Where to stay in Tashkent: districts for tourists and business trips

Tashkent is a city of long distances. The wrong place to stay can cost you an hour in traffic every day, while the right one makes the trip easy: the metro on your doorstep, the station nearby and somewhere to go in the evening. Below we compare the four districts where tourists and business travellers most often stay, and explain who each one suits.

How to choose

Before you browse listings, answer three questions:

1. Why are you going? Tourists want to be close to the sights; business travellers want to be near offices and business centres.
2. How many nights? If it is one or two before moving on, look for a place near the station or a convenient exit from the city.
3. Do you have a car? Without one, walking distance to the metro is the key factor.

Prices in Tashkent vary a lot with the season, trade fairs and holidays, so we only give relative guidance here — check current offers.

The centre around Amir Temur Square

This means the area around Amir Temur Square, Independence Square and the Navoi Theatre.

Pros:

• museums, parks, cafes and restaurants within walking distance;
• several metro stations on different lines;
• plenty of hotels at every level, from small guesthouses to big international chains;
• convenient for tourists and for people with meetings in the business district.

Cons:

• prices are higher than in the residential districts;
• the big avenues are noisy;
• getting out of the centre by car at rush hour is not easy.

Best for: first-time visitors who want to see the city without long journeys.

Yunusabad

A large residential district in the north of the city with wide streets, parks and shopping centres.

Pros:

• green and relatively quiet;
• its own metro line to the centre;
• lots of short-let apartments and small hotels, with prices below the centre;
• major exhibition venues nearby — handy for trade fair and conference visitors.

Cons:

• far from the main station and the airport, so allow time for travel;
• almost no tourist nightlife.

Best for: longer stays, business trips with events in the north of the city, and families.

Chilanzar

One of the largest residential districts, in the south-west of the city along the first metro line.

Pros:

• metro stations throughout the district, 15–20 minutes to the centre;
• plenty of affordable accommodation, cafes and markets;
• closer to the south-western exits from the city, where the roads to Samarkand and Bukhara begin.

Cons:

• standard Soviet-era housing and few sights;
• some parts of the district are far from the metro.

Best for: budget travellers and anyone leaving early in the morning for the west of the country.

The old city

The mahallas around Chorsu Bazaar and the Hazrati Imam complex.

Pros:

• atmosphere: mud-brick houses, mosques and the bazaar a few minutes away;
• small guesthouses with courtyards, often with a home-made breakfast;
• prices are usually lower than in the new centre.

Cons:

• narrow lanes, so taxis cannot always pull up at the door;
• quieter in the evening, with fewer places open;
• further from the stations than the centre.

Best for: travellers who want to feel the traditional side of Tashkent and do not mind simple comforts.

Districts compared

If you only have one night

If Tashkent is just a stopover, the logic is simple:

• Continuing by train — stay near Tashkent station, for example in Mirabad district. It is a quiet part of the centre with good metro links.
• Continuing by car — stay close to the exit in the direction you are heading. For the west — Samarkand and Bukhara — it is easier to start from Chilanzar or neighbouring districts; for the mountains and the Fergana Valley, from the east and north-east of the city.
• Arriving late by air — book a room near the centre: the airport is not far from it.

Moving on: the Bukhara example

Many people spend a night in Tashkent before the long trip to Bukhara. It is about 600 km: roughly 4 hours on the high-speed train, or 7–8 hours by car. If train tickets are sold out or you need to leave at a convenient time, look at Tashkent — Bukhara trips on Yo'ldosh: drivers have verified profiles, you book your seat in the app and can discuss the pick-up point in the chat — sometimes the driver will collect you near where you are staying.

Useful tips

• If you are not an Uzbek citizen, check that your accommodation can register foreign guests.
• Ask about air conditioning in summer and heating in winter — in older buildings it is not always a given.
• Look at the distance to the nearest metro station on the map, not just to the centre.
• During trade fair weeks and public holidays, book early: prices rise and rooms run out.

The bottom line

For a first visit the centre is ideal; for saving money and heading west, Chilanzar; for long stays, Yunusabad; for atmosphere, the old city. And when you are ready to explore the rest of the country, check the routes page — it lists every destination, including Tashkent — Bukhara.

Cover photo: Nikolai Bulykin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.