Borovoye (Burabay National Park), about 250 kilometres north, is the standard escape — a cluster of pine-clad granite hills around several lakes, often called "the Kazakh Switzerland" (a slight exaggeration; it is still steppe-meets-forest). Hiking, swimming in summer, and traditional Russian sauna at the lakeside hotels. Reachable in three to four hours by car or train.
Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve, about 130 kilometres southwest, is a UNESCO-listed wetland known for its flocks of flamingos — the most northerly flamingo population in the world — and a population of saiga antelope on the surrounding steppe. Visits require a permit and are best arranged through a tour operator in Astana.
ALZHIR Memorial Museum, an hour west of the centre, sits on the site of the Soviet labour camp for the wives of so-called enemies of the people, founded in 1938. Sobering and well-curated, with a small outdoor sculpture park and an indoor exhibition.
Karaganda, 220 kilometres south, is the closest other major Kazakh city — a Soviet-era mining centre with a particular hard-bitten Karaganda character. The KarLag Museum there documents the wider Karaganda Corrective Labour Camp system. Three hours by train.