Baku

Flame Towers, a walled old city and mud volcanoes an hour away.

The Boulevard is best at dusk; Gobustan petroglyphs make a half-day trip.

Baku is a city of layers: a UNESCO-listed walled old town, a belle-époque oil-boom centre, Soviet blocks and the flame-shaped towers of the last decade, all on a bay of the Caspian Sea. It is safe, clean, cheaper than it looks, and a launchpad for petroglyphs, mud volcanoes and a fire that has burned for centuries — all within an hour.

Icheri Sheher (the old city) for lanes and caravanserai hotels; the streets around Fountains Square and Nizami Street for the centre, shops and nightlife; the Boulevard side for sea views. Everything central is walkable, and the metro is close. Book ahead in June when the Formula 1 race takes over the promenade.

Day 1: Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs at opening, lunch in the old city, the funicular to Highland Park for the Flame Towers view, the Boulevard at dusk. Day 2: Heydar Aliyev Center in the morning light, the carpet museum, Nizami Street, dinner at a çay house with samovar tea and jam. Day 3: Gobustan petroglyphs and mud volcanoes, Ateshgah fire temple, Yanar Dag burning hill — a half-day tour or a hired driver.

Plov is the centrepiece — saffron rice with dried fruit and meat under a crisp qazmaq crust. Then dolma in vine leaves, qutab flatbreads with herbs or pumpkin, dushbara tiny dumplings in broth, and piti lamb stew from Sheki. Sturgeon and Caspian caviar appear on smarter menus. Tea comes in pear-shaped glasses with jam on the side; pomegranate everything in autumn.

GYD (Heydar Aliyev International) is 25 km from the centre; the airport express bus runs to 28 May station every 30 minutes, and Bolt rides are cheap. The metro is efficient and inexpensive with a BakıKART; the centre is flat and walkable, the promenade runs for kilometres. For Gobustan and the Absheron sights, book a tour or a driver — public transport is impractical.

Baku is good value outside the luxury hotels: a plov dinner for two is a modest sum in manats, metro rides are pennies. The manat is pegged to the dollar; cards work in the centre, cash helps at bazaars. An e-visa is issued online within days for most nationalities. The wind (Baku means “wind-pounded”) can be fierce on the Boulevard — bring a layer even in spring.