Tashkent 3-Day Itinerary: Old Town Bazaars, Metro Art and Mountains

This three-day route pairs Tashkent's historic Old Town and modern boulevards across the first forty-eight hours, leaving day three for either the alpine peaks of the Western Tian Shan mountains or an early high-speed Afrosiyob train to Samarkand. Before you travel, check our practical briefing on booking train seats and timing midday plov.

Day 1: Khast Imam Complex, Old Town Mahallas, Chorsu Bazaar & Applied Arts

• Morning: start in the north-west at the Khast Imam Complex while the brick courtyard is quiet; step inside the Muyi Muborak Library to view the 7th-century deer-parchment Usman Quran and browse the calligraphy studios inside the 16th-century Barak Khan Madrasah.
• Late morning: walk twenty minutes south through the mud-brick residential alleys (mahallas) of Gulbozor to Chorsu Bazaar; explore the spice mezzanine beneath the turquoise dome and watch bakers pull hot stamped non from clay ovens.
• Midday: climb the portal stairs of 16th-century Kukeldash Madrasah above the bazaar, then stop in Chorsu's food lane for clay-oven samsa and grilled shashlik.
• Afternoon: ride the Blue Metro line south to Kosmonavtlar and walk ten minutes to the State Museum of Applied Arts to admire its carved ganch stucco arches and silk suzani embroideries.
• Evening: stroll along the Ankhor Canal and dine on hand-pulled lagman noodles near Oybek or Taras Shevchenko Street.

Day 2: Tashkent Metro Art, Besh Qozon Plov, TV Tower & Modernist Centre

• Morning: tap your contactless card into the Tashkent Metro for an underground art tour between Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoi, Paxtakor and Mustaqillik Maydoni, then ride north on the Green Line to Bodomzor to visit the white marble Minor Mosque.
• Midday: arrive at Besh Qozon (Central Asian Plov Centre) to watch the master cooks stir the giant wood-fired kazans and order festive to'y oshi with achichuk tomato salad and green tea.
• Afternoon: ascend the Tashkent TV Tower observation deck next door, then return to the centre to visit the modernist State Museum of History of Uzbekistan.
• Late afternoon and evening: photograph the concrete lattice facade of Hotel Uzbekistan on Amir Timur Square, stroll down pedestrian Broadway, and watch an evening performance at the Alisher Navoi Theatre.

Day 3: Chimgan Mountains & Charvak Lake OR High-Speed Train to Samarkand

• Option A (Western Tian Shan Mountains day trip): take a morning car or train to Hodjikent to ride the alpine gondola at Amirsoy Mountain Resort, view Mount Greater Chimgan and look over Charvak Reservoir.
• Option B (Silk Road rail continuation): board the morning Afrosiyob high-speed train from Tashkent North Station to reach Samarkand in just over two hours.