Things to Do in Tashkent

Riding the Tashkent Metro

Each station doubles as a palace. Marble, mosaics, and Soviet space-age lamps surround you. Glide from cosmos-themed Kosmonavtlar where indigo astronauts glow. Alisher Navoi shines lapis blue and smells of motor oil and perfume. Trains rumble and spark like childhood rides. Babushkas shuffle aboard clutching tomatoes in plastic bags.

Chorsu Bazaar

Under the green-domed roof sweetness smacks you first. Melon and the earthy funk of horse sausage fill the air. Vendors shout figures in Russian and Uzbek. Copper scales clink while butchers slap fat-tailed sheep onto hooks. Between crimson spice aisles a lady in a technicolor doppa offers fermented mare's milk.

Hazrati Imam Complex

The library shelters the Osmanical Qur'an. Its parchment smells of hides and centuries. Pilgrims kiss the polished timbers of the 16th-century mosque. Pigeons clatter overhead. Turquoise tilework vibrates against a sky so bright it hurts. The marble underfoot stays cool even at noon.

Amir Timur Square

The bronze equestrian statue of Tamerlane glints under floodlights. Teenagers rollerblade around fountains that smell faintly of chlorine. Locals pose for wedding photos. The bride's satin rustles in the evening breeze. From here you can read the city's grid: straight avenues flanked by Stalinist blocks painted improbably cheerful yellows.

Yangiabad Flea Market

A short marshrutka ride north delivers rows of rugs, Soviet watches, and amber necklaces that click like marbles. Diesel and dust hang thick in the air. Someone's always grilling fatty beef ribs whose smoke stings your eyes. Haggle hard for a 1981 Muscovite camera. You might still pay less than a metro ticket back in Paris.

Mirabad District offers leafy 19th-century allees. Courtyard houses have turned into guesthouses. Cafés sit within a quick walk.

Shaikhontokhur holds the old town grid south of Chikhonvala. Dawn calls ring from minarets. Cheap chaikhanas sit below windows.

Yunusobod is a Soviet high-rise zone with skyline views. The metro whisks you downtown in fifteen minutes.

Chilanzar gives local-vibe micro-districts. Bazaars sprout in parking lots. Budget apartments are aplenty.

Amir Timur Street lines up mid-range hotels under neon. Staff speak English. Espresso bars occupy ground floors.

Botanical Garden fringe stays surprisingly quiet. Park air smells of pine. Upscale residences cluster here, still ten minutes by metro.