confirmed for this page.

Day three is the one that leaves the city. The Gobustan State Reserve lies about 60 km south of Baku, covers 537 hectares and was established in 1966, according to the tourism board. It holds over 6,000 petroglyphs showing people, warriors, animals, boats, dances and camel caravans that date between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago. Its highlights include a Roman inscription of the 1st century AD, described as the easternmost ever found, and a 2-meter musical stone called the gaval dash that rings like a tambourine when struck.

A short drive away are the mud volcanoes. The tourism board says about 350 have been recorded in Azerbaijan, and that the world's largest, Boyuk Kanizadag and Toraghay, are in the country. The Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex has an information center and a natural history exhibition, and quad bike and golf cart tours run across the terrain. Wear shoes you can get muddy, and expect limited shade in summer.

A tour or a hired driver is the simplest way to do both stops in one outing. FCDO says many vehicles are poorly maintained and standards of driving are erratic, so a driver who knows the roads is worth the cost. If you prefer to see the Absheron peninsula instead, the Ateshgah fire temple and Yanardag are closer to the city, as the day trips from Baku guide explains. Return in time for a late dinner in the Old City, and keep the evening free.

A fourth day opens the excursions that need most of a day. The Absheron fire sites, Ateshgah in Surakhani and the Yanardag flames in Mammadli, fit a half day and pair well with a hammam in the evening. The tourism board names Agha Mikayil, Agha Zeynal and Taze Bey hammams, and notes that Agha Mikayil opens for women on the first and fifth days of the week, while the other two are for men only. Mountain towns such as Shamakhi, Guba, Sheki and Gabala are better with a night away.

If you would rather stay in the city, add the Surakhani Ship Museum at the Bayil end of the Boulevard, which the tourism board calls the world's first oil tanker museum, a second hour at the Heydar Aliyev Center, or a slow walk through Winter Park, a roughly one-kilometer path of about 7 hectares in the center. Baku is also a good place to rest between legs of a longer trip, so a slow fourth day is a fair use of the time.

Baku is the City of Winds, and wind matters as much as rain. On a wet or very windy day, swap day two and day one so that the indoor stops fall on the bad weather. The Carpet Museum, the Old City museums and the Heydar Aliyev Center are all roofed, and a hammam is a good rain-day choice. Keep Highland Park and Gobustan for a clear day, since both are about open-air views, and keep the Boulevard for a calm evening.

Some stops are not for everyone. The Old City has steps and cobbles, so travelers who need level ground should plan shorter loops and use taxis between sights. The mud volcano terrain is rough and dusty. Hammams have separate arrangements for men and women, so check the day before you go. Visitors should also know that FCDO warns of severe penalties for illegal drugs, including cannabis, and that smoking is restricted to designated areas, with fines for smoking litter.

Book the Gobustan tour or driver the day before in busy months. Book dinner for Friday and Saturday evenings in the center. Buy Old City tickets at the monuments or at the information points by the Maiden Tower and the palace, and check the official pages for any advance booking rule. Skip the hop-on hop-off bus if you plan to walk, but consider it for a first morning: the tourism board lists 15 stops on a 25 km route taking about 1.5 hours, with departures every 80 minutes and tickets valid for 24 hours.

Carry your passport. FCDO says police sometimes check identity documents, and advises keeping a copy of the photo page in a safe place. Photograph with care at sites of commemoration such as the Alley of Martyrs, and avoid photographing military installations, because FCDO says visitors have been detained for it. Dress for the setting: FCDO says women in Baku usually dress in conservative western-style clothing, that shorts on men are now more acceptable in Baku in summer, and that outside Baku they may still draw unwelcome attention.

The main costs are the Old City tickets quoted above, taxis and the day trip. The metro has three lines and 27 stations, according to Baku Metro, and you can pay with a BakıKart, a QR ticket, a local contactless bank card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Since 15 August train service between 28 May and Nizami stations has been suspended during construction, so check the metro route-change page before you plan a train ride across that section.

From the airport, the H1 express bus runs every 15 minutes from the Terminal 1 and 2 exits, according to Baku Metro, and an official taxi pick-up area stands outside Terminal 1. For late rides, use a ride app or a metered taxi, because FCDO says some visitors have been severely overcharged by local taxis. Sort your phone with an eSIM for Azerbaijan before you land, and check that your travel insurance matches FCDO's advice, since a policy can be invalidated if you travel against it.

The official e-visa portal charges a $20 fee plus a $9 service fee, paid by Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay or JCB, and the card does not have to be in your name. The standard e-visa is issued within 3 working days and the urgent one within 3 hours; it is single entry, valid for 90 days, with up to 30 days to stay. The portal asks for a passport valid 3 months beyond the e-visa's expiry, while the UK, US and Canadian pages ask for 6 months from arrival, so meet the stricter rule. Entry rules for other passports differ, so check yours on the official e-visa portal before you book flights, and read the six-month passport rule guide if your passport is near expiry.