Things to do · Samarkand · Uzbekistan
16 best things to do in Samarkand
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Willard84, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Samarkand are Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda. Of the 16 picks below, 4 are free, 2 work on a rainy day and 4 suit children. Allow about 3 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Registan
- Free sights
- 4
- Good on a rainy day
- Afrasiyab Museum
- Time to see the highlights
- 3 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registan | Registan and Old Town | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Gur-e-Amir | Gur-e-Amir quarter | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Shah-i-Zinda | Afrasiyab | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Bibi-Khanym Mosque | Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Siab Bazaar | Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym | 1 hour | Free |
| Tashkent Street | Registan and Old Town | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| Ulugh Beg Observatory | Chupan-Ata hill | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Afrasiyab Museum | Afrasiyab | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor) | Afrasiyab | 30–45 minutes | Low cost |
| Hazrat Khizr Mosque | Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym | 30 minutes | Low cost |
| Konigil silk paper workshop | Konigil | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Rukhobod and Ak-Saray mausoleums | Gur-e-Amir quarter | 30 minutes | Low cost |
| Chorsu trading dome | Registan and Old Town | 30 minutes | Low cost |
| University Boulevard and Amir Timur statue | Russian New Town | 45 minutes | Free |
| Old Jewish quarter and Gumbaz Synagogue | Old Jewish Mahalla | 1 hour | Free |
| Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand | Silk Road Samarkand | 2 hours | Low cost |
The 16 best things to do
Landmark · Registan and Old Town
1.Registan
Samarkand's old public square is framed by three madrasas: Ulugh Beg's (1417–1420), the Sher-Dor (1619–1636) with its mosaics of tigers chasing deer beneath sun faces, and the Tilya-Kori (1646–1660), whose mosque interior is covered in gilding. Former student cells around the courtyards now hold craft and souvenir shops.
Visit twice: inside the madrasas in the morning, then come back after dark to see the facades lit from the viewing platform for free.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- After dark
- Photo spot
Historic site · Gur-e-Amir quarter
2.Gur-e-Amir
Timur's mausoleum, begun in 1403 for his grandson Muhammad Sultan, has a ribbed turquoise dome over an interior of gold leaf and onyx. Timur lies beneath a dark green jade tombstone alongside his grandson Ulugh Beg and other descendants; the actual graves are in a crypt below.
Return after sunset, when the dome and portal are floodlit and the courtyard is far quieter.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- After dark
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Historic site · Afrasiyab
3.Shah-i-Zinda
A stepped lane climbs past about twenty mausoleums built mainly in the 14th and 15th centuries for Timur's relatives and nobles, ending at the shrine of Kusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The carved, glazed terracotta here is the finest and most varied in the city, and it remains an active place of pilgrimage.
Come early in the morning when the low sun lights the tiles and before groups arrive; dress modestly, as many visitors are pilgrims.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Photo spot
Religious site · Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym
4.Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Timur ordered this enormous Friday mosque after his Indian campaign of 1398–99, and it was finished around 1404. Built in haste, it decayed over centuries and an earthquake in 1897 brought down much of it; Soviet and later restorations rebuilt the main domes and portal. A giant marble Quran stand sits in the courtyard.
Combine it with the Siab Bazaar across the square and Hazrat Khizr Mosque on the hill opposite.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
Market · Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym
5.Siab Bazaar
The city's main bazaar sits beside Bibi-Khanym and is where locals buy Samarkand bread, dried apricots, raisins, almonds, spices, halva and crystallised sugar (navat). Stallholders hand out tastes freely, and the bread section, with loaves stacked in prams and on tables, is the most photographed corner.
Go in the morning for the freshest bread and the liveliest trade; bargain politely for dried fruit and nuts.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Free
- Photo spot
- Kids
Street · Registan and Old Town
6.Tashkent Street
This pedestrianised street runs from the Registan to Bibi-Khanym and the Siab Bazaar, lined with souvenir shops selling suzani embroidery, ceramics, ikat silk and carpets. It is the natural walking route between the old town's two largest sights and is pleasant on a summer evening.
Walk it in the evening after the heat has passed, when families stroll and shops are still open.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
Historic site · Chupan-Ata hill
7.Ulugh Beg Observatory
Timur's grandson Ulugh Beg built an observatory here in the 1420s, and his astronomers compiled a star catalogue of more than a thousand stars. It was destroyed after his death in 1449; in 1908 the archaeologist Vasily Vyatkin uncovered the curved underground trench of the giant meridian instrument. A small museum explains the work.
It is about 4 km north-east of the Registan; pair it with the Afrasiyab Museum and the Tomb of Daniel on the same taxi loop.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Afrasiyab
8.Afrasiyab Museum
On the grassy mounds of Afrasiyab, the city's pre-Mongol site destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220, this museum displays the 7th-century Sogdian 'Ambassadors' Painting', a wall mural of foreign envoys from China, Korea and elsewhere at the court of King Varkhuman. Ceramics and finds from the excavations fill the other rooms.
Look for the boat scene and the procession panels in the main hall; a guide or audio explanation helps decode the figures.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Religious site · Afrasiyab
1.Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor)
On the slope above the Siab stream, a long, low mausoleum with five domes holds an 18-metre sarcophagus said to contain relics of the prophet Daniel, venerated by Muslims, Christians and Jews. The setting, with a spring and a pistachio tree in the grounds, is calm and green.
Drink from the spring at the foot of the steps as pilgrims do, and dress modestly.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Nature
- Off the beaten path
Religious site · Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym
2.Hazrat Khizr Mosque
This small mosque on a hill opposite Bibi-Khanym was rebuilt in the 19th century on a much older site, with a painted wooden ceiling and carved columns on its open veranda. From the terrace there are wide views over Bibi-Khanym, the bazaar and the Afrasiyab mounds.
Climb up in the late afternoon for the best light over Bibi-Khanym's domes.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Experience · Konigil
3.Konigil silk paper workshop
In Konigil village about 10 km east of the centre, a craft workshop has revived Samarkand's medieval paper-making from mulberry bark, using a mill wheel turned by a stream. You can watch the bark being boiled, pounded and pressed into sheets, then browse paper, notebooks and dolls in a shaded garden by the water.
Combine it with the Silk Road Samarkand complex nearby; the workshop is easiest to reach by taxi.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
- Outdoors
- Shopping
Historic site · Gur-e-Amir quarter
4.Rukhobod and Ak-Saray mausoleums
Two smaller mausoleums near Gur-e-Amir are often skipped. Rukhobod, a plain brick 14th-century tomb of the Sufi Burhaneddin Sagarji, is one of the city's oldest surviving buildings and now houses craft stalls. Ak-Saray, behind Gur-e-Amir, has rare 15th-century painted interior decoration.
Allow 20 minutes extra on a Gur-e-Amir visit; both are a five-minute walk away.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Architecture
Architecture · Registan and Old Town
5.Chorsu trading dome
This six-sided 18th-century domed market hall stands at a crossroads beside the Registan, once a trading point for hats and goods. Restored, it now hosts art exhibitions, and it gives a good angle on the Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas from the north-east.
Step in when the summer heat peaks; the thick walls keep the interior cool.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Street · Russian New Town
6.University Boulevard and Amir Timur statue
The main avenue of the Russian new town is a long shaded promenade under old plane trees, lined with 19th- and early 20th-century buildings and the university. At its southern end a seated bronze statue of Amir Timur faces the road towards Gur-e-Amir.
Walk it in the early evening, then continue to Gur-e-Amir to see the dome floodlit.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Architecture
Neighbourhood · Old Jewish Mahalla
7.Old Jewish quarter and Gumbaz Synagogue
East of the Registan, the lanes of the old Bukharan Jewish quarter still hold courtyard houses with carved doors and the 19th-century Gumbaz Synagogue. Most of the community emigrated after 1991, but a walk here shows the residential old town that sits behind the monumental facades.
Ask your guesthouse whether the synagogue can be visited when you are there; a local guide can arrange access.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Off the beaten path
Experience · Silk Road Samarkand
8.Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand
Inside the Silk Road Samarkand complex, the Eternal City is a recreated walled old town with craft workshops, small museums, tea houses and costumed performances in the evenings. It is a modern reconstruction rather than a historic site, but it is popular with Uzbek families and gives children space to wander.
Visit around sunset and combine it with a stroll along the complex's canal-side promenade.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- After dark
- Shopping
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Afrasiyab Museum and Chorsu trading dome |
| History | Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda and Bibi-Khanym Mosque |
| Views | Hazrat Khizr Mosque |
| Outdoors and nature | Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor), Konigil silk paper workshop and University Boulevard and Amir Timur statue |
| Food and markets | Siab Bazaar |
| After dark | Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Tashkent Street and Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand |
| With children | Siab Bazaar, Ulugh Beg Observatory, Konigil silk paper workshop and Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand |
| On a rainy day | Afrasiyab Museum and Chorsu trading dome |
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Samarkand?
Registan. Samarkand's old public square is framed by three madrasas: Ulugh Beg's (1417–1420), the Sher-Dor (1619–1636) with its mosaics of tigers chasing deer beneath sun faces, and the Tilya-Kori (1646–1660), whose mosque interior is covered in gilding.
+What can you do for free in Samarkand?
Siab Bazaar, Tashkent Street, University Boulevard and Amir Timur statue and Old Jewish quarter and Gumbaz Synagogue. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Samarkand when it rains?
Head indoors to Afrasiyab Museum and Chorsu trading dome.
+What is there to do in Samarkand at night?
Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Tashkent Street and Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand are best after dark.