Things to do in Tashkent
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Tashkent
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Joint best, warming weather, green city in bloom and mountain meadows turning green.
Joint best, heat breaks, golden light and harvest produce at its peak in Chorsu.
Navruz on 21 March brings celebrations and family travel pressure, book everything early.
Hot, with July and August worst for sightseeing, so plan mornings, evenings and mountains.
Turns cold and wetter, winter clothing essential by late November.
Cold and quiet with Amirsoy ski season at its peak from December to March.
What's on
- Navruz 21 March
Spring new year and the year's biggest festival, with sumalak cooking and street celebrations.
- International Jazz Festival Tashkent late April-May
UNESCO supported festival with free and low cost concerts, typically late April to May.
- Independence Day 1 September
Concerts and park events, with some closures.
Best things to do in Tashkent
Hazrati Imam Complex
Tashkent's religious heart, home to the ancient Uthman Qur'an in a calm working mosque and madrasa ensemble.
Chorsu Bazaar
Huge domed Old City market for warm tandoor bread, spices, dried fruit and a cheap cooked food breakfast.
Tashkent Metro
Every station is a different Soviet artwork, and riding the line is both sightseeing and useful transport.
State Museum of Applied Arts
Best single museum in the city, with suzani, ceramics and carved interiors in a handsome historic house.
Amir Temur Square
The symbolic centre and best New City walk, linking Broadway street life to Independence Square at dusk.
Museum of History of the Timurids
Round blue domed museum giving a fast grounding in why Timur matters to modern Uzbek identity.
Minor Mosque
Brilliant white marble mosque on the Ankhor Canal, best in late afternoon light with a canal walk after.
Tashkent TV Tower
Central Asia's tallest tower for a clear day panorama, with the Japanese and Botanical Gardens nearby.
Where to stay in Tashkent
Amir Temur Square / Navoi Theatre - City Centre
first trip, short stays and families
Parks, museums, the canal and a metro hub within a short walk, peaceful despite being central.
Mirabad (Mirobod) - Taras Shevchenko Street
food, drink, solo travellers, couples and early trains
The gastronomic street district, full of restaurants, cafes and wine bars near the main station.
C1 / Mirzo Ulugbek
longer stays, couples and food lovers
The district resident writers choose for eating out, with modern restaurants, parks and a lake.
Eski Shahar - Old City
culture focused travellers and early risers
Wake up inside the traditional Old City with Chorsu and Khast Imam on foot, quiet and dry at night.
Tashkent City / Shaykhontohur
mall, fountain show and known brands
Polished new glass district with towers, Tashkent City Park and Mall, polished but somewhat placeless.
Think twice about
- Sergeli, Yangihayot, far Chilanzar and Bektemir
Distant housing districts with little to see and long traffic choked rides to every sight.
- Airport and industrial south
Practical for one night before a 6am flight only, dead and inconvenient for a sightseeing stay.
- Chorsu and bazaar fringe side lanes at night
The bazaar area is a daytime place and side lanes are quiet and poorly lit after closing.
Best restaurants in Tashkent
Besh Qozon
The plov spectacle and benchmark, with giant open flame kazans serving regional styles at lunch.
Anjir Restaurant
The locals' plov pick, a fast packed chaikhana style room with an Uzbek only menu and separate kassa.
Afsona
Refined, easy introduction to Uzbek classics, including lighter and vegetarian plov, with English menus.
Caravan Restaurant
Long running first nice Uzbek dinner choice, with a broad national menu, wine service and live music at times.
Syrovarnya
Novikov cheese restaurant for house made burrata, pastas and grills when the group needs a break from lamb.
Pro.Khinkali
Georgian kitchen done properly, with khinkali to order, cheese boat khachapuri and Georgian wine.
Minor Somsa
Tandoor somsa continuously out of the oven near Minor Mosque, exceptionally flaky and best eaten hot standing.
Chorsu Bazaar food stalls
Cooked food rows and bread stalls inside Chorsu for somsa, non and cheap chaikhana plates chosen by turnover.
Best bars in Tashkent
Just Wine Bar & Store
Wine bar for Uzbek wine, from Central Asia's largest wine producing country, worth one evening.
Silk 96 Wine & Lounge
Wine lounge for the modern revival of Uzbek wine, a calm evening alternative to the beer bars.
Beerkovich
Craft beer bar in Mirabad and Yakkasaray pouring local and imported beers.
Best coffee in Tashkent
Coffee Nation
Part of Tashkent's fast growing third wave coffee scene, detailed in the local food guide.
Raspberry Coffee Roasters
Third wave coffee roaster, one of the city's best coffee stops.
Rassvet
Third wave coffee stop named alongside the city's leading roasters in the local food guide.
Outdoor things to do in Tashkent
Amirsoy Mountain Resort
Uzbekistan's modern ski resort, with gondolas, rentals and summer hiking and biking from the top stations.
Chimgan Mountains
Older, wilder mountain area for hiking, the Soviet chairlift, horse riding and paragliding near Great Chimgan.
Charvak Reservoir
Turquoise mountain reservoir for summer swimming, boating and lakeside cafes about 90 minutes from the city.
Samarkand
The essential day trip by high speed train, a walk heavy day around the Registan and Shah-i-Zinda.
Ugam-Chatkal National Park
Serious hiking in Beldersay and Gulkam Canyon beyond the resort loop, best done with a local mountain guide.
Sukok Nature Reserve
Pine and juniper reserve walks paired in one day with the Parkent Solar Furnace and village somsa.
Parkent Solar Furnace
One of only two 1MW solar furnaces in the world, a vast Soviet concentrator toured with researchers.
Tashkent Lakeside Golf Club
Established 18 hole course with tree lined fairways and English speaking caddies, a novelty half day for golfers.
Best hotels in Tashkent
InterContinental Tashkent
Most complete luxury hotel in the city, with large rooms, a huge wellness club and a top floor restaurant.
Hyatt Regency Tashkent
Reliable international standard benchmark on Navoi Avenue, with a strong lounge and praised breakfast.
Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace
Grand historic hotel opposite the Navoi Theatre, the central family and location pick with real character.
Hotel Uzbekistan
Famous Brutalist tower on the square itself, a novelty night on price rather than a quality pick.
Wyndham Tashkent
Reliable international mid to upper option in or near Mirabad, the food and evenings district.
Radisson Blu Tashkent
Dependable business leisure chain hotel near Mirabad, solid rather than stellar and well reviewed at scale.
Oscar Boutique Hotel
Resident named boutique pick for Mirabad, smaller and design led with a better breakfast and bar feel.
Moderno
Resident named boutique pick for Mirabad, smaller and design led than the big chains at this price.
Is Tashkent expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | UZS 360,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | UZS 840,000 a person |
| Splurge | UZS 2,160,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Guided Old City and food walk: a few days ahead
- Navoi Theatre: a few days ahead
- Amirsoy Mountain Resort: weeks ahead
- Samarkand: months ahead
- Ugam-Chatkal National Park: a few days ahead
- Sukok Nature Reserve: a few days ahead
- Parkent Solar Furnace: a few days ahead
- Tashkent Lakeside Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Afrosiyob trains release 45 to 60 days ahead and peak morning departures sell out within days or hours.
- Book good hotels in April to May and September to October when you book the train.
- Book Amirsoy chalets, rentals and lift capacity ahead on winter weekends and Navruz.
- Reserve top dinner tables Thursday to Saturday, especially Syrovarnya, Caravan and Khan Chapan.
Is Tashkent safe?
- Keep valuables zipped and in front of you in crowded bazaars and on busy transport.
- Dress modestly at religious sites and carry a headscarf for mosque interiors.
- Emergency numbers are 101 fire, 102 police and 103 ambulance.
- Do not photograph military or police installations, and ask before photographing people.
Tashkent travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Hotel Uzbekistan as a place to sleep, an icon to photograph with the widest fame to review gap in the city.
- A rushed Amirsoy, Chimgan and Charvak all in one day tick box if you actually ski, hike or swim.
- Dinner plov, since plov is a fresh midday food and the lunch kazan empties by early afternoon.
- Unmarked taxis, currency offers from drivers and station fixers overcharging foreigners.
- Magic City and Tashkent City Park sold as a full sightseeing day rather than an evening stop.
Getting around Tashkent: public transport and more
- Yandex Go is the main download, cheap cross town and to the airport, with card payment in the app.
- Metro is about 2000 UZS a ride, clean and fast, and signage is in Uzbek and Russian.
- Use the official airport taxi dispatcher desk if Yandex is not working and ignore terminal touts.
- Walk the centre, canal and parks, but use metro and short Yandex hops across the sprawl.
Who Tashkent suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Tashkent your trip
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