Government House, at the eastern edge of the seafront, is a vast Stalinist palace built between 1936 and 1952 along the lines of Moscow's wedding-cake towers — though without the tower itself. The cream-coloured stone facade, three sides of a wide plaza, holds dozens of ministries and government offices.
It is one of the most complete pieces of late Stalinist urban-monumental architecture outside Russia, and the plaza in front, with the Caspian behind it, is one of the most theatrical photo-ops in the city. Walk down through the open arches to the boulevard below.