The ‘City of Winds’, Baku is not only Azerbaijan's capital, but perhaps among the world’s breeziest.
Azerbaijan’s capital Baku (or Bakı in Azeri) is the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai…albeit with plenty of Soviet genes floating half-hidden in the background.
Few cities in the world are changing as quickly and nowhere else in the Caucasus do East and West blend as seamlessly or as chaotically.
A mix of the ultra-modern and the very-old. The greens and opal blue Caspian-front bulvar (promenade) make a mockery of Baku’s desert-ringed location. The modern parts of Baku built with oil money veil a Unesco-listed core.
At its heart, the Unesco-listed İçəri Şəhər (Old City) lies within an exotically crenellated arc of fortress wall. Around this are gracefully illuminated stone mansions and pedestrianised tree-lined streets filled with exclusive boutiques.

the panoramic Tour

An air-con transport with guide cum driver will pick you up from the hotel.
This (mostly viewing) tour starts with the highest viewpoint of Baku district heading towards Baku Boulevard which stretches along a south-facing bay and ends with a drop to your hotel.
Highland (Upland) Park
From its highest point, visitors can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the city and bay.
The place is called by local people “Dagustu park” which means Upland Park.
The park in its original form, which has been preserved today, with spacious stairs, shady alleys and cosy terraces, was created by the famous architect Lev Ilyin.
The main park attractions are the Green Theater and the Gulistan Palace.
Upland Park is open around the clock.
Alley of Martyrs (Şəhidlər Xiyabanı)
A sombre row of grave memorials – Bakuvian victims of the Red Army’s 1990 attack, along with early martyrs of the Karabakh conflict.
There’s also a memorial to Turkish WWI soldiers, and (more controversially) to the British and Commonwealth troops killed fighting them.
The viewpoint beside the eternal flame offers splendid panoramas across the bay, city and back towards the Flame Towers.
There's a large panoramic cafe terrace nearby, too.
Flame Towers
Flame Towers in Baku happens to be a trio of skyscrapers with the tallest tower being 182 meters high. The flame shaped towers happen to symbolize the element of fire. The flame towers are home to some 130 residential apartments spread across 33 floors, office blocks, and service apartments.
The construction of the tower started in the year 2007 under the supervision of HOK, the chief architect. While entering the towers, you will definitely be caught by the large display screens that make use of 10000 high power LEDs.
The National Assembly
Proudly Soviet in its symmetry and grand scale, the Academy was built in the 1960s.
But unlike some of its starker, northern European communist contemporaries, the main research building has some detailing – such as pointed windows, large arches and decorative turrets – that give it flamboyance and a nod to the country's cultural heritage. 
Baku Boulevard
A popular promenade also known as Dənizkənarı Milli Park (1909) runs parallel to the Baku Seafront for about 3 miles
Winner of zillions of medals in the past, it's a breezy place that hugs the seafront for about 3 miles from the National Flag Square to Freedom.
This place is usually visited by walkers, rollerbladers and joggers who love to spend time in tranquility.
Fountain Square
A leafy piazza in Central Baku.
The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny silvered spheres giving fish-eye reflections of the trees and stone facades.
Don't miss the statue-inlayed facade of the Nizami Literature Museum.
And outside the large McDonald’s notice the bronze statue of a young lady with umbrella, bare midriff.

the OLD CITY TouR

After breakfast, an air-con transport with guide cum driver will pick you up (8 am) from the hotel.
The tour starts with Old (Inner) City, the most ancient part of Baku heading towards Nizami Street (a popular shopping district) and ends with a drop to your hotel.
Old (Inner) City
Icher Sheher or the Old City of Baku is a historical fortified city in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Here you can explore the palace of Shirvanshas, climb the Maiden tower for a view of the city, visit the Muhammad Mosque, trace the old city walls, etc. where you can take photographs.
Whilst here you will visit souvenir stores, carpet stores, antique shops, and local handicraft markets. Both locals and tourists love this part of the city.
In December 2000, the Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location here to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
This splendid confection of sandstone walls and domes was the seat of the ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages. Mostly 15th century, it was painstakingly (over) restored in 2003.
The palace forms an ensemble of historic monuments with the Maiden tower under the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Also home to burial vaults, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s Mausoleum, Murad Gate and more, the palace was armored by a wall with towers that served as a stronghold of the fort.
Apart from providing residence to the royal family, the palace had also got residences for all those who worked for the royal family.
Maiden Tower
This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost historical icon, with rooftop views surveying Baku Bay and the Old City. Possibly millennia old, its construction date is the subject of much debate, though much of the present structure appears to be 12th century.
The Azeri name, Qız Qalası, is usually rendered ‘Maiden’s Tower’ in English, leading to plenty of patently fictitious fairy tales. Various versions are considered in the imaginative little multimedia installations that adorn several floors of the tower's interior.
It is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most recognized buildings in the country.
Nizami Street
Named after the Persian Poet Nizami Ganjavi, it's the heart of urban Baku.
Running from downtown in the west to the east, you will get to enjoy some of the charming age old buildings as well as heritage monuments.
It is also home to the Indian embassy among others..
Loads of shopping outlets here besides local and Indian eateries.
Black CIty
The end of a railroad bed is Sabit Orucov Street, housing a monument to Shah Ismail Khatai (the king of Safavid Iran) in "Black City" or Qara Şəhər, a general name for the southeastern neighbourhoods of Baku, which once formed its suburbs
On the peninsula end is the Baku Crystal Hall, a multi-functional indoor venue created for the 57th annual Eurovison Song Contest.
Abdulla Shaig Street
Named such in 1981 in honour of Abdulla Shaig Talebzadeh.
One of the great figures of Azerbaijan cultural history.
Known as a master of the classics, a poet, dramatist, literary critic, master of enlightenment and cultural interpreter of Azerbaijan.
The street also house a Museum in his namesake.

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ADD-ON THINGS TO DO

Baku Eye
12 pm – 3 pm
10 Azeri Manats
Baku Ferris Wheel or Devil’s Wheel is located in the Seaside National park. constructed by a dutch company.
The wheel is about 200 ft in height and has got 30 enclosed cabins which can hold 8 people and two VIP cabins.
Taking a ride in this wheel, one will be able to capture the views of Baku bay, Crystal Hall, Flag Square and a panoramic view of the whole city.
Baku Funicular
10 am – 10 pm
1 Azeri Manats
It connects the square on Neftchilar Avenue and Martyrs' Lane. Brace yourself for a whimsical ride on the one-of-a-kind and intriguing piece of machinery.
The Park is famous for its funicular,  which shines beautifully in the evening.
The funicular was opened in 1960, length of railway track is 455 meters (1,493 ft).
Catch a glimpse of the city from a new perspective as you ascend & descend.
Little Venice
10 am – 10 pm
5 Azeri Manats
Built in 1960, you can even take a ride in gandolas (venetian boats) here.
It is located in the Baku Boulevard area, near the National Flag Square and the Baku Crystal Hall. It features a network of artificial canals and bridges
It has two large and several small areas, which are connected by decorative stone bridges. Gondolas travel within them for an additional cost.
MOMA
11 am – 8 pm
5 Azeri Manats
The Museum of Modern Art, a joyous tailor-made gallery uses struts and tubing to create a wide variety of intimate viewing spaces, in many of which you can recline on bean-bag sofas as you contemplate the extensive collection of mind bending, post-1980 Azerbaijani art alongwith three original Picassos, a Dalí and a Chagal.
National Carpet Museum
10 am – 6 pm
7 Azeri Manats
From historic flatweaves to modernist picture-rugs, this tailor-made museum displays and explains a superb collection of Azerbaijani carpets.
It's housed in a 2014 building by Austrian architect Franz Janz, designed like a stylised roll of carpet.
There's a carpet shop here, too.
Museum of Miniature Books
11 am – 5 pm
Free Entrance
Operational since 2002, the museum holds a Guinness book of record as one of the largest private museums of miniature books.
Most collected by Zarifa Salahova for a period spanning 30 years.
There are more than 6500 books that belong to almost 64 different countries.
Hyder Ali Cultural Centre
11 am – 7 pm
15 Azeri Manats
Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks that seem to melt together.
The interior is impressive, too, and hosts several exhibition spaces.
Must visit is the 'Treasures of Azerbaijan', which walks you through the nation's cultural highlights.
I Love Baku Sign
Yes, it's free.
Its an I Love Baku sign surrounded by grass and loads of open space.
It has the the Heydar Aliyev Complex building in the background.
For obvious reasons its a busy spot and photo ops are best hustled by you.
This is one of the most Instagrammable spot in all of Baku.
Ask Anyone.
Pub & Bar Crawl
Raise a glass and get ready for fun during this 3-hour pub crawl enjoying the nightlife of Baku without the worry.
Make visits to five of the city’s top breweries, bars and pubs, sampling an included glass of international or local beer at each stop
Depending on the night of the week, you may even get to enjoy some live entertainment. Visit rooftop parties, popular nightlife hubs, and trendy bars known only to locals.

the GOBUSTAN TouR

After breakfast, an air-con transport with guide cum driver will pick you up from the hotel. The tour covers Rock Petroglyphs and Mud Volcanoes and ends with a drop to your hotel via Baku Boulevard.
Rock Petroglyphs
​It represents flora and fauna, hunting, lifestyles, and culture of pre-historic and medieval periods of time.
The date of these carvings goes back to 5,000 – 20,000 years before present. The cultural landscape was firstly discovered by local miner in 1939.
The carvings on the rocks illustrates men, ritual dances, men with lances in their hands, animals, bull fights, camel caravans, and pictures of the sun and stars.
Gobustan was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
Mud Volcanoes
On top of utterly unpromising little Daşgil Hill is a weird collection of baby mud volcanoes, a whole family of ‘geologically flatulent’ little conical mounds that gurgle, ooze, spit and sometimes erupt with thick, cold, grey mud.
It’s more entertaining than it sounds – even when activity is at a low ebb, you get the eerie feeling that the volcanoes are alive.

the ATESHGAH TouR

After breakfast, an air-con transport with guide cum driver will pick you up from the hotel. The tour covers Yanardag *Fire Mountain" and the Fire Worshippers Temple and ends with a drop to your hotel via Ganjik Mall.
Fire Worshippers Temple
​The unique Atesgah is an 18th-century fire temple whose centrepiece is a flaming hearth. Arching above is a four-pil-lared stone dome with side flues which also spit dragon breath...but only on special occasions, notably the four Tuesdays leading up to Novruz (21 March).
The fire-altar sits in a roughly triangular courtyard surrounded by the simple stone cells of former devotees. Well over a dozen cells now host a well-explained museum.
Although the site was originally a place of worship for Zoro-astrians, the fortified complex you see today was built by 18th-century Indian Shiva devotees.
Burning Mountain
Yanar Dag, also known as the Burning Mountain, is a natural wonder. It's a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside. Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer
Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dagh flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsur-face. It is claimed that the Yanar Dagh flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s.
​In the first millennium BCE, the fire played a role in the Zoroastrian religion, as the link between humans and the supernatural spheres.