Day one: inside the fortress walls
Start the morning in the Old City: climb the Maiden Tower, stand in the courtyard of the Shirvanshahs’ Palace and get lost in the narrow lanes — that is part of the plan. Come out to Fountains Square for lunch, then walk the seafront boulevard in the Caspian wind.
Save the evening for the moment the Flame Towers light up: the best view is from Highland Park. For dinner, go national — saj-fired lamb, dolma and, without fail, saffron plov.
A good route is not a list but a rhythm: one museum, one table, one walk.
Day two: modern Baku
Open the day at the Heydar Aliyev Center — the building impresses no less than its exhibitions. Then the Carpet Museum: history knot by knot inside a rolled-up building. Coffee near Port Baku in the afternoon, and say goodbye to the city from a rooftop bar at sunset.
