8.5–107 visits · last Oct 2026
Six Bogenbay
Almaly
An excellent team of baristas, their own roastery, and one of the most striking rooms in the city.
An honest guide to Almaty
Almaty is getting popular faster than it is getting written about honestly, and a good deal of what exists was put together by people who were here for four days. I live here. This is where to sleep, what to eat, what is worth a day of your time, and the things nobody warns you about until you are already standing at the airport taxi rank.
The best coffee in the city right now
Scored on espresso alone, on a 0–10 scale, every visit dated.
8.57 visits · last Aug 2026
Fika
Almaly
My most visited coffee place, and my favourite. Award-nominated interior, a bakery from 8am, and food worth staying for.
Espresso 1,800–3,200 ₸ · ≈$4–7Maps
8.52 visits · last Jul 2026
Akku
Center
Go for the Soviet design and the pastries. A very good roastery, and plenty of space.
When to come
The two windows I would pick, and why the answer depends on you.
Ski in the morning and watch ballet the same evening; a canyon by day and coffee under city lights by night. Which month suits you depends on which of those you came for — here are my own favourite stretches of the year.
See when to come
Where to stay
Six hotels, judged on the door you step out of.
I live here, so I have barely slept in this city's hotels — and this is a list about location rather than rooms. Which street you walk out onto, what is within reach of it, and which of them put the mountains one straight road away.
See where to stay
Things to do
What an afternoon here is worth spending on — and what it costs.
Riding through apple orchards inside the city, and the rest of what is actually worth doing here. Where I have been myself, the price is the one I paid; where I have not, it says so.
See what to do
Or walk out of the city — four routes, none over 90 minutes up →
Or the museums — five worth your time, and the one that shuts on Tuesday →
A whole morning, in order
Not a list of sights — the route, from first light to lunch.
Up the gorge before the city wakes, the 842 steps, breakfast on a terrace at altitude — then back down for the pastries one place only does at the weekend, a walk through the centre to the fountain by the opera, and lunch. One Saturday, the way I actually spend it.
See the Saturday morning
Or just the gorge — why nobody is skating at Medeu until 2027 →
Or the hill everyone is taken to — Kok Tobe, and the cheaper way up →
Food
A hundred kitchens in one city — and the one dish that is actually ours.
Dungan noodles, Georgian khachapuri, doner people argue beats Istanbul's, and the cafes I go back to with the thing I order at each. Plus beshbarmak, which has a page of its own: what makes a good one, and where I have eaten it.
See where to eat
Drinks you can't order at home
Raf, tary and the rest — and when to order them.
Baristas here build drinks around local heritage ingredients and put them on the menu next to the flat white. What is actually in them, when each one is worth ordering, what it costs, and where to go for it.
See what to order
What to bring back
Qurt, jent, chocolate and beans — and what customs will take.
The souvenirs worth carrying home from here are edible, cheap, and nearly all in one covered market. One of them will be taken off you at the airport if you are flying to Europe.
See what to buy
Before you go
The things to sort out before you land.
Why an eSIM beats a local SIM, getting in from the airport without being overcharged, what to wear when the weather turns mid-afternoon, and the two apps worth installing.
Read before you fly