Left Bank

The Left Bank, or New Astana, is the planned ceremonial city laid out from scratch after the capital moved here in 1997. The dominant feature is the central axis: a three-kilometre boulevard running from Khan Shatyr in the west, through the Bayterek, past the Aqorda Residence, to the Pyramid of Peace at the east. Each major building was commissioned individually from a star architect and the result is half real city, half permanent exhibition of post-Soviet ambition.

The walk along the axis is the canonical introduction to Astana. It is best done in the cool of early evening when the light makes the gold domes and glass facades glow. Side streets between the boulevards hold the ministries, the larger embassies, and an increasing number of office buildings, shops, and restaurants. The neighbourhood feels strange — wide, monumental, sometimes empty — but it grows on you as you spend time there.

things to do neighbourhood
A story
The entire left bank of the Ishim was steppe in 1997. The master plan for the new capital was drawn by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa; the individual buildings were commissioned from Norman Foster, Manfredi Nicoletti, and dozens of others. Twenty years on, it functions — strangely — as both a real city and a permanent architectural exhibition.