History Museum of the People of Uzbekistan
Tashkent
The History Museum is a must-visit for anyone looking for a primer on the history of Turkestan from its earliest settlements 5000 years ago to the present…
Chorsu Bazaar
Tashkent
Tashkent’s most famous farmers market, topped by a giant green dome, is a delightful slice of city life spilling into the streets off the Old Town’s…
Museum of Applied Arts
Tashkent
The Museum of Applied Arts occupies an exquisite house full of bright ghanch (carved and painted plaster) and carved wood. It was built in the 1930s, at…
State Fine Arts Museum
Tashkent
The four floors of this excellent museum walk you through 1500 years of art in Uzbekistan, from 7th-century Buddhist relics from Kuva and the Greek…
Earthquake Memorial
Tashkent
The New Soviet men and women who rebuilt Tashkent after the 1966 earthquake are remembered in stone at the Earthquake Memorial just north of Mustaqilik…
Moyie Mubarek Library Museum
Tashkent
The primary attraction of Khast Imom square is this library museum, which houses the 7th-century Osman Quran (Uthman Quran), said to be the world’s oldest…
Minor Mosque
Tashkent
The striking new Minor Mosque, also known as the white mosque for the colour of its marble, is proof that Uzbekistan still knows how to create sublime…
Assumption Cathedral
Tashkent
It's impossible to miss the handsome gold onion domes, pastel blue walls and 50m bell tower of the impressive Assumption Cathedral. Built in 1958 and…
Statue of Timur
Tashkent
Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.
Barak Khan Medressa
Tashkent
Souvenir shops occupy the student rooms of this 16th-century medressa located on the western side of Khast Imom square, making this one of the best places…
Art Gallery of Uzbekistan
Tashkent
One of the more recent additions to Tashkent's museum scene is this impressive building, which presents rotating exhibits of Uzbekistan's top contemporary…
Mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shoshi
Tashkent
This little 16th-century mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shoshi, an Islamic scholar and poet of the Shaybanid period, is located northwest of Khast Imom…
Railway Museum
Tashkent
The magnificent collection of 1930s to 1950s Soviet locomotives at the open-air Railway Museum will thrill train buffs, though it's worth visiting even if…
Crying Mother Monument
Tashkent
North of Mustaqillik maydoni is the Crying Mother Monument. Fronted by an eternal flame, it was constructed in 1999 to honour the 400,000 Uzbek soldiers…
House of Photography
Tashkent
The House of Photography hosts rotating exhibits of Uzbekistan’s top contemporary photographers as well as shows by international names in the field. It's…
Kulkedash Medressa
Tashkent
The working 16th-century Kulkedash medressa has an unusual garden courtyard and sits beside Tashkent’s silver-domed Juma (Friday) Mosque on a hill…
Navoi Park
Tashkent
Downtown Tashkent’s largest park has an eccentric mix of brutal Soviet-era, Uzbek government buildings and post-independence monuments, all set in a…
Hazroti Imom Friday Mosque
Tashkent
This huge mosque, built on ex-President Karimov's orders in 2007, is flanked by two 54m-tall minarets. Remove your shoes if you want to enter.
Romanov Palace
Tashkent
The animal-festooned brick facade of the Tsarist-era Romanov Palace is worth a quick look but the building itself is closed to the public.
Sheikhantaur Mausoleum Complex
Tashkent
Just north of Navoi boulevard are three 15th-century mausoleums. The biggest, on the grounds of the Tashkent Islamic University, bears the name of Yunus…
State History Museum of the Timurids
Tashkent
Shaped like a Mexican sombrero, this museum was built to commemorate the 600th birthday of Timur. There are almost no genuine artefacts here, but there…
TV Tower
Tashkent
This 375m-tall, three-legged monster, the epitome of Soviet design, stands north of the city centre but can be seen from all over town. The price of…
Sheikh Hovendi Tahur Mausoleum
Tashkent
This little-visited mausoleum was built for a 14th-century Sufi saint and gives its name to the surrounding Sheikhantur complex. It's tricky to find, east…
Kaldirgochbiy Mausoleum
Tashkent
This little-visited, pyramid-roofed mausoleum is for devoted fans of Central Asian architecture. It's tricky to find, east of the Tashkent Islamic…
Dom Forum
Tashkent
This preposterously large hall is usually locked tight but occasionally hosts state-sponsored events for honoured guests. You may recognise the tigers on…
Juma Mosque
Tashkent
Tashkent's main Juma (Friday) mosque was built in the 1990s on the site of a 16th-century mosque destroyed by the Soviets. On warm Friday mornings the…
Senate Building
Tashkent
The shiny white edifice on the western side of the Independence Square is the Senate building. The president's office and most ministries take up the…
Istiklol Palace
Tashkent
Formerly the People’s Friendship Palace, this concert hall is one of several striking Soviet-era buildings in Navoi Park. It looks like a moon-landing…
Alisher Navoi Monument
Tashkent
Near the Oliy Majlis in Navoi Park is a vast promenade and this post-Soviet Monument to Alisher Navoi, 15th-century Turkic poet and Uzbekistan's newly…
Oliy Majlis
Tashkent
The tightly guarded building southwest of the Friendship Palace is the Oliy Majlis parliament, which functions as a giant rubber stamp in its infrequent…
Wedding Palace
Tashkent
Southeast of the Friendship Palace is the Soviet-era Wedding Palace – a vulgar, crooked chunk of Khrushchev-era concrete.
More destinations you need to see
- Bukhara
- Samarkand
- Khiva
- Nukus
- Shakhrisabz
