Fountains
Dozens, lit at night.
Gulustan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sefer azeri — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Варвара Клесс-Каминская — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AlixSaz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robot8A — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Radosław Botev — CC BY 3.0 pl · Gulustan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Frokor — CC BY-SA 3.0
The liveliest square in central Baku, stretching from the Old City walls to Nizami Street, once known as «Parapet». It takes its name from the dozens of fountains built here from the Soviet era onwards, and it was renovated in 2010. Elegant early-twentieth-century buildings with ornate stone facades surround it, with cafés, restaurants, shops and arcades, and pedestrian streets branch off it, above all Nizami Street, popularly called Torgovaya, the trading street, which runs parallel to the boulevard lined with historic buildings and shops. The square is where Baku gathers in the evenings and at weekends, and it hosts celebrations, shows and festivals, including an annual Christmas market from December to January since 2013 and Novruz festivities in spring. The Old City gate looks onto it, making it a good starting point for exploring Baku. The square is free and always open, and it is loveliest in the evening when the fountains and buildings are lit. Restaurants abound around it, making it a good place to try Azerbaijani cuisine.
Dozens, lit at night.
Historic buildings, shops.
Novruz and Christmas.
Central Baku between the Old City walls and Nizami Street
Nizami StreetBaku's best-known shopping and strolling street, running about three and a half 2 minutes walk
Old City of Baku (Icherisheher)Baku's historic heart, a walled town on a hill above the Caspian bay, known in A3 minutes walk4.6
Taghiyev Palace (National Museum of History)A grand palace in central Baku built in the 1890s by Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, 4 minutes walk
Mukhtarov Palace (Palace of Happiness)A French Gothic-style palace in central Baku built in 1912 by oil baron Murtuza 6 minutes walk
Maiden TowerA massive twelfth-century stone tower in Baku's Old City, known in Azerbaijani a6 minutes walk4.5In the evening, when the fountains are lit and locals come out to stroll; it is liveliest during holidays and festivals.