It is a city that changes right before your very eyes; a city that has rich nuances of old and new, as you walk through the streets you can feel the vibrancy all around: from the modern architectural wonders and jaw dropping towers that dominate the skyline to the quaint alleyways and historic monuments termed as the UNESCO Heritage sites. Baku is a thriving city located on the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, An easy 2 and a half flight from Dubai. Baku City is a sunny city known as one of the urban hot spots for nightlife, shopping, as well as antiques and art. It has a healthy climate in the summer and boasts of world-class mud volcanoes, salt baths, and a museum of modern art and a spirit that embraces the true potential of tomorrow.

Take a leisure walk

As soon as you arrive and Check into your hotel, make sure to take a stroll on the Baku Boulevard, whether it’s day or night. Baku Boulevard stretches along the shore of the Caspian Sea and gives you the chance to get a feel of the city and its people as you wander around. During your walk you can a stop by the many teahouses along the Boulevard and grab a coffee as you interact with the locals. If you don’t like coffee you’re in for a treat as Azerbaijanis have a unique enthusiasm for tea and they take it in style. Therefore Tea is available everywhere throughout Azerbaijan and often is served with a side of sweetened apricots or feijoa fruit.

Explore Azerbaijani Cuisine

After your walk you can stop by one of the Azerbaijani restaurants .We recommend Sirvansah Muzey Restoran where you can chow down on classic Azerbaijani cuisine. You can also check out Mangal- an Azerbaijani steakhouse where you can try all sorts of delicious Azeri meats. Chinar is another one that serves sumptuous foods which includes Traditional dolma (grape leaves stuffed with minced meat, or tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants stuffed with ground lamb) or even qutabs (pancakes stuffed with minced meet or spinach) or any other meal of your choice.

Check out the nightlife

Azerbaijani people (Azeris) are very fond of music and there are always concerts happening in the city. You can visit some bar lounges like the Buddha Bar and enjoy party music, visit the Baku Jazz Centre where you’ll enjoy jazz, funk and blues, check out the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic for classical music or visit the Mugam Club and enjoy the local Azerbaijani ethnic and folk music. (Mugam is a national traditional music genre, a mix of musical composition and performance.) While the Azerbaijanis singing talents have been heard far, one of their lesser known attributes is their skill in ballet. On Nizami Street in one of the most stunning buildings in Baku you will find Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre. So remember to go check out for a ballet or opera performance as this theatre can rival any other theatre in the world.

Visit the old city

The next day on a sunny morning you can take pleasure in walking along the restored cobbled roads and side streets of the Baku old city. The Old City is a small town that dates back to the sixth century. A place surrounded by fortress walls, with its maze of narrow streets and ancient buildings. Here you can imagine travelling back in time; almost see and hear the people who lived and worked here and their devotion to their crafts and livelihoods. As you spend your whole day wandering along its alleyways, there are tea houses in old town where you can pop in and sample more of the wonderful Azerbaijani cuisine.

Within the old town you can Visit the Shirvanshahs Palace known as the last residence of the rulers of the powerful Shirvan State. The Shirvanshahs Palace has thousand-year old history that will fascinate you. Later you can visit the mysterious and spectacular 12th-century Maiden Tower. The maiden tower is the symbol of Baku and was given its name because of it used to be inaccessible, though today you can climb to the top and look out over the Caspian Sea.

At this point, your curiosity will have grown bigger and bigger and it would be the perfect time to visit The Azerbaijani State History Museum, a historic building, built in 1895 as a residence for a certain entrepreneur and philanthropist. At the State History Museum you’ll be able to examine the nation’s past and imagine its future; if you love art you’ll enjoy the Museum’s collection that ranges from ancient times to the present day. If the curiosity still persist, you can visit the Museum of Modern Art in Baku.

Take advantage of the wellness spas.

After your second day of exploring and discovering, you can steam away your travel weariness at the luxurious but affordable spas. You can also enjoy a traditional Azerbaijan Bath at Taze Bey Hammam. If relaxing this way is not your style, you can escape to the seaside and enjoy the Caspian breeze at one of Azerbaijan’s great beaches or take a boat from near the Boulevard out to sea for some splendid views of the city at sunset.
There are many more attractions in Baku, you can choose to take a half an hour away drive to the Gobustan National Park & Reserve. An ancient place with more than 6,000 rock engravings dating back between 5,000 and 40,000 years. There is a Roman stone inscription carved around 90 AD, and also almost 700 mud volcanoes. You can also go check out the Asian history of Azerbaijan at the Ateshgah “the fire temple” or Yanardag “the burning mountain” and even choose to visit the beautiful Gala Village but to finish all these you’ll need another 48 hours.

Azerbaijan is such a beautiful country and you can definitely enjoy a lot more in Baku in just 48 hours. The best thing about all this is that you’ll also experience the warmth and kindness of Azerbaijani people and get the value of travel as the customs, the culture and the spirit of the land of fire will be an experience like no other.