Uzbekistan has really been discovered as a travel destination in the last few years.
I was there back in 2019, when considerably fewer people seemed to have discovered it, and I was honestly surprised by how much I liked the country. It was easy to travel around, there was so much to see from the Silk Road era, the food was good, the tea was excellent, the architecture could be spectacular—and it was cheap.
A lot has changed since then and I suspect that some of the places we had almost to ourselves in 2019 are rather busier now.
But I still think Tashkent is a little overlooked. And now it has another reason to be on your itinerary: in 2026, Tashkent’s modernist architecture was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List
Most people use the capital as a place to land and then get straight on the train to Samarkand or Bukhara. And don’t get me wrong: you absolutely should visit both. For a proper Silk Road trip, I wouldn’t choose between them. See my post on which city I preferred, but ideally see both. Samarkand vs Bukhara: Discover Uzbekistan’s Silk Road Cities
We also took a detour into the mountains, which I would highly recommend if you have the time. Sustainable Homestay in the Nurata Mountains, Uzbekistan
But give Tashkent a day or two as well. Because it is a completely different city.
What's in this guide
Why travel to Tashkent
Tashkent: a city of layers
Tashkent is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan.
It is a huge city with broad avenues and large open spaces. I wouldn’t describe it as especially cosy or atmospheric. Parts of the city are quite run down, with rows of old standardised apartment blocks that look very much like what you would expect from a former Soviet city.
But that doesn’t mean Tashkent isn’t interesting.
Quite the opposite.
The city has been an important settlement for centuries. Its history goes back to the ancient city of Chach, and its position in Central Asia made it an important stop on trading routes. Over the centuries it was influenced by different Central Asian states before becoming part of the Russian Empire in the 19th century and later the Soviet Union.
The biggest transformation came after the 1966 Tashkent earthquake.
Large parts of the city were destroyed, and the Soviet authorities began an enormous reconstruction. Architects and workers came from across the Soviet Union, and Tashkent was rebuilt as a modern socialist metropolis.
But this wasn’t simply a matter of copying Soviet architecture. But more on that later.
What To See in Tashkent
Tashkent's Soviet modernist architecture
Now Tashkent has another reason to be on your itinerary: in 2026, Tashkent’s modernist architecture was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The new site, Tashkent Modernist Architecture. Modernity and Tradition in Central Asia, includes ten buildings and urban complexes dating from the 1960s to the early 1990s. They represent the extraordinary rebuilding and transformation of the city following the devastating 1966 earthquake.
I am particularly happy about this.
For years, Soviet architecture was often dismissed as simply ugly, grey and boring. Thankfully, that attitude is changing. There is a growing understanding that modernism, brutalism and late-Soviet architecture are important parts of architectural history—and that buildings shouldn’t automatically be demolished simply because they were built during an unpopular political period.
Tashkent is a particularly good example of why.
The 10 sites
This is probably the thing I would pay most attention to now. When I visited in 2019, I was already fascinated by the Soviet architecture. I just didn’t know that it was going to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site seven years later.
The UNESCO inscription includes ten buildings and complexes:
- Zhemchug, the “Pearl”, residential building
- State Museum of History
- Central Exhibition Hall of the Academy of Arts
- Kosmonavtlar Metro Station
- Big Solar Furnace
- Peoples’ Friendship Palace
- State Museum of Arts
- State Circus
- Chorsu Market
- Alisher Navoi Cinema Palace.
The architecture is fascinating because it is not just concrete boxes. These are building with focus on function, but still has dramatic geometric shapes, mosaics, decorative patterns and designed specifically for the Central Asian environment. The architects were working with Soviet style, but also responding to local traditions and conditions.
Tashkent becomes more interesting when you stop seeing the big buildings as background scenery and start looking at them as architecture.
I will dive into selected places further down.
State Museum of History
This is where my experience is now very much a historical one. I visited the old version of the National Museum of History in 2019.
Since then, the State museum has undergone a huge renovation and reopened in 2026 with new interactive and multimedia displays. So if you visit now, you are not going to see the slightly old-fashioned museum that I saw. And I’m rather jealous.
The old museum wasn’t a particularly modern museum experience, but the collection gave a deeper understanding of the Uzbek culture.
It covered Uzbekistan’s history from prehistoric times through the ancient Silk Road, Buddhism, Islam, the Timurids and into more recent history. The best part of the old museum was definitely the historical collection like
- objects from around 2000 BC, evidence of contact with the Greek world Buddhist sculptures dating from the first centuries
- Sogdian writing. The Sogdians were major traders along the Silk Road, and their presence is a reminder that the Silk Road was a network of peoples and cultures rather than simply one route between China and Europe.
- a large and beautiful Qur’an from the early Islamic period, traditionally associated with the seventh century
- armour from the time of Amir Timur.
The new museum now presents the country’s history from the earliest civilizations to the present day using modern technology, so this is one place where my 2019 experience should definitely not be used as a guide to what you will find today.
Kosmonavtlar Metro Station
Even if you don’t normally care about metros, take the metro. My favourite was Kosmonavtlar, the Cosmonauts station. And lo and behold – it became a UNESCO Site.
If you can read the letters, it says Gagarin – the first man in space. I particularly liked the depiction of the female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, whose portrait appears alongside other Soviet space pioneers. The station celebrates the Soviet space programme with blue tones and cosmic imagery.
It is spectacular.
Even thought he rest did not make it to the list, they are worth exploring. Tashkent’s metro stations are attractions in themselves and are among the most beautiful underground stations you will find anywhere. Think Moscow Metro—but with Central Asian influences.
The stations use marble, mosaics, ceramics, chandeliers and elaborate decoration, and many have their own themes.
And the metro isn’t just pretty. It is also the easiest way to get around a city with enormous avenues and sights spread over a large area.
Chorsu Bazaar
Chorsu Bazaar is one of the places where Tashkent suddenly felt much more like the Silk Road city I had imagined.
The enormous market dome looked almost like a giant jellyfish to me.
Inside, it was huge, busy and full of life.
There were mountains of produce, food and all the things you would expect at a traditional Central Asian bazaar.
And, naturally, I bought tea. And had a real market stall snack.
Chorsu is also now part of the UNESCO modernist site.
That may initially seem rather odd. A traditional market and Soviet modernism don’t sound like obvious partners.
But that is actually the interesting thing about the new UNESCO inscription. The point is not that Tashkent is simply a Soviet city. It is about the way modernist planning and architecture interacted with existing Central Asian traditions.
Amir Timur Square and Hotel Uzbekistan
One of the most recognisable areas in central Tashkent is Amir Timur Square, with the statue of Timur in the middle.
And looming over it is Hotel Uzbekistan. This enormous grey Soviet hotel is one of those buildings that is difficult to miss. We actually considered staying there, but when we visited in 2019 the interior had not been upgraded, so we decided it was probably more fun to see it from the outside. I already tried on of these in Moscow and it was not a good sleep.
Architecturally, though, it is a must-see.
This is exactly the sort of building that I think has benefited from the changing attitude towards Soviet architecture. It isn’t conventionally beautiful. But it is monumental, unmistakable and part of the story of Tashkent. But it is only one part of the story.
Dark stories in Tashkent
If you follow me on Instagram or have read more of my writing, you know I am a dark tourist. So a few dark sights was of course added to the itinerary.
Alisher Navoi Theatre
One building I would definitely add to a Tashkent itinerary is the Alisher Navoi State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, usually simply called the Navoi Theatre.
It became the Uzbek State Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1939, was united with the Russian theatre in 1948 and named after the great Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi. It received Bolshoi status in 1966.
And there is a darker story behind the construction.
It was designed by the famous Soviet architect Alexey Shchusev, who also designed Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow. It opened in November 1947 to mark the 500th anniversary of Alisher Navoi’s birth.
Between 1945 and 1947, Japanese prisoners of war were forced to participate in the construction of the theatre. They were among the Japanese prisoners sent to the Soviet Union after the WWII and used as forced labour on construction projects.
The theatre therefore represents several layers of Tashkent’s twentieth-century history at once: Uzbek cultural identity, Soviet architecture, the aftermath of the Second World War and the complicated history of Soviet forced labour.
Museum of Victims of Political Repression
Another place worth visiting if you want to understand the darker side of Uzbekistan’s twentieth-century history is the Museum of Victims of Political Repression.
The museum focuses on the people who were persecuted under the Soviet regime, including victims of Stalinist repression. It gives some much-needed context to all those grand Soviet buildings you see around Tashkent.
Tashkent can look monumental and impressive, but the Soviet period also involved surveillance, persecution, imprisonment and death. This museum tells that part of the story.
Memory and Honour Square and the Eternal Flame
After Uzbekistan declared independence in September 1991, “Lenin Square” was renamed to “Mustakillik Maidoni,” which means “Independence Square“.
Independence Square is currently the central square of Tashkent.
In here is Memory and Honour Square. The memorial is dedicated to Uzbek soldiers who died during the Second World War and includes an Eternal Flame and the monument of the Mourning Mother. More than 400,000 Uzbek soldiers are commemorated as having lost their lives during the war. The memorial complex was established in 1999 and remains an important place of remembrance.
I like these kinds of places because they add another layer to a city.
You can see the grand Soviet architecture, the monuments celebrating independence and the ancient Islamic heritage—but then you come across a quiet memorial to the people who never came home from the war.
The north side of Independance square is a park area, where the Walk of Fame and memory is located. On both sides of the alley there are galleries with carved columns and openwork lattices, where on steles there are memory books that contain the names of all the Uzbek people who died on the fronts of World War II.
It is a much more personal side of Tashkent’s twentieth-century history.
Silk Road Tashkent
Hazrati Imam Complex
This was one of my biggest surprises in Tashkent. Before visiting, I had expected the capital to be mostly Soviet and modern. Then I came across the Hazrati Imam Complex. Suddenly there were enormous mosques, madrasahs and Islamic architecture—and this was much more like the legendary Silk Road Uzbekistan I had come looking for. It is part of the old Tashkent.
One of the first imams of Tashkent, Imam Abubekr Muhammad Kaffal Shashi, was very respected by the people, and when he died in 976, he was buried in the land of the Gods Keykaus garden, near the wall of ancient Tashkent. Directly over this burial place in the 16th century a mausoleum was built and this part of the city near it was then called the Khast Imam (translated as “The Great Imam”).
The complex was built to replicate Registan and is one of the city’s most important religious areas – all in traditional Islamic architecture.
When I visited in 2019, Khast Imam was also where I had my first real encounter with the legendary Silk Road architecture I had imagined. The scale of the mosques and madrasas really surprised me — and I even saw a new mosque being built nearby. The concrete foundations were considerably less romantic than the finished buildings!It is a completely different world from the wide Soviet avenues. And that contrast is what makes Tashkent so interesting.
Muji Mubarak Library
One of the oldest structures of Khast Imam complex is the Muyi Muborak madrasah (“Sacred Hair”). The Muyi Muborak madrasah built in the 16th century, is also distinguished by its unique history. The hair of the Prophet Muhammad is stored in this madrasah, due to which it got its name.
The library houses an collection with thousands of books. And one special book: the Uthman Quran, also known as the Samarkand or Tashkent Codex.
Traditionally believed to date from the 7th century and to have belonged to the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, it is written on parchment in an early Hijazi script. I absolutely love this particular type of Arabic calligraphy — it has such a simple, powerful beauty.
The manuscript has had quite a journey: from Kufa to Samarkand with Timur, then to St Petersburg after the Russian conquest, before returning to Tashkent in 1924. It was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 1997. Some say it is the oldest Quran. However, some others disagree.
I headr of some moving of the manuscript, so research before you go.
Kukeldash Madrasah & Hoja Ahror Mosque
Near Chorsu Bazaar is the Hoja Ahror Valiy Mosque and Kukeldash Madrasah.
The mosque is also known as the Jama or Dzhuma Mosque and it was built in 1451. Serious damage was caused by the powerful earthquake of 1868. The mosque went out of action for almost two decades. In 1888 it was finally restored with funds by the Russian emperor Alexander III, so they began to call it the Tsar’s Mosque.
The madrasah is one of the historic religious buildings of the old city.
It gives you another glimpse of the Tashkent that existed before the earthquake and the Soviet reconstruction transformed so much of the city.
If you are expecting Tashkent to look like Samarkand, this is the sort of area you probably have in mind.
It is a traditional madrasa (the religious educational institution) and built in the 17th century. It later came a cravanserai (an inn for your and your camel). During the Soviet times, it was a museum of atheism. Nowadays, it is again a madrasa. When I visited, there were no other visitors.
Barakhan Madrasa
The Madrasah of Barakhan is from the 15th-16th centuries. The initial building was a mausoleum east of the actual complex.
The second element was a Mausoleum-Khanaka, of Tashkent’s ruler Soyunidj Khan Shaybani, 1530. Later, the complex was rearranged into madrasah and named after of that time’s ruler, Nauruz-Ahmed, nicknamed, Barakhan.
The entrance portal to the Madrasah of Barakhan is decorated with carved bricks and various mosaics.
Other sights in Tashkent
The Museum of Applied Arts
The State Museum of Applied Arts contains Uzbek decorative arts, including embroidery, carpets, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, traditional clothing and headwear. There are also musical instruments and lots of examples of the incredible craftsmanship found throughout Uzbekistan.
One of the things I found interesting was learning about the importance of textiles within family life. A carpet could represent a family, while embroidered textiles formed an important part of a woman’s dowry when she married.
The museum building itself is an architectural monument as an object of cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.
Sailgokh Street
For something considerably less solemn, spend some time on Sailgokh Street, one of Tashkent’s main pedestrian streets.
This is a good place simply to wander and nice to see where people actually spend their free time.
The Romanov Palace
Another building worth looking out for is the Palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, better known as the Romanov Palace.
It was built in 1891 for Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I who was sent into exile in Tashkent after a family scandal.
The palace is a rather unexpected piece of Imperial Russian history in Central Asia, with European architectural influences and fine details. The Grand Duke spent the rest of his life in Tashkent and was involved in the city’s cultural life. It is a nice reminder that the city’s history didn’t begin with the Soviet Union.
When I visited, it was closed. The palace is now being restored and is intended to open to visitors, so this is another place I would add to a future Tashkent trip.
Food and tea
Now to one of the really important parts of travelling in Uzbekistan: food.
We ate a lot of traditional food, including fried dough filled with potato. There aren’t necessarily huge numbers of sweet things, at least not in the way I am used to when travelling elsewhere.
Suzma, the thick strained yoghurt, is another thing you will encounter. It sounds rather unexciting, but I actually liked it. And then there is lamb and mutton, which naturally features heavily in Uzbek cuisine.
We ate at a restaurant called Jumanji, which was a very large place but actually quite cosy. Try the spicy cucumbers. And the Georgian salad. There was music while we ate too.
But honestly, for me, the tea deserves its own category.
Tea is everywhere, and it is often served in small, beautifully decorated ceramic cups. I bought several and, seven years later, I am still drinking tea from them. That might actually be one of my better travel souvenirs.
Practical Information: Visiting Tashkent
Getting around Tashkent
Flying in
Tashkent is the obvious gateway to Uzbekistan and has the country’s main international airport. For a country where many of the major sights are spread across different cities, this makes it a natural starting point.
Take the metro
As I mentioned above, the metro is not just transportation. It is one of the sights. And it is particularly useful because Tashkent is big.
The stations connect many of the main attractions, including Chorsu, the old city, Amir Timur Square and Independence Square.
Take the train
Uzbekistan’s trains are another reason the country is relatively easy to travel around. The trains are fast, efficient and, for journeys between the major cities, probably the best way to get around. If you want to go further off the main route, however, you will generally need a driver.
In 2019, buying two tickets turned out to be surprisingly complicated. We eventually had to get our hotel to telephone the railway station. And then the hotel actually took our passports, went to the station and bought the tickets for us. I will admit that handing over your passport to someone who disappears off to a railway station is not necessarily the most relaxing travel experience. But it all worked out.
We took a taxi to the station, and the hotel had told us to arrive an 1,5 hours before departure. We ignored that slightly and arrived about 45 minutes before the train left. There was security to get through, so I would probably follow the hotel’s advice rather than mine, particularly in busy periods.
Once inside, everything was easy. The carriage numbers were clearly marked, and the journey itself was comfortable. There was no Wi-Fi when we travelled, but there was tea and breakfast. There were not many foreign tourists on our train, but I reckon that has definitely changed.
Unfortunately, everyone seemed to have their windows closed, which meant I couldn’t see much of the scenery—and I got a little motion sick. The staff were very kind, though, and when I explained the problem they let me change seats.
Seven years later, I still remember that as a very Uzbek combination of bureaucracy, hospitality and improvisation.
Season & time
How long do you need in Tashkent?
I would give Tashkent at least one full day, preferably two. Perfect for a minibreak or a layover, although most will probably stop on their way further into the country. If you have only a limited amount of time in Uzbekistan, I understand why you might prioritize Samarkand and Bukhara.
And although we visited in November and it was around 15°C, which would practically count as summer in Denmark, many outdoor places were closed for winter. Perhaps things are different now. But the autumn colours were beautiful.
Budget
Bring local currency.
When I visited, cash was still important and I wouldn’t have wanted to rely completely on cards.
Shopping in Tashkent
My honest opinion on Tashkent
Is Tashkent worth visiting? Yes.
But don’t visit expecting another Samarkand or Bukhara. And prioritize these two. Visit Tashkent for:
- the layers.
- the ancient history in the museums.
- Khast Imam and Kukeldash.
- Chorsu Bazaar.
- the metro stations.
- the enormous Soviet buildings.
- Hotel Uzbekistan.
- the Romanov Palace
- the Eternal Flame
- for the tea.
And now, especially, for the architecture.
If you are interested in UNESCO Sites, discover my favourites in 10 World Heritage Sites in Europe You Have to See Once
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