When you walk around the city, you feel the Islamic and Soviet past, but also the modernity. There are various events going on, you can have a lot of fun at the outside concerts and festivals. People are less traditional than in other cities, you can also easily dress as you like here.

Practical Information for Visiting Tashkent

Below are Tashkent specific tips. If you are looking for information on Uzbekistan visas, transport, money and more, check out my detailed guide.

Is Tashkent Worth Visiting

Personally, I wouldn’t even include a section like this, as I always like visiting the capital of any country. It usually tells you a lot about how people live, what the atmosphere is like, and how the country is evolving.

However, many travelers ask whether Tashkent is worth visiting, especially since most people come to Uzbekistan mainly for the Silk Road cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. So I thought it makes sense to address this question here.

In my opinion, spending at least a day in Tashkent is worthwhile. It gives you a chance to experience Uzbekistan beyond the historic Silk Road cities. As the capital, it has a very different feel, with a mix of Soviet architecture, modern developments, lively cafes, and fascinating metro stations.

How Many Days Do You Need in Tashkent

I recommend spending a day in Tashkent, which allows you to experience the local atmosphere before continuing to the historic cities along the Silk Road. One day is usually enough to see the main highlights, including the Hazrati Imam Complex, the famous metro stations, and Amir Timur Square.

If you have more time, you can explore museums, parks, and restaurants, or simply enjoy the lively atmosphere of Uzbekistan’s capital.

Best Time to Visit Tashkent

I would suggest visiting in spring or autumn, as these are the most pleasant times of the year in Uzbekistan. The best months are usually April-May and mid-September to October. June and November can also be quite reasonable. Summers in Uzbekistan are extremely hot, while winters can be very cold.

We traveled at the end of April, mainly because I had several days off. We did have a couple of rainy days, but overall the weather was comfortable and not too hot, which made it easy to walk around and explore the city.

How to Get from Tashkent Airport to the City Center

Most travelers to Uzbekistan fly into Tashkent first. We took AirAstana and arrived in the afternoon.

Getting from Tashkent Airport to the city center is not difficult. Buses #62, #69, and #46 go toward the central train station, while bus #46 also continues to the city center. If you can’t find #46, simply take one of the many buses to the train station and continue from there to your destination by metro. The airport bus stop is located on the road past the airport car park. We used the bus ourselves and found it convenient and hassle-free.

Another option is to use ride-hailing apps, such as Yandex or MyTaxi. This will help you avoid negotiating prices with taxi drivers. Regular taxis are only a last resort, and I would not suggest taking them, unless you have no other option at the moment. Dealing with taxi drivers in Uzbekistan can be frustrating. Prices quoted to foreigners are often higher than usual.

The easiest but most expensive option is to pre-book airport transfer.

How to Get Around Tashkent

There are also buses and minibuses. To check updated information on buses and minibuses in Tashkent, as well as from/to the city, see this great resource.

Taxis in Tashkent aren’t all that expensive. However, I don’t recommend just stopping one on the street. It’s best to use ride-hailing apps, such as MyTaxi or Yandex.

Check my post on public transport in Uzbekistan to learn how to be prepared.

Where to Stay in Tashkent

Tashkent has a lot of types of accommodation from hotels to homestays. I do recommend hotels, as with apartments your host has to register you.

It’s best to stay near the metro stations, given that it will be easier to get around. Plus, metro is one of the best attractions, as you will see below.

If you are looking for something unusual and very characteristic of Tashkent, you might consider Hotel Uzbekistan  at Amir Timur Square. This large hotel was the main luxury accommodation in the city during Soviet times. Opened in 1974, it is known for its interesting brutalist architecture. I can’t really call it beautiful but it’s certainly something to behold. Today the hotel feels quite dated and is not as comfortable as many newer options, so it’s something to keep in mind when booking.

Where we stayed: We stayed at City Centre Hotel, which was nothing fancy but a decent, clean, and reasonably priced option near Kosmonavtlar metro station. The location made it very easy to get around the city using the metro.

Best Cafes and Restaurants in Tashkent

• Yess! Coffee x Book Cafe: If you want to grab coffee in a cozy book setting, go to this cafe near Amir Timur Square.
• Socials Cafe: This has to be the most Instagrammable cafe in Tashkent. It has beautiful floral decor and good coffee. You can also come here if you want Western food.
• Bon! Cafe: This is a chain of relatively affordable breakfast cafes around Tashkent. I am linking the one we tried near Amir Timur Square.

If you are hungry, there are several options for food you could try:

• Afsona Restaurant: The restaurant is located near metro station Ming Orik. We liked this place – it has a beautiful decor and the traditional local food was good. It is however rather expensive.
• Besh Qozon: The best place to try plov, but it is not very centrally located – it is located near the Tashkent Tower. Plov is a national dish – it’s a sticky rice dish usually with meat (it can also have other ingredients instead of meat nowadays). Uzbeks usually eat plov in the morning or early afternoon, although you can still come later in the day if you wish. One note: Besh Qozon used to be called just Plov Center, so many people still refer to it that way.

Tashkent 1-Day Itinerary: Best Things to Do in 24 Hours

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If you only have 24 hours in Tashkent, this itinerary will provide the main highlights of the city.

Hazrati Imam Complex (Hast Imam)

Ticket price: Most of the complex can be visited for free, only the library costs 5,000 UZS.

How to get there: You can get to Hazrati Imam Complex (or Hast Imam) by walking about 15 mins from the Gafur Golum metro station.

The complex was built to replicate Registan but, of course, it’s not as magnificent. Parts of it were built in the 16^th century and other parts in the 19^th. A lot of the complex is heavily renovated in the 20^th century, but the architects tried to preserve the original style. While the Hazrati Imam Mosque itself was built in 2007.

The complex includes the Hazrati Imam Mosque, the Tillya Sheikh Mosque, Barakhan Madrasa, Muji Mubarak Madrasa and Mausoleum Kafar Shoshii (also known as Hazrati Imam). The Imam lived in the 10^th century and was an Islamic scholar.

Like in the case of Registan, most buildings in the complex house the souvenir and handicraft shops, however, the Hazrati Imam Mosque serves as a mosque.

The Muji Mubarak Madrasa houses an Islamic library with thousands of books. You can visit it and see some of the books displayed. Here you will find the 7^th century Quran of Caliph Uthman which, according to some scientists, is the oldest Quran. However, some others disagree.

Islamic Civilization Center

A few minutes from the Hast Imam Complex, a new Islamic Civilization Center was opened in 2026. It serves as a museum, as well as cultural, educational and research hub. I haven’t visited yet, but it looks very interesting, providing exhibits from different time periods of Uzbekistan history.

From the complex you can walk to the Chorsu Bazaar and nearby Kokaldosh Madrasa. To be honest I am not a fan of the bazaars, so we only looked at Chorsu from outside. There are a lot of vendors here selling not only raw, but also cooked food, so you can try, if you like.

The Kokaldosh is the traditional madrasa (the religious educational institution). It was built in the 17^th century. In the 18^th century it became a caravanserai (a sort of an inn). During the Soviet times, it was a museum of atheism. Nowadays, it was again converted to a madrasa. When we visited, we hardly saw anyone there.

Tashkent Metro Stations: A Unique Attraction

Metro stations in Tashkent are a sightseeing attraction in themselves, however strange that may sound. The metro works from 5AM till midnight. In the afternoon, if it’s too hot, or in the evening, when you are done with sightseeing, take metro just for fun. If you can, avoid the rush hour, as it can get very crowded and then, you won’t have the best setting for photos and will get tired. So afternoon or late evening would be your best bet for this.

While entering the metro stations, you may need to undergo a security check, which is a common procedure.

Tashkent metro was built in 1966. It was the 7^th metro system across the Soviet Union. The first line was finished in 1977. Apparently, you couldn’t take photos of metro stops until 2018, but nowadays you are free to do so. This restriction was due to the fact that the metro serves for military needs. It is built in a way to provide shelter during nuclear attack (like many other metros around the world).

These metro stations showcase not only Soviet past, but also the Islamic culture. In combination, they create a beautiful system.

The metro has 3 lines and 29 stations. Not all of them are interesting though (see the list below). We just took the metro map and were alighting at the pinpointed stations, checking them and getting back on a train to see the next one.

If you want to check all of the stations that are interesting, try the following list:

• On the red line (the first line): start with Chilonzor, then Novza, Pakhtakor (Alisher Navoy on the blue line side), Mustakillik Maydoni, Amir Timur Hioboni (on the green line side, it’s the Yunus Rajabiy).
• On the blue line start with Toshkent, then go for Oybek, onwards to Kosmonavtlar, Ozbekiston, Alisher Navoy, Gafur Gulom, Tinchlik, Beruniy.

If you don’t want to see them all, these ones are most magnificent:

• Kosmonavtlar (my favourite) – as the name says it is dedicated to the cosmonauts and the space travel,
• Alisher Navoy (Pakhtakor on red line) – has a name of the 15^th century poet and has beautiful domes with intricate murals. There are also scenes from his poems depicted.

• Mustakillik Maydoni – having a name of the Independence square, this station has beautiful columns and chandeliers,
• Toshkent – depicting the 2200 year history of the city and of Uzbekistan.

Amir Timur Square

Towards evening visit the Amir Timur Square, you will just have to alight at the Amir Timur Meydoni metro station. Here you will find his statue surrounded by different well-known buildings:

• The Amir Timur Museum (Museum of the Temurids) has an interesting round construction. The museum holds artefacts from Timur’s and Timurid Dynasty times. Even if you don’t visit it, definitely check it out. Its round entrance hall is fascinating.
• Next to it is the University of Law (which housed women’s gymnasium during tsarist times).
• Tashkent Chimes with a sort of a clock tower is another popular building. It was constructed in 1940s. It is apparently a well-known meeting place. But it didn’t fascinate us to be honest.
• Palace of International Forums was built a decade ago. It serves, as a sort of a cultural center for conferences, congresses and other ceremonial events.
• Hotel Uzbekistan is a strange building built in the classic Soviet style, but with a slightly rounded shape. It still serves, as a rather popular hotel but is pretty outdated.

From the square, walk down the Sailgokh Street. This is a pedestrian-only street, where outdoor events are happening, particularly, if you are here on a weekend. We saw a lot of stalls here with different sort of food and trinkets to buy. We also found an outdoor concert and dance performances. On the crossing street – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Street – artists were selling their works.

This was definitely my favourite part of the town and you can spend a pleasant evening here.

Things to Do in Tashkent If You Have More Than 1 Day

There are a few other things you could see with more than one day in Tashkent:

• Minor Mosque was built only a few years ago. It is white in appearance and also not too close to the nearest metro station, so more difficult to get to. 
• Tashkent TV Tower, which offers views over the city
• Museum of the History of Uzbekistan is located not far from the Amir Timur Square. You won’t have time to explore it in one-day itinerary, but it’s a good informational source for your additional days.
• Alisher Navoi Theater offers opera and ballet performances, if you are visiting Tashkent during the right season.

<p>The post Best Things to Do in Tashkent: 1-Day Travel Guide first appeared on Hit the Road Ket.</p>