The Baku Jazz Centre is the top jazz venue in Azerbaijan, where professional jazz musicians and budding talents alike give regular performances. The centre also presents concerts and movies on its big screen. Before you see a concert here make sure to try the delicious food at the adjoining restaurant.

The Kapellhaus is a Germano-Azerbaijani cultural centre where a very wide range of different events are held. Holiday celebrations, concerts and art exhibitions are all staged here, Its good acoustics greatly enhance the classical, jazz, ballet and opera performances given at the venue. Look out for Mugham shows, an Azerbaijani folk tradition that is a truly unique musical style.

The Akhundov Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre has an interesting back story. According to an urban legend, Daniel Mailov admired the voice of Nezhdanova so much he offered to build an opera house in her honor. The renowned soprano was the first person to perform at the new opera house. In 1916, the theatre acquired its first resident opera company before becoming a state theatre in 1920. In 1959, it received the status of an academic theatre. After a mysterious fire in 1985, the theatre was fully restored and reopened in 1987.

Established in 1932, the Azerbaijan Union of Artists is a collective organization of about 800 professional artists and art historians. This hub of national art development is involved in purchasing about 1,000 artworks each year for its many exhibitions. Visitors to this institution can see lots of paintings, monumental art, sculpture, fine art and graphics.

Founded in 1938, the Theatre of Musical Comedy has long been a source of great entertainment for the people of Baku. Its roster includes both Azerbaijani comedies and Russian works. In the first years the venue hosted musical comedies by the Hajibeyov brothers which railed against feudal- patriarchal relations and advocated the emancipation of Azerbaijani women.

Mugham is a complex folk art form that is unique to Azerbaijan. It involves classical poetry mixed with musical improvisation in a special style. The Azerbaijani president founded this international center dedicated to the art form in 2005, and it opened its doors in 2008. It includes a performance space with seating for 350 people, a recording studio and rehearsal rooms. Look out for the busts of famous mugham performers and collection of instruments in the center’s foyer.

The Magomayev Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall is the country’s main orchestral venue. Built in 1912, the hall was designed by architect Gavril Ter-Mikelov with an Italian Renaissance exterior and German Rococo interior. Wealthy citizens of Baku attended the hall in its early days for society banquets and entertainment. Later it gained a wider audience among the people of Baku. It reopened in 2004 after an extensive restoration that lasted eight years.

Established in the 1960s, the Baku Green Theatre boasts one of the largest open-air concert stages in Europe. It hosts major public events of Azerbaijan as well as concerts by prominent international artists. Closed for much of the 1990s, the venue reopened in 2007 after a restoration.