Astana: Baiterek, Khan Shatyr and the capital in two nights

Two nights in Astana

Nurzhol Boulevard is the centre of the main sightseeing walk; stay nearby for evenings on foot or use taxis from a hotel farther out. Kazzhol Astana (Balkantau Avenue 213) is the hotel the mid-range budget below is built on: Ostrovok, a booking site, listed rooms from about KZT 60,600 a night on 27 October 2026, and the boulevard is a short taxi ride away. The ONE Hotel Astana (Kadyrgali Zhalairy Street 8) was listed from about KZT 70,500 a night on the same site and day; it is the comfort level of the budget.

Your hotel registers your arrival with the migration police within three working days. Our entry guide gives the visa-free stay for your passport.

Day one: Nurzhol Boulevard, Baiterek and Khan Shatyr

Baiterek, the Tree of Life, is the symbol of the capital: a white tower holding a golden sphere, the egg that, in a Turkic legend, the mythical bird Samruk lays in the top of the sacred tree. Designed by the Kazakh architect Akmyrza Rustembekov, it stands in the middle of Nurzhol Boulevard, and from inside the golden glass sphere at the top you look out along the boulevard to the Akorda. It is open 10:00–21:00; adults pay KZT 2,500, pensioners KZT 2,000 and children aged 6–15 KZT 1,250, Kazakh Tourism lists.

Walk west along the boulevard to Khan Shatyr, Norman Foster's transparent tent, which covers more than 100,000 square metres and shelters a shopping and entertainment centre from the harsh climate. It is open 10:00–22:00 at Turan Avenue 37. East from Baiterek, the boulevard ends at the Akorda, the president's residence on the left bank of the Yesil, with its white columns and blue dome; it is a working state building, and photography near official buildings is restricted even where there are no signs, so keep your camera for the boulevard.

In the afternoon, head south to the former EXPO 2017 site to see Nur Alem, the glass sphere that was Kazakhstan's pavilion. The Museum of Future Energy that filled its eight floors closed in December 2024, and the building now houses alem.ai, an international centre for artificial intelligence. Only the Singularity Museum on the ground floor is open to visitors, according to QazExpoCongress, which runs the site, so the sphere is above all a sight from outside, best at dusk when its glass catches the light.

Day two: the Palace of Peace, Hazret Sultan and the National Museum

Cross to Tauelsizdik Avenue for the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Norman Foster's glass-and-stone pyramid, 63 metres high on a 63-by-63-metre base, completed in 2006 for the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. At its apex, a stained-glass window by Brian Clarke shows 130 doves; inside is a concert hall that Montserrat Caballé opened. Guided tours run every day in Kazakh, Russian and English, and Kazakh Tourism lists adult tickets at KZT 2,000, children aged 6–15 at KZT 1,000 and pensioners at KZT 1,500.

A short walk along the avenue, the Hazret Sultan Mosque (Tauelsizdik Avenue 48), named after the medieval thinker Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, has the names of 25 prophets inscribed on its walls and keeps a 12th-century Quran weighing 40 kg. The Nursultan Mosque at 65 Mangilik El Avenue is a separate taxi ride south. Opened in 2022, it is now the country's largest, with four 130-metre minarets and a dome 62 metres in diameter over a prayer hall for 30,000; the city's tourism office lists it open daily 04:00–23:00. Dress modestly in both.

End at the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Tauelsizdik Avenue 54), the country's largest museum, with Saka gold, archaeological finds and ethnographic halls on the Great Steppe. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00; adults pay KZT 1,000, students KZT 700 and children KZT 500.

An optional second evening is Astana Opera (Kunaev Street 1), the largest theatre in Central Asia, with a 1,250-seat main hall and a 250-seat chamber hall for opera and ballet. Kazakh Tourism, read on 1 November 2026, lists tickets from KZT 1,000, depending on the performance; the theatre's calendar for late 2026 includes Turandot on 5 and 6 December and The Nutcracker from 25 December. Optional performance tickets are extra, and tickets are refunded or exchanged only if a performance is cancelled or postponed.

Winter cold and when to go

Astana's winter lasts from December to February and can be fierce: the city's tourism office notes that temperatures sometimes fall to −30°C and below. Bring a hat, gloves and real winter boots, and lean on the indoor sights, Khan Shatyr, the National Museum and the Palace of Peace, between short walks. Summer is warm, about +25°C on average and sometimes +35°C, and spring and early autumn are the easiest seasons for walking. Our best time guide compares the seasons with Almaty's.

Airport, light rail and trains to Almaty

Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) is linked to the city by the Tarlan Astana light rail, which runs every 5–7 minutes through the business district; the 22.4 km line has 18 stations, including the National Museum and Nurly Zhol railway station, and Astana Times reported a KZT 200 launch fare in May 2026. City buses No. 10 and No. 12 also run to the centre and the railway stations in about 40 minutes. Pay with an Astra Plat transport card, sold at the airport, or a contactless bank card. A taxi takes 20–25 minutes and starts from about KZT 2,000; order it at the Taxi Point desk or through an app rather than taking a car in the street.

To and from Almaty. The daily Talgo No. 9 leaves Almaty-2 at 16:57 and reaches Nurly Zhol station in Astana at 09:36 the next morning, 16 hours 39 minutes later, with stops at Sary-Shagan, Akadyr and Karaganda; No. 10 leaves Nurly Zhol at 21:03 and arrives at Almaty-2 at 14:27, after 17 hours 24 minutes. On bilet.railways.kz, read on 1 November 2026 for departures from 10 November to 5 December 2026, a seat cost about KZT 7,100 to 8,500, a compartment berth about KZT 16,700 to 25,200 and Lux about KZT 25,600 to 30,400, depending on the date; the operator’s May 2026 list also named the No. 3/4 pair. Through Talgo services also stop in Astana: on 20 November 2026, No. 119 to Kostanay was timetabled at 16 hours 6 minutes from Almaty-2 to Astana. FlyArystan puts the two cities more than 1,000 km apart. By air the trip takes about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours, by FlyArystan's route pages, which list one-way fares from KZT 13,000, and on Air Astana's fare calendar, read on 1 November 2026, the lowest one-way economy fare for each November date ran from about KZT 31,300 to 59,300 from Almaty and KZT 29,900 to 57,700 from Astana, taxes and surcharges included; these are cached quotes from the preceding 48 hours and depend on availability. Tickets are also sold at station ticket offices and in the railway's apps. Our Almaty guide picks up the trip in the south.

What two nights cost, plus an optional opera evening

About KZT 118,000 per person, KZT 237,000 for two, at mid-range level, for two nights and two days, with the room, every meal, the light rail from and to the airport, taxis in town, Baiterek, the Palace of Peace, the National Museum, two local SIM cards and a 10% buffer. Extra: optional Astana Opera tickets, listed by Kazakh Tourism from KZT 1,000 on 1 November 2026; the price depends on the performance.

These figures are for two adults sharing one room for two nights outside the big conference and holiday weeks, at the lowest rates Ostrovok listed on 27 October 2026: Kazzhol Astana from about KZT 60,600 a night for mid-range and The ONE Hotel Astana from about KZT 70,500 for comfort. At the National Bank of Kazakhstan's rate for 27 October 2026, KZT 118,000 is about EUR 230 or GBP 200.

Food is about KZT 16,000 per person a day at mid-range and KZT 25,000 at comfort level, a typical day of café meals and one dinner in a Kazakh restaurant. Getting around is the light rail at KZT 200 a ride from and to the airport and about KZT 2,000 for each taxi ride in town. Sights are Baiterek at KZT 2,500, the Palace of Peace at KZT 2,000 and the National Museum at KZT 1,000 each. Two local SIM cards are about KZT 5,000 each. The flight and optional opera tickets are extra: a London return is estimated at about £550–1,300 per person from Turkish Airlines’ London–Almaty economy-return offers read on 1 November 2026; a separate Astana fare may differ.

• Rooms: KZT 121,000 for two at the mid-range level, two nights.
• Food and drinks: KZT 64,000 for two.
• Getting around: KZT 9,000 for two.
• Sights: KZT 11,000 for two.
• SIM cards: KZT 10,000 for two.
• 10% buffer: KZT 22,000 for two.