Uzbekistan by Train: Legendary Cities and Traditions

Fly to Tashkent on request.

Individual arrival in Tashkent and pickup at the airport by the driver.
Transfer and check-in at the hotel. Breakfast. Time to relax at the hotel.

Discover with the French-speaking guide Uzbekistan’s capital’s highlights: the Khast-Imam complex at the heart of old Tashkent; the Barakhan Madrasa, a magnificent 16th-century monument and seat of the Grand Mufti of Central Asia; the Tellia Sheikh Mosque — the city’s main Friday mosque, with its beautiful library and the 16th-century Kaffal Ach Chachi mausoleum. Koukeldache Madrasa is the largest of the city’s 17 madrasas. Visit the former residence of the Russian diplomat, which now houses the Museum of Decorative Arts. Finally, a panoramic tour of modern-day Tashkent: Independence Square, Amir Temur Square, and the Theatre Square.

Overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to the station, where your rail journey begins. Depart for Margilan. Nestled in the fertile Ferghana Valley, Margilan (or Marguilan) is one of Uzbekistan’s oldest and most iconic cities. Less well-known than Samarkand or Bukhara, it is no less fascinating, especially for travellers seeking authenticity and living traditions.

From your arrival, visit the silk workshop where items are woven using traditional techniques. Margilan silk is highly renowned and is well worth the trip on its own.

Drive by private car with your driver to Ferghana. Visit Ferghana, the valley’s capital, including the Regional Museum, Al Fergani Park, and the former Tsarist residence Skobelev.

Check-in at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel (B)

Depart by car with the guide and driver to Andijan, the birthplace of Babur, great-great-grandson of Timur, poet, 15th-century governor and founder of the Mughal dynasty in India.

The Medersa and Jami Mosque — the main religious complex in Andijan — was built near the bazaar at the end of the 19th century. Later, significant restoration was carried out following the devastation caused by the 1902 earthquake, to establish a Museum of Literature there.

Bazaar — the green market is surrounded by lanes dedicated to artisans: cutlers, makers of “do’pi” (traditional skullcaps), ceramists, etc.

Then head to Richtan, the capital of ceramics, and visit a master ceramist’s workshop. Here, blue ceramic tableware is made, mainly tea and soup bowls and vases (kouza). Artisans use red clay found in the region and have a specific decorative technique using mineral paints. Stay at the ceramist’s house, where you share dinner with him.

Overnight with the ceramist in the region. (B, D)

Your day begins with an introduction to the making of Uzbek bread “non”, followed by a master class on ceramic production. After learning local craft techniques, you continue your discovery in the city of Kokand.
During the journey, which takes about 40 minutes, you have the opportunity to see the Grand Canal of Ferghana, named after Usman Yusupov. Built in 1939–1940, this large irrigation canal was one of the USSR’s biggest hydraulic structures, located between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Visit the Palace of Khudoyar Khan (19th c.) and its turreted façade, the Djami Mosque with its 19th-century minaret, and the mausoleum of Modari Khan. Transfer to the station; take a regular train to reach the capital, Tashkent.

Dinner on board the train in the form of a lunch box.
On arrival in Tashkent: transfer and check-in at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel. (B, D lunchbox)

In the morning, you leave the capital aboard the country’s railway jewel, the modern, air-conditioned TGV Afrosiyob.
A 2-hour journey separates the modern capital from the legendary city of Tamerlan, Samarkand.

Samarkand owes much of its splendour to Tamerlan (Timur), the feared conqueror who made it his capital in the 14th century. He dreamed of making it the finest city in the world, and brought in the best architects, mosaic-makers and artisans from the East. The result? Monumental heritage of extraordinary richness, listed as UNESCO World Heritage.

On arrival, transfer to your hotel where you can drop off your luggage.

Your French-speaking guide leads you on foot to the heart of Samarkand: Registan Square “sand square”, the most beautiful square in Central Asia, surrounded by three imposing madrasas: Ulugh Beg Madrasa (15th century), Cher Dor and Tillya Kori Madrasas (17th century). Visit the immense Bibi Khanoum Friday Mosque, built by Tamerlan. The Samarkand Bazaar is famous for its flatbreads and both dried and fresh fruits. Continue the visits: the Chakh-i-Zinda Necropolis (“Living King”). The complex, which includes around twenty mausoleums from the Timurid period, is the country’s true masterpiece of ceramics; views over the ancient city of Afrosiab, and a visit to its museum founded on the city itself, featuring unique 7th-century frescoes.

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

In the morning, continue your visits in Samarkand: the Gur Emir Mausoleum of the 15th century and the dynastic tombs of the Timurids. Ulugh Beg Observatory, one of the greatest astronomers of his time. Stop in KONIGUIL to visit the silk paper workshop. In the Middle Ages, Samarkand was known throughout the East for its paper production, whose recipe came from China. The lost secrets of this trade were rediscovered with the help of UNESCO.

Free time at the market. Stroll through the old part of the city.

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

Depart with the guide and driver to Chakhrizabz, Tamerlan’s birthplace, located at the foot of the lush Zeravshan mountains. Chakhrizabz (sometimes spelled Shahrisabz, meaning “the green city”) is a city with understated charm, but exceptional historical wealth.
Once a flourishing caravan city on the Silk Road, Chachrisabz was embellished in the 14th century by Tamerlan himself, who had magnificent monuments built there, intended to rival those of Samarkand.

From your arrival, the guide reveals treasures such as the Ak-Saray Palace of Timur, the Kok-Goumbaz Mosque, as well as the Imam Khazrati Mosque with its summer terrace resting on wooden columns.

Return to Samarkand.

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

Early breakfast and transfer to the station.
You leave behind Samarkand’s turquoise domes to reach Bukhara’s golden madrasas, admiring along the way rural life scenes, cotton fields, and sometimes even caravans of sheep or dromedaries.

Your train travels through the heart of the Kyzylkoum desert. Bukhara stands like a mirage brimming with history. A sacred city, an intellectual and spiritual crossroads of Central Asia for over a millennium, it embodies the very essence of the Silk Road. Listed as UNESCO World Heritage, Bukhara has preserved its medieval atmosphere, with its ochre-earth alleyways, turquoise domes and silent madrasas.

Start your discovery on foot in the Liabi-Khauz complex from the 16th–17th centuries, featuring the Nodir Divan-Begi Madrasa, the Kukeldache Madrasa and the khanaka Nodir Dewon Begi.
The Magokki Attari Mosque, built on the site of a Buddhist and Zoroastrian temple (12th–16th centuries), is one of the must-sees. Your day of sightseeing ends at the 16th-century covered market, called the “merchant domes”: the Toki-zargaron (jewellers), the Toki-tilpakfuruchon (hat sellers), the Toki-sarrafon, reserved for money changers. Visit the Tchor Minor (four minarets).

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

Continuing the visits to the main sites of Bukhara: the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, built by Tamerlan’s grandson in 1417; the Abdul Aziz Khan Madrasa (17th century), a fine example of renewal in Islamic iconography: vases, flowers, fabulous birds and landscapes; the madrasa of Tim d’Abdulla Khan (16th century), built in 1577 and used by Afghan silk and wool merchants.

Tea break with a tasting of spices (cardamom, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, oregano) at the tea room. Discover the magnificent Poikalian architectural complex (12th–16th centuries), which includes the “Masdjidi Kalian” mosque, the “Miri Arab” madrasa, and the tallest minaret of its time in the East; the Ark citadel (6th–19th centuries), the fortified residence of the Khans of Bukhara. The Ismail Samani Mausoleum from the 10th century is the first baked-brick building and a jewel of Central Asian architecture; the Bolo Khaouz Ensemble (18th–20th centuries), the Tchachma Ayoub mausoleum “the Well of Job”, whose original construction dates back to the 12th century.

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

With the guide and driver, you leave the city to discover another jewel of Bukhara: the Tchor Minor (the 4 minarets). Then, drive to the Sitorai Makhi Khosa Palace, the summer residence of the last Emirs of Bukhara. Visit the Nakchbandi memorial complex, a major pilgrimage site, considered equivalent to Mecca. Visit the museum house of the former astrakhan hide merchant Khodjaev, where you can see the interiors of traditional houses from the 19th to the early 20th century, as well as the clothes worn at that time. Remaining time is free for personal discoveries.

Overnight at the hotel. (B)

Route to Khiva aboard the regular train, gently winding its way between the steppes and the dunes of the Kyzylkoum Desert.
For years, this journey could only be made by car—on a long and sometimes exhausting road.

The eye wanders over semi-desert stretches, broken up by isolated villages, ghost stations, and long lines on the horizon. You can feel the full power of Central Asia—its solitude, its silence, and that sense of moving toward a special place. On arrival, Khiva appears like a mirage: a museum-city with earthen walls, where time seems to stand still. Set like a jewel in the heart of the desert, it offers a striking contrast.
Transfer to the hotel, free time.

Overnight at the hotel. (Breakfast)

The walking tour of Khiva begins at its West Gate Ata Darvaza entrance (one of the gates, built in the 19th century at the four cardinal points). You follow one of the two main thoroughfares of the city.

Kounya–Ark (“old fortress”) 1686–1806. The need for a fortified palace arose during the most turbulent period in Khiva’s history, but the fortress soon became the governor’s residence. Juma Mosque (Friday), Khiva’s main mosque. Behind the Juma Mosque stands the city’s most famous monument: the Pakhlavan-Makhmoud mausoleum (1810–1825), which occupies the site of his furrier workshop. Taking the 2nd “grand street” of Itchan-Kala, you reach the Alla-Khouli Palace, better known as the Tash Khaouli Palace (the stone palace), dating from the 19th century—the residence of the Khiva khans (1838). The Alla Kouli madrasa (1835) is a compelling example of the art with which Khiva’s architects knew how to solve even the most complex urban-planning problems. In front of the madrasa of Khan Moukhammed-Amin, the largest in Khiva (78 x 60 m), stands the curious Kalta-Minor (short minaret, 1855). As you walk down the main street, on the right you’ll find one of Khiva’s oldest monuments: the mausoleum of Sayid Alaouddine, erected shortly after the sheikh’s death in 1303.

Overnight at the hotel. (Breakfast)

Transfer to Urgentch airport, flight to the capital of Uzbekistan, the city of Tashkent.
On arrival, transfer to the hotel (check-in at 2:00 pm).

Free day for personal discovery.

Overnight at the hotel. (Breakfast)

Transfer to the airport according to your flight schedule. End of your stay in Uzbekistan. (Breakfast)

Additional night and return flight on request.