Walking in Azerbaijan: Baku Lanes and Sheki Streets

Official advice. The British FCDO recommends against all travel within 5 km of Azerbaijan’s Armenian border, and against all but essential travel to the south-western districts of the 2020 and 2023 fighting, where landmines and unexploded munitions remain. The US advisory is Level 3, Reconsider Travel. Land crossings with Armenia and Russia are closed. Every route below lies in Baku, Sheki or Lahij, outside those districts. Read gov.uk and travel.state.gov before you travel.

Walking is the best way to see Azerbaijan’s old quarters, and the routes below are all self-guided and mostly free. Fees for museums are in manat (AZN) for a foreign adult, at about 1.70 to the US dollar. Bring good shoes, water and a hat.

Route 1: Old City of Baku

  • Start: Tourist Information Center, Boyuk Qala Street 55, open daily 10:00 to 19:00.
  • Path: Double Gates, Juma and Mohammed mosques, Bukhara and Multani caravanserais, Shirvanshahs’ Palace Complex, Siratagli complex, Maiden Tower.
  • Cost: the lanes are free. The palace is 24 AZN and the tower 19 AZN; the Siratagli complex is free.
  • Time: about half a day, longer with museum visits.

Hours and fees are on the official tariff page .

Route 2: Baku Boulevard

  • Path: the seafront promenade past the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and the International Mugham Center, with Little Venice and the Baku Eye Ferris wheel on the way.
  • Cost: free. Published length estimates range widely, so plan by time.
  • Tip: it is flat and busiest in the evening. The metro is 0.60 AZN if you want a shortcut home.

Route 3: Nizami Street

A pedestrian street of shops and cafes in central Baku, named for the poet Nizami Ganjavi. Cards are widely accepted in the capital.

Route 4: Sheki Yukhari Bash

  • Path: the old quarter around the Khan’s Palace and the Yukhari Karavansaray.
  • Cost: streets are free; the palace is 15 AZN and bans interior photography.
  • Getting there: 6 to 6.5 hours by bus from Baku, so sleep a night.

Route 5: Lahij

Lahij, in the Ismayilli district, has a cobbled main street whose ground-floor workshops make copperware; the craft is on UNESCO’s intangible list. The cobbles are narrow, and visitors with limited mobility may find them hard. Ask before photographing artisans.

Booking a guide

If you prefer company, compare walking tours in Azerbaijan and check the route and language.

Martyrs’ Lane

Martyrs’ Lane (Shehidler Khiyabani) is a national cemetery and war memorial on Highland Park above the bay, with an eternal flame. It honours victims of the January 1990 Black January crackdown and soldiers killed in the Karabakh wars. It is not a scenic route. If you go to pay respects, keep quiet, dress modestly and ask permission to photograph. The FCDO notes that behaviour there can lead to police action.

Read more: Azerbaijan landmarks and guided tours .