Where to stay in Almaty

Almaty is the most populous city in Kazakhstan, with more than two million residents. It was formerly named Alma-Ata.

Although the Silk Road touched the foothills upon which Almaty sits today, it left little of the grandeur found farther south in Central Asia’s great caravan cities. The few inhabitants were nomadic herdsmen, with no substantial towns until the Russians colonised and built a wooden fort in 1854. An industrial town, named Verny, grew around the fort, although it was twice flattened by earthquakes. The Soviets renamed it Alma-Ata ("Alma" may mean "apple" – modern apples originated in this region) and the city became the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

Getting around

The city is laid out on a modern grid-pattern, and "up" usually means south, towards the mountains. However it's a gentle gradient, and in places the gradient east is also upward sloping. The Metro has a single line. The northern terminus is on Raiymbek Batyr east of Almaty-2 railway station. The line runs south to Abay, then turns west along Abay to Bauyrjan Momyshuly. The Metro is open from 06:00-00:00, and is safe and guarded by police at all times. You need to put your bags through a scanner upon entering the station before ticketing.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.