Baku : The new addition in every explorer's Bucket List.

If you are a big F1 fan, you probably are familiar with the city Baku, which is one of the F1 race track, famous for it being a street circuit than a built up race track and of course the capital city of Azerbaijan.

About City Baku :

Baku, the Capital City of Azerbaijan, is located at an elevation of 28 meters below sea level, which makes Baku the world's most lowest-lying national capital city. However, interestingly enough, Baku is the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. 

Baku, is an up and coming city with a rapid evolvement in tourism and lifestyle which is compatible to compete against major tourist spots such as Dubai. In fact, Baku is vastly recognized as the 'Next Dubai'.

This city is so unique that it has so much to offer from beaches to volcanos and to cityscape where East world meets West world.

Though Baku is the latest addition to everyone's bucket list to visit since recently, this city holds quite a history way before we started to notice it.

What to see & do in Baku :

1] History & Architecture :

If you are interested in architecture of many destinations you travel to and prefer to dig deeper into its' history, you should definitely visit the 'Old City' (Icherisheher). This medieval core in Baku, is a UNESCO protected site surrounded by 12th century walls showing off its' Eastern touch; and nobody clearly knows what is the purpose of these walls but it clearly do attract the attention of visitors.

Moving in to novelty of the city, Flame Towers is one of the remarkable sight in Baku which was featured on Extreme Engineering that airs on Discovery Channel as a documentary series. 

These flame shaped towers, symbolizes the element of fire - these three towers are identified as South, East and West which one consists of 133 residential apartments over 33 floors, a Fairmont Hotel tower consisting of 250 rooms and 61 serviced apartments and office block. 

Additionally these towers were shown during the coverage of the initial Formula One European Grand Prix ; https://youtu.be/lxG-C8A-9hk  

2] Nature & Wellness :

After a busy city tour, jumping from one to another, you will probably prefer to have a day off to just wonder around and go for a walk on your own or even with your friends, family whoever you travel with for a sightseeing; best place would be Highland Park. This is free observation spot in the city overlooking the city Baku and its' iconic Flame Towers. This place is also known as the 'Viewing Square' because of it's truly magnificent breathtaking views over the entire city and magical view of the Caspian Sea.

And at night the Flame Towers puts into a stunning light show in the evening [the flame towers function as large display of screens with the use of more than 10,000 high-powered LED] 

Baku Boulevard, is another path to stroll around the city which is home for the longest seaside promenades in Europe with access to many entertainment and relaxation.

When I say this city gives you everything, Mud Volcanos are on the list too. Located 1.5 hours away from the capital city, the mud volcanos in Dashgil near the Gobustan Reserve are the most popular to visit. Overall the country is home for almost 400 mud volcanos which never grow up to the normal size of a volcano but they do act on once in a while. 

3] Art & Culture :

Fan of art? designs? carpets? Head on to Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, home to one of the largest carpets in the world.

Heydav Aliyev Centre is another monument which attracts attention from tourists because of its' unique modern architectural design. It's home for several permanent and temporary exhibitions including a unique collection of vintage  vehicles. 

4] Family Oriented & Sport Lovers :

Ferris Wheel is one way to overlook the entire Baku City from bird view.  It is called as 'Baku View' as well; this ride delivers fantastic view of the Caspian Sea as well.

                

 

Why not have a little visit in Venice while you are in Azerbaijan? That's right, 'Little Venice' is one spot to enjoy the Caspian Breeze while being in a Gondola. 

 

If you are sports lover whether it's karting, racing or even visiting a historical venue as Olympic Stadium, Baku once again can surprise you with all the access to these : Olympic Stadium is a stadium designed and constructed to meet international standards for stadiums set by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).  This makes the largest international stadium in Azerbaijan. 

If you are a Karting Fan, head on to Azerbaijan's largest Karting Arena located on the  New Boulevard. 

Baku City is also home for a well known F1 street circuit located closer to Baku Boulevard, which makes the third longest street circuit in F1 Calendar. It's Inaugural Formula One Race at the circuit was the European Grand Prix in 2016 later on in 2017 the circuit held the Inaugural Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix. The uniqueness of this circuit is, just like Monaco, Singapore, Melbourne and Sochi, the Baku circuit is not a separately built in circuit, instead is the Baku main street itself. F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is one of the races which comes with a beautiful , calm view while adrenaline rush is running through the streets of Baku.

5] For Shopping Lovers :

And yes, Shopping! Who doesn't love that? Of course the city has major shopping malls with multiple storey malls with luxurious brands, food courts and access to family and friendly entertainment events and venues; such as Deniz Mall, Park Bulvar Mall and Ganjlik Mall and many more.

This city has lot more to offer than what I have mentioned over here and it's definitely should be in your bucket list as your next destination to visit. So what you are waiting for, go ahead and book those tickets right away before you go out of options!

Safe Trip & Enjoy!