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Baku sits at the crossroads of historical trade routes between Europe and Asia, serving as Azerbaijan's largest city and main port since medieval times. Its UNESCO-recognised walled inner city dates to the 12th century, while surrounding it are Soviet-era buildings and an array of post-modern developments funded by the country's substantial oil wealth.
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It's not that Baku is a bad destination, it just doesn't warrant the likely strenuous journey to get there from wherever your origin is. I enjoyed my time, but would struggle to make any compelling argument on why you should apply any urgency in booking your flights.
I fancied exploring somewhere new for the Summer of 2025 and Baku felt like the natural first stop on a journey towards Central Asia.
Part of Azerbaijan's appeal was the purported similarities to Turkey, somewhere I've enjoyed several trips to. The similarities between the two extend to a saying of 'one nation, two countries' reflecting the long-standing kinship between the two.
Airbnb felt like it had a number of potential pitfalls in Baku. The major one is the dated and overly stylised interior decor of much of the stock available. Expect listings with overly ornate Ottoman features and heavy patterned carpets offering something of a complete contrast to what you might expect in somewhere with minimalist interiors in South East Asia.
The second is the quality of the new build apartments. I heard from several people that new build developments in Azerbaijan are plagued by corruption and cost cutting, and I felt like I experienced this very clearly first-hand. Having taken a chance staying in a brand new listing at the recently completed Nizami City development, it felt exemplary of issues mentioned. Considering it had only been completed at the turn of the year, the building already showed significant signs of wear. Quality of fittings was poor, the grouting looked like it had been completed by a hungover apprentice and the wallpaper had fallen off the walls in four different points.
Having spoken to locals this does not sound like an isolated experience, so I would suggest prioritising properties with a history of higher rating reviews.
Whilst not necessarily cheap, prices for a one-bedroom apartment remain great value on Airbnb compared to what you might expect in Western Europe. Expect to pay around £900 for a good quality apartment for a month, with the price being significantly cheaper if booking long-term off platform.
Overall, Airbnb in Baku felt very similar to Turkey, where for whatever reason, it rarely seems to run as smoothly as in other places.
Baku has a great selection of places to work from. Having visited a few options across the city, I feel with great confidence that what is on offer at the Lotfi Zadeh Technology Center is comfortably the best not just in the city but in the country. More details in the section further below.
To complement, you've got a huge range of coffee shops which are well set up for periods of working from, with some of the latest opening hours I can recall seeing. Expect most places to stay open until 23:00 with some shutting as late as 01:00. They are never that busy and internet quality is generally sufficiently reliable. Cafe Botanist was a particularly strong option, with a dedicated working area in it's basement.
There are no WeWorks and the independent providers might not quite have the same level of quality you might expect in the West, but you won't struggle to find somewhere to work from.
Your money goes far in Baku. Over the past 10 years the manat has weakened substantially, making a lot of day-to-day living expenses incredibly low if you are earning abroad.
Eating out in particular is especially inexpensive; expect to pay around 10 Manat (under £5) for a 'business lunch' in a reasonable quality restaurant, featuring a soup, main course and drink. Glasses of wine in bars in the city centre can cost as low as 6 Manat (£3).
Low wages and petrol prices result in taxi prices being almost unbelievably cheap, with the 20km journey from the airport costing under £4 on Bolt. Imported items tend to carry a notable premium, however, with some bizarrely priced items like a can of PRIME energy drink costing more than a day's pay on the country's minimum wage. Prices of coffee was notably high by local standards, with prices frequently matching or exceeding what you may expect in a city like Madrid.
Even Baku’s strongest admirers would struggle to argue that it ranks among the world’s most exciting cities. It lacks the urgency and drive typically found in major capitals. Although given its isolated location within a region not especially known for being particularly dynamic, this isn’t exactly unexpected.
That being said, it would be both unfair and inaccurate to call Baku boring. Compared to nearby, similarly sized Tbilisi, it holds up reasonably well. There’s enough happening on a day-to-day level to keep you engaged over the course of a month-long stay, especially if you're primarily there for work during the week.
Where it falls short in comparison to its Georgian neighbour is access to nature. There felt little reason to explore Baku’s broader urban sprawl, and without committing to a proper excursion well beyond the city limits, there’s limited incentive to leave the centre. The Caspian coastline is relatively uninspiring, and the city’s persistent winds often make spending time outdoors some what uncomfortable.
Azerbaijan operates on Azerbaijan Time (AZT), which is GMT+4 throughout the year, as the country does not observe daylight saving time.
If you are maintaining alignment with European working hours, this means a slight adjustment to your working day. I would generally start a bit later towards 10:00, finishing up a little later into the evening.
These hours actually work quite well given the late-leaning attitude of the country. The coworking space I went to was generally dead until 13:00, with those working for European or American clients adjusting their working hours accordingly.
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If you're planning to work from a coworking space in Baku, I’d strongly recommend staying within close walking distance of the Caspian Plaza complex in Nizami.
One of the things I appreciated most during my month in the city was having everything I needed within a five-minute walk of my apartment. There are very few cities where I’d make such a specific and singular location recommendation, but in Baku’s case, it’s worth making that a priority.
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The third coworking space I visited in Baku was without doubt what felt like the best option in the city. The main coworking space is spread across the 15th and 16th floors of the Caspian Plaza office complex, with dedicated offices filling the other floors. You can opt for either hot desk access or a dedicated desk.
Unless you need the space for an extra monitor, there's little need to opt for a dedicated desk as the space was well below capacity each day. If you are looking for a calm, professional and quiet space to work in, this is ideal; however, it does suffer from being a little quiet with limited natural light. Access to the space is controlled by Face ID at turnstiles, and with a monthly membership, you get 24/7 access.
Where I found the best place to work from was in the 'Fuzzy Coffee & Wine' café which is on the 17th floor of the building and is part of the same ownership group. This resembles more of a typical WeWork mixed-use space, with rows of dedicated seating and a more ambient atmosphere. In terms of design and build, this is one of the few operations in Baku that felt at Western European levels of build quality.
The space is filled predominantly with locals, with occasional Russian and English accents to be heard working from the space, and there are plenty of areas with sofas to take calls. There's a large roof terrace looking over the city towards the Caspian Sea, good quality espresso from a local roaster and light meals served from the in-house café. Even though the space is open to the public, leaving your valuables unattended did not feel like a concern.
Outside the building, you've got a varied selection of coffee shops and spots for lunch, and out of anywhere I went in the city, this area had the most bustling working feel during the week.
You don't need a membership from LTC to work in the space on the 17th floor and there are no minimum purchases required for internet access, so it's worth spending a morning there to see if it suits your needs. Having access to the dedicated space in the floors beneath is handy if you need dedicated phone booths, want the reassurance of leaving your items for a prolonged period, or simply want access to more toilets.
Working from here was one of the highlights of the trip. If you are considering working from Baku, I'd suggest staying in close proximity to it.
Openspace Coworking Centre - I was intending on signing up here, but having visited the area, I couldn't contemplate the idea of spending a month working in the Old City, which felt incredibly quiet. The space looked well furnished, but there's next to no ambience in the surrounding areas.
Fikir Coworking (28 May) - Small space with a selection of about 20 tables; would be fine for a week, but not somewhere I could imagine spending a month in. Little going on in the immediate area. Friendly and responsive staff via WhatsApp.
Cafe Botanist - Large coffee shop on the ground floor of Caspian Plaza, doubling up as a plant store. They have a dedicated coworking space in their basement with good-sized desks and plenty of natural light plus trees. If you need occasional space for a few hours, this is ideal.
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Also known as Martyrs' Lane, the site is a memorial and cemetery in Baku dedicated to those who lost their lives during Black January (20 January 1990) when Soviet troops violently suppressed Azerbaijan's independence movement, and to those killed in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Located on a hill in the western part of the city with some panoramic views overlooking the Caspian Sea, it features a symbolic eternal flame and tombstones with photographs of the deceased.
The memorial has become an important site of national remembrance and identity in post-Soviet Azerbaijan, commemorating those who died in the struggle for independence.
My four weeks were split between the second half of April and the beginning of what felt like a particularly underwhelming May by local standards. Temperatures hovered around 20 degrees but often felt significantly cooler thanks to the persistent winds sweeping across the city. As an additional barometer, my Birkenstocks only made it out for a handful of outings.
From June through to August, temperatures routinely reach around 30 degrees. If you're chasing decent weather, these are the months to aim for. The Caspian Sea isn't especially known for its beaches, but you'll find a few convenient spots to the coastal areas east of the city that work well for summer days. The city sees a surge in activity around the annual Grand Prix in September, which might be worth factoring into your plans.
How long do you need in Baku? If you're flying in for a long weekend, you could easily see the main sights in two days. There's not quite enough to justify a stay of several months, but it turned out to be a surprisingly good place to knuckle down and focus on work for a stretch.
Despite its geographic isolation, Baku is more diverse than you might expect. Alongside Azerbaijani nationals, Russians and Turks are well represented across the city both as residents and tourists.
BP's longstanding presence also means you'll encounter a noticeable number of older British men, many of whom appear to be keeping the city's sports bars in healthy business over the weekends.
Thanks in part to a recent easing of visa restrictions, there's now a visible presence of Indian tourists in the city centre, with a smaller number of Chinese visitors as well, although this presence is very clearly concentrated in a limited area.
Although the Azerbaijani population is predominantly Muslim, the cultural atmosphere feels closer to the more liberal parts of Turkey or Albania, where religion is present but not dominant. The call to prayer is occasionally heard, and women wearing a niqab are sometimes seen, but somewhat surprisingly, the everyday visibility of Islam can feel less pronounced than in certain parts of the UK today.
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