Hanoi

Bishkek


Find legit pho, spring rolls and more in this spartan but excellent-value Vietnamese restaurant on the 5th floor of the new GUM shopping mall. Menu is in Vietnamese and Russia, but not English.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Bishkek attractions

1. Victory Square

0.26 MILES

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII, this monument is designed to evoke three symbolic yurt struts curving above an eternal flame. It…

2. State Museum of Fine Arts

0.28 MILES

Collections of Kyrgyz embroidery and felt rugs, a splendid variety of paintings, and rotating exhibitions of local and international touring works all…

3. Statue of Kurmanjan Datka

0.4 MILES

Dedicated to the 'Queen of the Alay', this 19th-century stateswoman and tribal leader was famous in Kyrgyzstan long before being featured in a 2014 film…

4. Circus

0.41 MILES

The peculiar architecture of the Kyrgyz Circus, in what looks like a 1950s UFO, stands out on the far edge of Victory Square.

5. Dubovy Park

0.42 MILES

Where wide, green Erkindik (Freedom) Ave enters this pleasant central park, artists sell a range of locally themed paintings. There's a small open-air…

6. Nissa Art Salon

0.44 MILES

Originally built as the St Nicholas Cathedral, the steeple was removed and this space converted to an art museum during the Soviet period. The building…

7. Ala-Too Square

0.55 MILES

Surveyed by a triumphant statue of Айкол Манас (Mighty Manas), Bishkek's nominal centre is architecturally neobrutalist in style but has a photogenic…

8. Gapar Aitiev Studio Museum

0.57 MILES

Run by the son of the legend himself, this was once the working studio of Kyrgyz National Artist Gapar Aitiev. It will be of interest to visitors with a…