Things to do in Tashkent

Landmark · Across the city

Central Asia's oldest metro, opened 1977, with stations themed in engraved metal, marble, ceramic and glass — a subterranean museum that was off-limits to cameras until 2018.

Local tip: Kosmonavtlar for the space-flight portraits in blue glass, Alisher Navoi for the domed ceilings, Pakhtakor for the cotton mosaics. One ATTO tap lets you ride between them; go mid-morning when they are empty.

Food · Old City

The great blue-domed market at the edge of the old town — spice pyramids, dried fruit, horse sausage, non bread from the tandir, and the city's cheapest lunch.

Local tip: Go up to the mezzanine above the meat hall for the view down into the dome, then eat non straight from the bread bakers on the outer ring. Cash or a local card; bargain gently.

Culture · Old City

The religious heart of Tashkent — madrasas, a mosque, and a library holding what is claimed to be the world's oldest Quran, the Uthman codex.

Local tip: The manuscript room is small and photography is restricted. Come on a Friday morning for the atmosphere, and walk the surrounding mahalla lanes afterwards — that low-rise old Tashkent barely survives elsewhere.

Landmark · Central

The ceremonial centre of the Soviet master plan — a circular park of chinar trees ringed by monumental buildings, including the brutalist Hotel Uzbekistan.

Local tip: This is the clearest single view of what the 1966 earthquake reconstruction produced: enormous boulevards, deliberate green space and monumental scale. The State Museum of the Timurids next door is worth an hour.

Neighborhood · Central

The new-build business district and park driven through the central city — towers, fountains, restaurants and a very visible statement of where the country is heading.

Local tip: Contentious locally because of the mahalla housing cleared to build it. Worth seeing precisely for that: it is the sharpest edge of Tashkent's modernisation, and locals have strong and divided views.

Nature · ~80-100 km north-east

The Western Tian Shan foothills — a turquoise reservoir, chairlifts, hiking in summer and modest skiing in winter, all within a couple of hours of the city.

Local tip: Charvak in summer and Chimgan in winter; shared taxis from the northern edge of the city are cheap if you split them. Signal thins in the valleys, so download maps before you leave.