Tashkent Metro

Following a devastating 1966 earthquake, when 300,000 people were left homeless and 80% of Tashkent was flattened, Moscow resolved to rebuild the Uzbek capital as a model Soviet city. Part of this plan included a new Metro system, which was finally opened in 1977.

Envisioned as both a work of art and a city-wide nuclear shelter, it remains one of the most beautiful and ornate subway systems in the world, with every one of its stations designed around a different theme. Hung with chandeliers and built from marble, granite, alabaster and gold-leaf, the stations celebrate everything from apricots and poetry to cotton, chillis and bread.

But the most famous (and our favourite) is Kosmonavtlar, meaning cosmonauts, which has fantastic relief carvings of Gagarin, Tereshkova, Ulug Beg and other famous Russian and Central Asian astronomers and astronauts. It's a perfect fusion of art, history, and science, and embodies the spirit of Soviet-era ambition. We always suggest our guests visit the Metro when they’re in Tashkent, and it’s something we love to do when we visit the city.