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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
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Nauryz, the spring new-year holiday around 21 to 23 March, brings a ten-day program of concerts, exhibitions and national sports to Astana. Past programs have included family events near Baiterek, a clothing fair at Khan Shatyr, craft fairs and traditional games such as togyz kumalak. Check the city akimat program a…
The Erkegali Rakhmadiyev State Academic Philharmonic on Kenesary Street is the main concert venue of the city for classical, folk and contemporary programs, with a symphony orchestra and chamber ensembles. Check the event list on the official site and buy through Ticketon. Choose an evening that mixes Kazakh folk…
Astana Opera stands beside the Lovers Park on Nurzhol Boulevard and has a Main Hall with 1,250 seats for opera and ballet plus a 250-seat Chamber Hall for smaller concerts. Tickets are sold through Ticketon, so check the poster on the theater website before you go. Arrive early to see the grand foyer with its huge…
Souvenirs on Nurzhol Boulevard and in some souvenir shops often cost well above what the same magnets, plates and felt items cost elsewhere in the city. Look at two or three shops first, then buy small gifts and dried fruit at a market, where some haggling is normal, and carry cash in small notes. Malls use fixed…
Kurt, the dried cheese balls, and kazy, the horse sausage, are the classic edible gifts. Buy factory vacuum-packed kazy at a Kazakh food shop close to departure, check the production date and the sealed package, and put it in checked luggage, since Air Astana carries meat products only in the hold. Liquids over 100 ml…
Several ride and transport apps in Astana ask for a Kazakh phone number to register, and some are not available in English. Buy a prepaid SIM at the airport or any operator shop, then set up Yandex Go and the Avtobys bus tracker, with 2GIS for maps. Avtobys can also be registered through Telegram, which helps if you…
The pedestrian Nurzhol Boulevard runs from Baiterek toward Ak Orda, and its fountains, installations and glass towers look best about 15 to 20 minutes after sunset, while the sky is still blue. Shoot along the axis toward Baiterek or Ak Orda and rest the camera on a ledge or use a tripod for long exposures. Ak Orda is…
The Gold Halls inside the National Museum hold the Golden Man from the Issyk burial mound and Saka-Sarmatian finds from sites such as Berel. The museum is closed on Mondays and on the last Tuesday of each month, and the ticket office stops selling an hour before closing at 18:00. Aim for a weekday morning, ask for the…
The Tarlan light rail station is a short walk from the airport terminal, and trains run into the new city toward Baiterek and on to Nurly Zhol railway station. Tap a contactless bank card at the turnstile or use an Astra Plat transport card, and check which terminal your flight uses before you walk out. It is the…
Barys Astana plays in the Kontinental Hockey League, and its home games are at Barys Arena, an indoor arena with room for more than 11,000 spectators. Tickets are sold at the arena box office and on the club website, and Wikivoyage notes they are usually easy to get. A night of live hockey is a warm way to spend a…
Arnau on Turan Avenue is a well-known Kazakh restaurant with national ornaments and green spaces inside. Order the fried kuyrdak with onions and a bowl of horse-meat shorpa, a warming broth that suits a windy day on the Left Bank. Share a few dishes and finish with traditional sweets. It is a sit-down dinner, so go in…
When the cold sets in, the Esil embankment on the right bank turns into an ice rink for skating and hockey, with hills for sliding and cafes and kiosks to warm up. Central Park also sets up ice rinks, where you can bring your own skates or rent on site, and its running tracks become ski trails. Dress in layers, since…
Triathlon Park on the right bank of the Esil has running and cycling tracks, workout areas and cafes, and the official page lists it open daily from 06:00 to 23:00. The embankment stretches along the river between the Tulpar and Karaotkel bridges, and the Atyrau pedestrian and bicycle bridge, nicknamed the fish…
Qazaq Gourmet sits on the 25th floor on Mangilik El Avenue, so a Kazakh dinner comes with a panorama of the Left Bank. The kitchen gives local ingredients a refined treatment: ask about the horse meat served in several variations, the sturgeon fishbarmak or the camel-meat starters. Reserve a window table for the…
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