Baku City Guide - Boutique Hotels and the Best Restaurants, Bars and Clubs in Baku

Hg2's Baku city guide explores boutique hotels and the best restaurants, as well as bars, clubs, shops, sights and spas.

Ask most people where Baku is and most people wouldn't have a clue; as neither Europe or Asia, it's a city that refuses to be defined. It was once the wealthiest city on the planet, with free-flowing oil and free-wheeling opulence, but seventy-odd years of Soviet occupation did an extremely good job of wiping all trace of this desert town from the world's collective conscience. Not even two decades on from independence, however, and Baku is back in business, with oil money once again flowing and gleaming high-rises replacing drab, concretey Soviet construction. We recommend you get there quick, before it goes boom.

BACK TO BAKU...
We're always on the lookout for the next big destination, which is why we launched Hg2's Baku city guide. Don't know where it is? You soon will - just remember where you heard it first. Shop it here.

HG2 MUST-STAY...
Nestled in the heart of the Old City, The Sultan Inn is arguably Baku's only true boutique hotel. The hotel has just 11 rooms, but all come with open fires and are tastefully decorated in dark wood with sumptuous chocolate brown velvets... Read the full review here.

INDEPENDENCE DAY...
Hg2 has teamed up with The Independent to write a fortnightly travel column; each column focuses on one of our cities, and tells readers of the prestigious paper how to have a bloody good night out in that particular city. Read our column on Baku here.

EURO FLASH...
With Azerbaijan having won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, the victory has heightened interest in the country - and its capital, Baku. Thankfully, we know exactly where you should go once you get there...

DON'T DWELL ON IT...
As something of an authority on the city, we decided to lend our expertise to Dwell -- the US-based design and architecture magazine -- for a mapped tour of the city's top spots. Read it here.

SHATTERED GLASS...
Hg2 loves art, design and fashion, which is why it made sense to team up with a magazine that does these oh-so well; enter Glass, a new publication that's making waves in the media world. We give its readers a sneak preview of our Baku guide here

BAKU...