Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, has dozens of parks and green areas to stroll around, find shade and relax away from the hustle and bustle of modern day city life. Most of the parks are incredibly well maintained with immaculate lawns, pruned hedges and clear walkways.
When it comes to amusement parks however, a number of them feel quite outdated. Many were built in previous decades and can feel somewhat neglected today.
That was until Magic City was introduced – a modern amusement park that promises fun for all ages. From children to families, couples, and tourists, Magic City aims to provide an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Since Magic City’s official website is only written in Russian, we decided to check it out and write our own review in English.
Magic City: What it has to Offer
Tashkent’s Magic City is the newest of many amusement parks in Tashkent. Opened recently in 2021 it offers a lot to visitors.
It spans across 21 hectares and features children’s rides, a laser cinema, an amphitheater for live shows, and Central Asia’s first aquarium.
Additionally, the park has a giant pond, a 60-meter-high castle tower, an indoor amusement park that operates throughout the year, and smaller amusements like a mirror maze, 10-pin bowling, and virtual reality gaming.
Moreover, the park hosts daily light, music, and water fountain shows and weekly firework shows.
Entry to Magic City is free and you don’t need to buy a ticket to enter. Guests pay only for the amusements, rides and activities they wish to use.
This is consistent with other amusement parks in Tashkent which also offer free entry.
It has all the restaurants you’d expect from an entertainment park aimed at children: fast food outlets selling pizza, burgers and ice cream as well as local Uzbek food such as plov and shashlik.
The ‘backstreet’ by the aquarium also had other international diners offering Japanese, Armenian and Turkish cuisines.
It has a small shopping area selling Turkish and Uzbek clothes, sportswear and shoes. Whilst it’s not the first place you’d choose to go shopping, prices are affordable.
Our Experience of Magic City Amusement Park
We arrived at around 6 pm after strolling around the neighbouring Alisher Navoi Park (which is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have kids).
The sun was setting, which created some fantastic photo opportunities as we made our way from the tulip-enhanced lake, under the large castle tower entrance, and into Tashkent Magic City.
Initially, it seemed like another quiet, empty Tashkent park, similar to Tashkent City Park during the daytime.
As we walked around the amusement games, we enjoyed an ice cream and visited some shops. With few other visitors, we enjoyed having the park mostly to ourselves for at least an hour.
However, as the sun started to set, people began to trickle in. The fountain show seemed to act as a trigger for the crowds with the shrill lyrics from a Russian pop song intertwining with lights and eruptions of water.
Few Uzbek people come out to the parks during the day, but as the sun finally disappeared, the park finally came alive with families and couples.
We attempted to visit the daily Magic Show, which runs from 7-8 pm, Tues-Sun. It advertises comedy, laser and neon shows, as well as shadow theatre.
Unfortunately, due to Ramadan, it was temporarily canceled but we’ll update this article if we get the chance to go again.
We stayed for at least another hour, just having coffee and soaking up the relaxed buzz of the park as the hordes of parents and balloon-holding children slowly grew.
The whole park looks very different at night time as its European-meets-fantasy-cartoon-style architecture is lit up in many different colors.
After a few more snaps we decided to call it a day at around 9pm although the park was definitely still in full swing at this moment.
Tashkent Aquarium
Tashkent Aquarium houses over 3,000 sea and river creatures dwelling in over 1.3 million liters of water. The aquarium is divided into 12 sections, including rainforest, underwater caves, deep waters, and “shark hall.”
Despite its location in double-landlocked Uzbekistan, far from the ocean, the aquarium has an impressive collection of animals. While there aren’t any ‘big animals’, there are plenty of smaller species to admire, such as piranhas, stingrays, and my new favorite, the colorful “Tetra Glofish.”
The tunnel at the end of the aquarium offers a soothing end to the trip, with rays and small sharks swimming overhead.
The aquarium is one of the more expensive attractions in the park, with tickets priced at 75,000 for children aged 3-12 and 100,000 for over 12s, which is especially expensive for those on a local salary.
The whole experience for me lasted only around 30 minutes but was worth the money in my opinion.
If you can afford it and you’re interested in 30 minutes of waiting for fish to pose nicely for your blog photos admiring exotic animals then I’d say go for it!
Here are some of our photos from the aquarium.
Magic City Information
| Entry Fee: | Free |
| Opening Hours: | 10am until 10pm, 365 days a year |
| Location: | Tashkent, Yakkasaray, Furkat Street (next to Alisher Navoi park) |
| How to get there: | Walk 10-15 minutes from Milliy Bog or Xalqlar Do’stligi metro stations (Or type Magic City into your taxi app) |
Magic City: Honest Review
From our experience at Magic City we can confirm that it is a much-needed attraction in this developing city which is home to a large number of children.
We highly recommend it for families in Uzbekistan.
As two adults without specific plans, we thoroughly enjoyed leisurely strolling around and taking in the sights. We firmly believe it’s an even better experience for children.
The fact that entrance is free and prices for attractions are very reasonable makes it an excellent attraction to visit for at least a couple of hours or even half a day if with children.
It’s worth noting that it’s aimed more at younger children, and teenagers might not find as much to do.
Visit during the daytime if you want the park all to yourself or at night time if you prefer the buzz of the crowd.
While it’s maybe not as famous as Disneyland Paris, it is a fun evening of wandering, riding, playing, and eating at a fraction of the cost of a Western amusement park.
So, if you go with the expectation of having a good time for a cheap price, you’ll definitely enjoy your visit to Magic City!
Visiting Tashkent? Read our blog post on Tashkent’s best fun things to do.
Planning a trip to Central Asia? Read our ultimate guide to Uzbekistan.
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