Best Things To Do in Tashkent Uzbekistan Travel Guide 2026 4K

What's going on everybody, this is Eidenhopper TV and today we're going to show you the best things to do in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Let's do it! That's right everybody, Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the largest city by population in all of Central Asia. We're going to do some day trips, explore the historical side and the modern side of the city. This is a three-day itinerary. Now here we are at the Islamic Cultural Center here in Tashkent. This here is a new museum and research hub that opened in March 2026, so it's brand new. It showcases Uzbekistan's rich history. You can learn all about the Silk Road as well as the science and history that comes from here in Central Asia. Now this area here merges history with modern technology. It is a large complex that sits on about 10 hectare acres. It's a unique architectural style that resembles medieval Samarkand's architectural style as you'll see with the blue mosque and the blue roofs, the domes, and then when you go inside the building you'll realize the inside is equally as beautiful with these mosaics and architecture on the inside. They have several different things that you can do here. Just in case you're wondering, the actual entrance fee cost is about 25 US dollars and that includes a two-hour guided tour with a professional multilingual guide. You just have to wait for the language that you speak to do the tour. You learn a lot about the history with the pre-Islamic civilizations, then you learn about Genghis Khan and the Mongols, how they came into Uzbekistan. Also you learn about the Renaissance and the Islamic Age, which ended up being a part of the Silk Road, which was a very important trade route between China and the West. I would say this is more than just a museum. This is a whole entire cultural complex. That's what they call themselves. So if you're expecting to come here and see just a museum, you're going to get a lot more than that. Here they have the world's largest Quran, as you can see by this book, and then you can see how the tribes and nomadic people would live across Uzbekistan and Central Asia over the years. I know that for me personally, when I saw this yurt it made me want to go out onto the steppe. The steppe is the grasslands where the people would live, so very interesting. Gets you excited for Uzbekistan, so do this the first day. Now they also have heritage light shows like this one inside the dome, but then at night they have a nightly heritage show as well that starts at around 7 30 p.m. So you can watch both of those if you come in the later part of the day. This particular light show is done inside the actual museum at the end of your tour and it lasts about five to ten minutes. It is spectacular to see. I believe the timing intervals are about an hour apart, so you may have to wait a little bit after the tour just to be a part of the light show, but it's worth it. Now let's explore around Tashkent city a little bit more. Now we're in the large indoor market called the Chorsu Bazaar. This is in the historic heart of Tashkent. It's indoor and outdoor. It's got the bazaar, which is an ancient source dating back 2,000 years. The name comes from the Persian word Chorsu, meaning four streams or crossroads, reflecting its position at the junction of major trade routes along the Silk Road. Also the blue dome was built in the Soviet era, so that's a Soviet style design. And here you'll find a large meat market offering everything from lamb, beef, even horse meat and camel, which was kind of unique. It was my first time in my life I ever tried horse sausage. Yeah, I tried it. And you'll know the building because of that dome there. The road I'm on now is known as Selgok, but it's actually Broadway. So this is a pedestrian street right in the city center. You've got street performers and artists gathering around here. It's a good place to go in the evening time, so around sunset is when I would go here. Depending on the time of year though, it varies because I was here in the summer, people come out in the evenings because it's so hot in the middle of the daytime. But in the wintertime, you know, activities can vary. But you can see they've got rentals, you can get scooters, bikes, whatever you want just to ride around the whole area. Tashkent is a beautiful city. I would say if you're someone looking for lively nightlife, this is probably where you'd want to go. I saw shisha bars and cafes, other types of bars, so this is more of that kind of area right here. And because I was here in summer, there was lots of fountains going, and in some cases people go swimming in those fountains. Temperatures were hovering around 40 degrees Celsius or over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This here is Amir Tamir Square. This is a central landmark in Tashkent located right next to that road called Broadway. He was a powerful 14th century conqueror here in Uzbekistan, so he is a key historical figure here. But as far as the square goes, it's mostly connected to that Broadway. And when I was here, it was just nothing more than a park, although people do recommend coming here in the evening time or when there's some sort of festival or activities going on. This is going to be the heart of the city. This is the State Museum of the Temerids. The Temerids were a powerful dynasty that ruled a vast empire in Central Asia and Iran for over a century from the 1370 AD, and the descendants and the successors of the great conqueror Amir Tamir. Their legacy also lived on through a famous offshoot of the Mughal Empire in India. And nearby the museum and that city square is these fountains. I was gravitating towards here when it was the middle of the daytime just to cool off and get some of that air around here. Now this metro system is considered one of the world's most beautiful underground transit systems just because it's like an underground museum and art gallery. It was built in 1977 during the Soviet era. At the time it was built, it was one of the most impressive underground metros in the world. Nowadays you ride around in it and it feels like it is still very similar to how it was when it was built. The trains are a bit older but they're very efficient and they move pretty quickly. You can go around to the various stations. One of the most famous ones is Kosmonov, which actually means astronaut. So each station is going to have its own theme or style, architecture. Really go around and find the best ones when you're here in Tashkent. Something good to do on a hot day or on a cold day. And speaking of transportation and getting around, they do have rideshare app here called Yandex Go. I use that all across Central Asia and including in Kazakhstan. So I would advise you to download the app Yandex Go and get everything set up before your arrival. But if you simply wanted to ride this metro here the whole time you're here, all you need to do is tap your debit card on the machine. And behind me we have an amusement park called Magic City. This is a family-friendly entertainment complex often described as the Disneyland of Central Asia. It's a 21 hectare acre theme park. They have an outside area with a shopping mall and food stalls. And then when you go inside it's like a fairy tale castle kind of place. Open year-round from 10 a.m to 10 p.m. They also have an aquarium, themed streets, fountain shows, rides and games, a ferris wheel with a zipline, an indoor VR experience, upside down house. Now let's talk about local food here. So lamb seemed to be a very popular dish. One of the most popular ones is plov or osh with rice, slow-cooked lamb, yellow carrots, and garlic heads. You also have samsa which is pastry filled with delicious meat. But yeah, you're going to come across lots of different meat here. It seems like they love meat. So when you're coming here, if you're a carnivore or someone who loves meat, get ready to eat up. Alright guys, now I'm in the Tashkent City Park area. This is the modern part of the city. This is where you're going to find the high-end resorts like JW Marriott, Hilton, also Holiday Inn. This area reminds me of something maybe you would see in China or in Dubai. It's very modern and clean here. I enjoyed walking around the park in the evening time after a hot day. Lots of people were out and about enjoying the weather here. But also in the daytime, they do have lots of cafes, big walking pedestrian streets, and restaurants. I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, but I also stayed at the Holiday Inn. I would say this is probably where you want to stay if it's your first time in Tashkent. The Courtyard Marriott was near the airport, so I thought it would be a good location. But aside from being a nice hotel, there wasn't a very good location. Here, I would say the JW Marriott is going to be the expensive one, along with the Hilton. The Holiday Inn is a great value. And they have a big lake here. But also, as you go around, you can get in your steps and your exercise in the daytime. Nearby, they also have some government administrative buildings. After all, this is the capital. Tashkent is a city that's moving forward fast into the Now, this goes off about every hour, and I saw a few of them. It went a lot longer than I expected. It's kind of like a Dubai fountain show. It just doesn't have the big Burj Khalifa Tower, but it's still a very nice fountain show. Kind of loud, because they're shooting water super high in the sky. I would say the best place to view this is right there along the lake. But you imagine being in the room at a JW Marriott or the Hilton, watching the show from up there, or in the executive lounge? Just giving you guys some perspective and ideas about what to expect when you come here. I walked all around, and I must say the buildings were much more colorful and modern than I expected prior to my visit. Now, I'm inside the Tashkent City Mall. This is at the bottom level of the JW Marriott Hotel, but also near the city park. And you can see it's a modern mall. I'm not a big fan of malls, but I know that people like to go to malls to get out of the heat or get out of the cold weather. This is a nice modern mall with lots of options for dining. If you want any type of international cuisine, you could probably find it here. But if you're going to come to Uzbekistan, definitely take the time to try the local foods. Have some of the local dishes. For me, that national dish was perfect. The one with the rice and the meat. Also trying those samsa, which is basically like a samosa for those of you who might call it that. But now what we're going to do is, we're going to do some day trips. So if you do any of these day trips, I would say plan for the full day. So two days around the city of Tashkent, and then one day doing a full trip down to Samarkand. Now, they do have a high-speed train. Yes, I said it correctly. A high-speed train, so you can get very far quickly. This high-speed train takes about two to two and a half hours to get to Samarkand. This is the Silk Road capital. This is probably everyone's favorite city when they come to Uzbekistan. You can stay in Tashkent, take that train in the morning, and then come back in the evening time. For me, the reason I do the day trip is because I ended up taking the night sleeper train to Kazakhstan the next day from Tashkent. So going down to Samarkand and then back to Tashkent was efficient for what I was eventually doing for onward travel. But as you can see, these old buildings here in Samarkand are what make Samarkand the crown jewel of the country. And if you're looking for another experience inside the city, you can go to the TV tower here. Best time to visit is depending on when they actually have tickets available, but it would probably be daytime when the city has the clearest views of the city and the mountain. But manage your expectations. The tower is a bit older and it's kind of like a relic of the Soviet era. It's got an observation deck that rotates with a restaurant and that's on the 17th floor. It was completed in 1985. The nearby hotels would be like the Movenpik or Sarban. Now we're actually going to the Chimgan Mountains. This is another day trip, so it's a year-round playground. It's like the Uzbek Switzerland as they call it. They've got tall mountain peaks around here, but do be aware if you are going to go up high in altitude. Altitude sickness is a thing out here. I experienced it personally when I went up to the higher mountains in the evening time. I ended up getting a bad headache. So ask the locals what you can do to not get impacted by high altitude sickness. Now I want to give you some practical tips. So the currency they use here is the Uzbek Som. Now one US dollar equals about 11,952 of those Som. The name and meaning of Tashkent literally translates to stone town. Population here is about two million people. Best time to visit is probably going to be spring, April to June or autumn, September to November. See you guys on the next one. Almaty, Kazakhstan. Click the link right here or in the description of the video down below.