Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

In summer Azerbaijan is a paradise to spend at least a week in but some tourists do not have such a good luck. However, this is not a good reason to lose your heart and spend a day you have in Baku by sitting idle in the hotel.

A perfect way out of this tough situation is a City Sightseeing Baku bus tour which has just recently opened in the capital. City Sightseeing shows travelers the main attractions of the capital city both traditional and modern.

City Sightseeing Company has presented open top, double-decker, hop-on hop-off buses to many countries since 1999. The company, that organizes tours in more than one hundred cities on five continents, provided tours for 13 million people in 2013.

The new Baku city tour that lasts 80 minutes allows visitors to experience the city's major attractions along the route with 15 stops. It is also possible to hop on and off at your own pace by a 24 hour valid ticket.

The iconic red buses operate daily along streets of Baku from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. in low season and until 10:30 p.m. in high season with a frequency of 30 minutes.

For 20 manats (about $25) you will be offered an amazing audio tour not mentioning about the intense view of the grandiose and time-honored architecture of the city, located between Asia and Europe, the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea.

Audio tours are available in English, Azerbaijani, Russian, Spanish, German, French, Farsi and Japanese and introduce captivating story interesting even for locals.

You can start your acquaintance with Baku from any point along the route. Hopping on at the Azadliq Square you will witness gorgeous Neftchilar Avenue, old Seaport, and modern skyline, resembling Dubai.

Then the buss will take you to this year's winner of the Designs of the Year Award the Heydar Aliyev Center. Here you can spend some time and visit an exhibition in the futuristic building.

The buss will make another stop at the Modern Art Museum, where the best samples of local and foreign modern art is presented.

After becoming familiar with Azerbaijani art, the bus will take you to the fundamental Government House and you will learn about exciting history of its creation.

Next stop will be at the pilgrimage destination of all the tourists in Baku - the Maiden Tower. Here you can visit a brand new museum in the historical symbol of Baku dating back to the ancient times.

Afterwards, you will see amazing samples of Baku's architecture presented in buildings of the State Oil Company, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Four Seasons hotel. Travelling along the old wall of the Inner City you will hear the story of the State Philharmonic Hall, which you will reach in minutes.

Icherisheher metro station will astonish you with its own structure of glassy pyramid resembling the well known pyramid of the Louvre by Pei, staying against the background of the Old City. Here you can spend another hour surveying the narrow streets and stocking up with the keepsakes.

Higher and higher, the bus will take you to the Flame Towers - a new symbol of Baku. These gigantic towers are the most impressive in the sunset.

At the top of hill you will see the building of Azerbaijani Parliament and hear the mournful history of the Alley of Martyrs.

The bus will also stop at the staircase to the Highland Park, where the magnificent panorama of Baku spreads before your eyes.

Though the trip is not over yet, the red bus will give you an opportunity to travel further by the funicular and bring the rest of tourists to the National Flag Square, another great place to enjoy the nice view of Baku.

From this end point of the Seaside Boulevard, tourists will go to the trailhead witnessing on their way to the Puppet Theater and the Museum Center.

Quite a lot to see in a one day, don't you think so? Enjoy your tour!