Culture, design & architecture

The 29-metre stone tower of uncertain age that became Baku’s symbol. Climb to the roof for the Old City and the sea.

The 15th-century palace complex on the Old City’s highest point: courtyards, a mosque, mausoleums and a bathhouse in honey-coloured stone.

The walled city inside its double gate: caravanserais, small mosques and carpet shops along stone lanes.

Zaha Hadid Architects, completed in 2012: one continuous white surface rising from the plaza into the roof with no hard edge. Walk all the way round before going in; the shell is a lesson in how a fold becomes a building.

Three curved glass towers of 2007–2013 above the bay, covered in LEDs that turn them into flames after dark.

A building shaped like a rolled carpet on the Boulevard, holding one of the world’s great carpet collections, with weaving demonstrations.

A hillside where natural gas has burned for decades. Go at dusk, when the flames look brightest; it is very windy, so wrap up.

A walled courtyard of cells around a fire altar, once used by fire-worshipping pilgrims and traders. A combined ticket with Yanar Dag is available.

The hilltop memorial and terrace beside the Flame Towers, with the whole bay below. Allow an hour or two.

The easy way up from the Boulevard to Highland Park, with a view as you climb.