Nur-Sultan (Astana)
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Overview
The country's new capital has risen fast from the northern steppe and is already a showpiece for 21st-century Kazakhstan. Nur-Sultan was Astana until 2019, when it was renamed after the former president. Branding aside, the Kazakh capital is scheduled to go on rising and spreading into a city of over one million people by 2030. Its skyline grows more fantastical by the year as landmark buildings, many of them by leading international architects, sprout along the wide boulevards in a variety of Asian, Western, Soviet and wacky futuristic styles. Several spectacular structures are open to visitors and it's hard not be impressed by the very concept of this 'Singapore of the steppe'.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
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National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Nur-Sultan (Astana)
This huge blue-glass-and-white-marble museum covers the history and culture of Kazakhstan from ancient to modern times. Themed halls comprise interactive…
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Nur-Sultan (Astana)
Nur-Sultan's most extraordinary building (so far), the Khan Shatyr is a 150m-high, translucent, tentlike structure made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene …
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Palace of Peace & Reconciliation
Nur-Sultan (Astana)
This beautiful glass-and-steel pyramid was opened in 2006 as the home for the triennial Congress of World and Traditional Religions, hosted by Kazakhstan…
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Nur-Sultan (Astana)
Nurzhol bulvar's centrepiece is this 97m-high monument, a white latticed tower crowned by a large glass orb. This embodies a Kazakh legend in which the…
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Nur-Sultan (Astana)
The yurt-shaped museum showcases beautifully presented exhibitions on weaponry and warfare, with striking murals greeting visitors. On the ground floor,…
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Nur-Sultan (Astana)
This rare relic of the 1950s may be gone in a few years' time, banished by the relentless wrecking ball, but for now you can see this enormous, decaying…
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Ploshchad Poyushchykh Fontanov
Nur-Sultan (Astana)
The eastern half of Nurzhol bulvar starts with this plaza, which springs to life with music-and-water shows at 9pm on summer evenings. Further east stand…
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Museum of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Nur-Sultan (Astana)
Inside the former presidential palace, a succession of lavish galleries display gifts to President Nazarbayev from foreign governments and grateful…
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