Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan. Even though many flights arrive in Tashkent, many tourists decide to skip the capital in their Uzbekistan itinerary. Nevertheless, I would recommend spending at least 1 night and therewith 24 hours in Tashkent. In my opinion, the capital city always tells something about the city. Thereby, Tashkent is a good starter to the beauty that awaits you in the rest of Uzbekistan. In this 24-hour travel guide, I’ll show you the best things to do in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Of course, the guide will also include the best bars and restaurants in Tashkent.
During our time in Tashkent, we stayed in Sapiens Hotel, a great hotel with a lovely rooftop. Click here for more information / to book. At the end of this article, you’ll find a full overview of the best places to stay in Tashkent.
After your breakfast, take a taxi to the Chorsu Bazaar, located in the old town. Firstly, we visited the outside area of the market, where you can find a wide variety of items. Furthermore, the bazaar is famous for its blue dome. The inner part of the bazaar focuses on fruit, meat, fish and other food. In my opinion, the Chorsu Bazaar is one of the best things to do in Tashkent, as it gives you insights into the daily life of the locals. Next to that, it offers amazing photo locations.
Next to the Chorsu Bazaar, you can find the Hoja Ahror Valiy Mosque & Kukeldash Madrasah. Since they are located that close to the bazaar, definitely pay them a short visit. However, this is just a first sneak peek of all the lovely mosques and madrasahs you will run into when exploring the main sights in Uzbekistan.
One of the main highlights of Tashkent is its metro stations. First of all, the fact that there is a reliable metro network already surprised me. Before jumping on the metro, we researched the stations that were supposed to be the most beautiful and crafted a route of metro stations to visit on our way to the next sight.
We started our tour at the Chorsu Metro station. Here we bought a metro ticket and jumped on the blue line towards Gafur Gulum where we got off. Luckily, a metro departs every 5 minutes, which leaves you the perfect amount of time to shoot some pictures. Afterwards, we hopped on for one more stop to get off at Pakhtakor, where we admired the station and changed to the red line. Thereafter, we got off at Mustakillik Maydoni to admire the beautiful chandeliers. Lastly, we changed to the green line at the next station to get off in Bodomzor. Personally, this was the perfect number of Tashkent metro stations for us to visit, while also using it as a means of transport.
Below, you can find a map of the Tashkent Metro Stations.
After we arrived at Bodomzur metro station, we walked for 15 minutes towards the Museum of Victims of Political Repression. The place is a memorial complex dedicated to the people who thought for the independence of Uzbekistan.
Also, near the museum, you can find the Tashkent TV-tower, which you can access for views over Tashkent.
By now, it is time for lunch. As time in the capital might be limited, lunch can best be combined with another experience in Tashkent. One of the best things to do in Tashkent is to pay a visit to Beshqozon where you can taste the best Plov of Tashkent / Uzbekistan and enjoy the process of making the dish in bulk.
After lunch, we headed to the inner city, where you can find the famous Uzbekistan Hotel. This hotel is almost a landmark in itself and can be found next to the Amir Timur square.
The final sight on this best things to see in Tashkent list for your 24-hour stay is Sailgokh Street. Firstly, this street is supposed to be great in the evening. Nevertheless, a visit did fit better in our day in the afternoon, so we decided to go ahead and pay a visit to Sailgokh Street around 4 pm. In this street, you can find plenty of different kinds of entertainment. Kids can drive a small car, you can rent strollers, you can do karaoke in a small booth or play ping-pong. We needed to wake up a bit after the full day and jetlag, so a game of ping-pong was the perfect way.
If you fancy something else for lunch than the famous Plov or are spending longer in Tashkent, Socials is a great option. Their food offering is pretty western, which we decided to go for as we had plenty of local food ahead of us.
For dinner, we headed to Roni Pizza Napoletana, very close to Socials Cafe. What I never expected was that those pizzas where some of the best ones I had in a long time. Especially the pear and gorgonzola pizza was to die for!
Of course, the before-mentioned places for lunch and dinner aren’t the only restaurants, cafes and bars worth a visit. Based on prior research and my visit, these places are also worth a visit.
Firstly, visit Breadly, a lovely bakery, where you can find a Western lunch. If you are seeking a more local dinner/twist, then Afsona might be the location for you. Furthermore, we enjoyed juice from the JuiceBar, which is located on the same street as Afsona, RONI and Socials. Moreover, in case you are craving a glass of wine, Silk96 Wine & Lounge or WineTime are good options. Lastly, if you are looking for a nice rooftop, Sette Bar is your best option.
During our visit to Tashkent, we stayed at Sapiens Hotel. In total, we stayed here on the first and final day of our trip. The hotel is basic, with a main building (including an elevator) and a sub-building (without an elevator), and small but clean rooms. However, their breakfast was the best we had in Uzbekistan and in the evening their rooftop transforms into a bar. Plenty of reasons to book your stay here for €75 a night.
Courtesy of booking.com Slightly outside the main town, you can find the Ichan Qal’a Premium Class Hotel. Unsurprisingly, this is a well-known luxury hotel including both an outdoor and indoor pool. Furthermore, the interior of the rooms focuses on an eastern look. In summary, this is the perfect hotel if you are seeking some luxury.
Courtesy of booking.com Is location the most important hotel feature for you? In that case, the City Centre Hotel might be your favourite pick. Even though the rooms are simple, the location and cleanliness make it a gem.
Courtesy of booking.com 
