Azerbaijan Sightseeing: UNESCO Sites, Views

October 18, 2026

Travel advice. The UK FCDO advises against all travel within 5 km of Azerbaijan’s border with Armenia, and against all but essential travel to the south-western districts affected by the 2020 and 2023 conflicts, where mines and unexploded ordnance remain. The US State Department lists Azerbaijan at Level 3, Reconsider Travel. The land borders with Armenia and Russia are closed, and visitors fly in. The sights below are in Baku and in the north, west and mountains, outside those districts. Check the UK advice and the US advisory before you go.

Azerbaijan has four UNESCO cultural sites worth planning a trip around: the Old City of Baku, the Gobustan rock art, the Sheki old town and the Khinalug landscape. Add a Zaha Hadid building and a hillside view of the bay and you have the core of any sightseeing list. Fees are in manat (AZN), about 1.70 to the US dollar.

Old City of Baku

Icherisheher, inscribed by UNESCO in 2000, is the walled core of Baku. The Maiden Tower, at Neftchilar Avenue 99, is about 28 m high with eight floors and has housed a museum since 1964. A foreign adult pays 19 AZN. The Shirvanshahs’ Palace Complex, at 1st Gasr Lane 76, dates from the 15th century and includes the palace, the Divankhana, a mausoleum, the Shah Mosque and a bath. Entry is 24 AZN. Both are open daily from 10:00 to 19:00. The Siratagli complex is free, and the lanes, the Double Gates and the outsides of the caravanserais and mosques cost nothing to walk past. See the official fee table .

Heydar Aliyev Center

The Zaha Hadid building on Heydar Aliyev Avenue is best seen from outside, and the grounds are free. The museum inside charges admission, and published figures and hours conflict, so check heydaraliyevcenter.az before going, particularly on Mondays.

Highland Park view

The funicular from the seafront runs to Highland Park for about 1 AZN. The terrace looks across Baku Bay to the Flame Towers, and the view is free. It is a good place for the late light.

Gobustan Rock Art

About 60 to 70 km south-west of Baku, roughly an hour by car, Gobustan became a UNESCO site in 2007. More than 6,000 carvings cover the rocks, and the Gaval Dash stone at the entrance is said to ring like a tambourine. Entry is about 10 AZN, with some listings giving 15. Hours vary by source, so go in the daytime and arrive by about 15:00. The carvings are protected: stay on the marked trails and never climb, touch or chalk them.

Sheki and Khinalug

The Historic Centre of Sheki, a UNESCO site since 2019, is built around the Khan’s Palace inside the old fortress. The palace is known for its shebeke windows, costs 15 AZN for a foreign adult, and restricts interior photography. Sheki is about 6 to 6.5 hours from Baku by bus, so plan a night. Khinalug, at around 2,350 m, is a Ketsh-speaking mountain village and part of a UNESCO cultural landscape with the Koc Yolu route, inscribed in 2023. It lies 50 to 60 km above Quba, reached by taxi or 4x4.

Shamakhi and Maraza

Shamakhi, about 120 km west of Baku, has the large Juma Mosque, which was rebuilt. Near Maraza stands the cliffside Diri Baba Mausoleum, with a 15 AZN foreign adult fee. Dress modestly at the mosque.

Guided sightseeing

If you would rather have a guide, browse Azerbaijan sightseeing tours and check what the price includes.

Martyrs’ Lane

Martyrs’ Lane (Shehidler Khiyabani) is the national cemetery above Baku, at Highland Park. It holds victims of the January 1990 Black January crackdown and soldiers killed in the Karabakh wars, and an eternal flame burns there. It is a place of mourning, not a stop for photographs or recreation. Dress quietly, keep voices low and ask before photographing anyone. The FCDO warns that conduct there can lead to police action, and access can be restricted around 20 January. It is separate from Fountains Square, the pedestrian square with cafes.