Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan 7 Day Itinerary
7-Day Itinerary for Traveling in Astana (Nur-Sultan), Kazakhstan
Astana was a minor railway junction on the Kazakh steppe in 1994 when Kazakhstan decided to move its capital here from Almaty. Thirty years later, it is a city of over a million people built largely from oil revenue, featuring a skyline of structures designed by Norman Foster, the architect behind London’s Gherkin, and an indoor tropical beach inside the world’s largest tent. The city consistently surprises visitors who arrive expecting nothing and leave wondering why nobody told them about it.
Note on the name: the city was officially renamed from Nur-Sultan back to Astana in 2022, following a brief period under the previous president’s name. The airport IATA code is NQZ. Both names appear in booking systems.
Getting In
Astana International Airport (NQZ) sits 16-18 kilometres from the city centre. The standard taxi and ride-hailing fare from the airport runs 3,000-5,000 KZT (roughly $7-11). Yandex Go is the dominant app-based service and is the best option: set your destination, see the price, and pay by card or cash. Avoid unofficial taxi touts outside the terminal who quote 10,000-15,000 KZT for the same journey. Yandex Go works reliably on an international SIM or data roaming; download it before you land.
Day 1: Arrival and the Left Bank
Astana’s architectural showpieces are on the Left Bank (the newer side of the Ishim River), and the Bayterek Tower at the centre of the Nurzhol Boulevard is the best starting point. The 97-metre observation tower is deliberately modelled on a Kazakh legend about the Samruk bird laying a golden egg in the Tree of Life. The observation sphere at the top contains a golden handprint mould said to be that of former President Nazarbayev; placing your hand in it while wishing is what most visitors do. Entry is around 2,000 KZT ($4). The panoramic view from the sphere across the steppe and the surreal skyline is the most useful orientation exercise you can do on Day 1.
Walk south from Bayterek along Nurzhol Boulevard to Khan Shatyr, the Norman Foster-designed tent structure that is, by volume, the world’s largest tent. Entry to the mall itself is free. The interior contains standard shopping and restaurants, but the indoor water park with sand imported from the Maldives is the attraction, at 6,000-8,000 KZT per person for access.
For dinner, Saksaul Restaurant near the Northern Lights district serves traditional Kazakh cooking in a yurt-inspired dining room. Beshbarmak (boiled horse or lamb over flat noodles, meaning “five fingers” for the way it is traditionally eaten) is the dish to order, and the setting gives a sense of steppe hospitality that the glass-tower restaurants nearby do not. Prices run 3,000-6,000 KZT per person.
Check in to one of the mid-range hotels along or near Nurzhol Boulevard. The Ramada by Wyndham Astana and DoubleTree by Hilton Astana both offer reliable quality in the 35,000-60,000 KZT per night range. The Rixos Hotel is the premium option.
Day 2: Museums and the Palace of Peace
The Kazakhstan National Museum on the Left Bank is the largest museum in Central Asia, opened in 2014, covering over 74,000 square metres. The ethnography halls display traditional Kazakh nomadic life with exceptional yurt reconstructions, embroidered textiles and gold jewellery from burial mounds across the steppe. The gold artefacts from the Scythian-era Saka tombs are genuinely world-class. Entry is around 1,500 KZT for adults.
The Palace of Peace and Accord (sometimes called the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation), the Norman Foster-designed pyramid on the southern edge of the Left Bank, is a stranger building than photographs suggest. The apex is a stained-glass room containing chairs for representatives of major world religions, conceived as a venue for interfaith dialogue. The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions convenes here every three years. The building is open for tours; entry varies but runs around 2,000-3,000 KZT.
Lunch at Qazaq Gourmet on the 25th floor of a building on Mangilik Yel Avenue. The restaurant holds a spot in La Liste’s Top 1000 Restaurants Worldwide and serves refined interpretations of Kazakh cuisine: horse meat prepared with modern technique, smoked kazy (cured horse sausage), fermented mare’s milk (kumis) in elegant presentation. The dining room has panoramic views of Astana. Budget 8,000-15,000 KZT per person.
The Nur-Astana Mosque near Bayterek is one of Central Asia’s largest mosques, built in 2005 with funding from Qatar and capable of holding 5,000 worshippers. It is open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times; cover shoulders and knees and remove shoes.
Evening at Daididau, a modern Kazakh restaurant that also appears in La Liste’s Top 1000, with refined presentations of Central Asian ingredients. The lamb and game dishes are strong. Book in advance for weekend evenings.
Day 3: EXPO Site and the Nur-Alem Sphere
The EXPO 2017 site in northwest Astana was built under the theme “Future Energy” and remains one of the most accessible ways to understand Kazakhstan’s ambitions and contradictions simultaneously. The centrepiece is the Nur-Alem sphere, the world’s largest spherical building at 80 metres in diameter, housing eight floors of interactive exhibits on solar, wind, tidal and space energy. Entry is around 2,000 KZT. Allow two to three hours.
The site also contains the Congress Centre EXPO, now used for trade fairs and international conferences, and several pavilion buildings repurposed as offices and exhibition venues. The futuristic architecture throughout the site, combined with the scale of what was built in a few years in the middle of the steppe, gives a concentrated sense of what petrodollars and a determined central government can produce.
Lunch at the food court near the EXPO site, where several Kazakh and Central Asian options run 1,500-3,000 KZT per person.
Afternoon visit to the Astana Opera, if there is a performance during your visit. The house opened in 2013 and has hosted international touring productions of ballet and opera with credible casts. Check the schedule and book online; evening performances run regularly.
Dinner at Rumi, a Georgian restaurant inside Mega Silk Way mall (one of Central Asia’s largest shopping centres). Georgian food, particularly the khinkali dumplings and khachapuri bread, is everywhere in Astana because of Kazakhstan’s substantial Georgian diaspora, and Rumi is considered one of the better options. 2,500-5,000 KZT per person.
Day 4: Day Trip to Burabay (Borovoe)
Burabay National Nature Park, about 260 kilometres north of Astana (roughly 2.5-3 hours by car or bus), is a landscape that feels like it should not exist: pine-forested hills and clear lakes rising unexpectedly from the flat steppe. Kazakh tourists call it the “Pearl of the Kazakh Tourism” and fill the resort hotels every summer weekend.
The key natural features are Borovoe Lake with the rock formations including the distinctive Okzhetpes cliff, Schuchinsk Lake for swimming in summer, and the hiking trails through the pines. This is the easiest nature escape from Astana and the contrast with the capital’s glass skyline is total.
Book a shared taxi (about 3,000-4,000 KZT per seat each way) from Sary-Arka bus station in Astana, or a private transfer for 15,000-25,000 KZT round trip. Return to Astana by evening.
Dinner back in the city at Astana Nury, the restaurant operated in connection with the internationally known Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen, which serves traditional dishes in an elegant environment. Located on Respublika Avenue. 4,000-8,000 KZT per person.
Day 5: Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve
Korgalzhyn, about 130 kilometres southwest of Astana (2 hours by car), is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Saryarka: Steppes and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan.” It contains the world’s northernmost nesting colony of greater flamingos. The pink birds arrive in spring and remain through summer; visiting in May-August gives the best chance of seeing them. The reserve also hosts white-tailed eagles, cranes, pelicans and numerous duck species.
This is a genuinely spectacular natural site that almost no international tourist includes in their Astana itinerary, which means you will be sharing it with Kazakh birdwatchers and families rather than tour groups. A guide is recommended; arrange through the reserve’s visitor centre (book ahead, especially on weekends). Entry and guide fees run approximately 2,000-4,000 KZT per person.
Bring packed food and water; facilities at the reserve are basic. Return to Astana for the evening.
If the flamingo season is outside your dates, replace this day with a visit to Atameken Ethno-Memorial Complex on the Left Bank, an outdoor park containing a large relief map of Kazakhstan with miniature replicas of significant cultural and natural sites across the country.
Day 6: Shopping and Kazakh Craft
The Green Bazaar (Zelyony Bazar) in the old part of Astana on the Right Bank is the most honest market in the city: vegetables, spices, dried fruits, nuts, fermented dairy products and Kazakh-made goods sold at local prices. Go in the morning when it is fully stocked. Dried apricots, walnuts, dried horse meat and local honey make good purchases.
The Right Bank neighbourhood around the bazaar is the older, less photographed part of Astana, with a mix of Soviet-era apartment blocks and small businesses that gives a more grounded sense of the city than the Left Bank boulevard architecture. A morning walk here is the closest thing to local daily life you will find as a visitor.
Afternoon at Mega Silk Way or Khan Shatyr for any remaining shopping. The mall food courts serve inexpensive Central Asian and Kazakh food at 800-1,500 KZT per meal.
Final dinner at La Bottega in Keruen Mall, a long-running steakhouse with a medieval-themed interior and house-brewed beer. The steaks are Kazakhstan-raised beef, which is a better product than its obscurity in international markets suggests. 5,000-10,000 KZT per person.
Day 7: Departure
Use any remaining morning time at the National Museum of Kazakhstan if you missed it earlier, or revisit Nurzhol Boulevard for photographs. The Yandex Go ride to the airport at 3,000-5,000 KZT takes 30-40 minutes; add an extra 15 minutes if you are travelling during morning rush hour (8-9am).
Things to Know
Citizens of the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and about 77 countries total can enter Kazakhstan visa-free for stays up to 30 days. If your country is not on the visa-free list, apply for an e-Visa at evisa.e-gov.kz at least two weeks in advance; the cost is approximately $80.
The currency is the Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT). At 2025 rates, approximately 470 KZT equals $1. Credit cards are accepted in hotels and major restaurants but cash is essential for markets, taxis and smaller establishments. ATMs are widely available on the Left Bank.
Astana’s climate is extreme. In summer (June-August), temperatures reach 30-35°C with low humidity. In winter (December-February), temperatures regularly drop to -20°C and below, with January averaging -14°C and dropping to -31°C on the coldest nights. If visiting in winter, thermal layers and a proper wind-blocking outer shell are not optional. The city functions normally in winter; buildings are extremely well heated and the steppe winter experience is genuinely striking.
Russian is the working language of business and daily life in Astana alongside Kazakh. English is spoken in major hotels and tourist sites but is not widespread beyond them. A translation app (Google Translate with the Kazakh and Russian language packs downloaded offline) is more useful in Astana than in most European destinations.
Near the Bayterek Tower, unofficial “guides” offer tours and then demand 10,000 KZT or more for minimal service. Use Yandex Go or arrange tours through your hotel to avoid this.