Southeastern Iran
One of Iran's most impressive fortress-citadels, the Arg's vast adobe walls top a gentle slope directly south of central Rayen. Inside is a castle within…
Must-see attractions in Iran
Kish Island
This splendid archaeological site comprises the remains of a large house with private qanat (underground water channel), a public hammam and a…
Southeastern Iran
A Unesco site, this troglodyte village is a series of over 400 cave-houses with a total of more than 2500 kiche rooms burrowed into the gently sloping…
Tehran
Next door to the National Museum, and part of the same complex, this museum offers a stunning collection of arts and antiquities from throughout the…
Tehran
It's easy to see why this multilevel, sculptural pedestrian bridge, designed by Iranian architect Leila Araghian, has won awards and been a huge hit with…
Iran
Proud and alone on the Morghab Plain, the Tomb of Cyrus is the first of the monuments encountered on entering the site of Pasargadae. The tomb consists of…
Iran
Constructed on a stone terrace by Xerxes I, the Apadana Palace lies largely in ruins. It's thought that this is where foreign delegations would have been…
Persian Gulf
Rainbow Valley is a geologist’s dream and an inspiration for artists and nature enthusiasts. Imagine a narrow valley with multi-hued earth and sand and…
Iran
This huge, beautifully restored Qajar-era caravanserai is now the design centre of Qazvin. The long, vaulted passages house independent artists showcasing…
Kashan
Kashan’s historic bazaar is one of the best in Iran. Busy but not manic, traditional but with a nod at modern goods, large enough to surprise but not to…
Kashan
This 500-year-old hammam is a superb example of an Iranian bathhouse. A recent restoration has stripped away 17 layers of plaster (note the wall inside…
Tehran
This imaginative sculpture park and museum occupies two former prisons, one for criminals and one for political prisoners, and the grounds surrounding…
Iran
A Unesco World Heritage site since 2012, this 53m tower in Gonbad's centre looks like a buttressed-brick spaceship with the cross-section of a 10-pointed…
Southeastern Iran
Walking to and exploring this mountaintop fortress ruin is the highlight of a visit to Qa'en, especially if you time your descent to coincide with sunset,…
Tehran
A hub for the contemporary and traditional arts in Tehran, this complex has several gallery spaces over two levels exhibiting works in all media on a…
Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas has a vibrant fishing industry, and the lively fish market just off the seafront is a sight to behold. Early morning is the best time to come…
Iran
Sitting in a lonely bowl of mountains, ringed by 1500-year-old walls, these Unesco-listed ruins are one of the most memorable sights of western Iran. In…
Esfahan
Built as a pleasure pavilion and reception hall, using the Achaemenid-inspired talar (columnar porch) style, this beautifully proportioned palace is…
Esfahan
Punctuating the middle of the arcades that hem Esfahan's largest square, this study in harmonious understatement complements the overwhelming richness of…
Iran
Carved into the side of Kuh-e Bisotun (Mt Bisotun) is a series of bas-reliefs and cuneiform inscriptions dating from 521 BC. The inscriptions, written in…
Around Yazd
In the centre of Meybod, crumbling Narin castle rises imposingly above the town that has grown up around it. Revealing three layers of construction, the…
Tourist Village of Abbas Barzegar & Family
Iran
The fluent English-speaking daughter of Abbas Barzegar acts as the tour guide around this one-of-a-kind family museum that showcases rural life in Bavanat…
Esfahan
Built between 1648 and 1655 with the encouragement of the Safavid rulers, Kelisa-ye Vank in the Armenian neighbourhood of Jolfa is the historic focal…
Kashan
Legend has it that when Sayyed Jafar Natanzi, a samovar merchant known as Boroujerdi, met with carpet merchant Sayyed Jafar Tabatabaei to discuss taking…
Esfahan
Built at the very end of the 16th century as a residence for Shah Abbas I, this six-storey palace also served as a monumental gateway to the royal palaces…
Shiraz
Sayyed Mir Ahmad, one of Imam Reza’s 17 brothers, was hunted down and killed by the caliphate on this site in AD 835 and his remains are housed in a…
Esfahan
There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than strolling along the Zayandeh River, crossing back and forth on the river's 11 bridges – or even…
Shiraz
There is no better place to understand Hafez’s place in the nation’s psyche than at his tomb and the memorial garden within which it is set. Iranians have…
Tehran
Built in the 1930s, and one of the highlights of the Sa’d Abad Museum Complex, most of what you see in this 5000-sq-metre, 54-room palace dates from…
Esfahan
Arguably the finest of Esfahan’s bridges, with traces of the original paintings and tiles that decorated its double arcade still visible, Pol-e Khaju was…
Shiraz
The city’s ancient trading district is home to several bazaars dating from different periods. The finest and most famous of these is the Bazar-e Vakil, a…
Iran
This magnificent little museum, housed in the residence of a former khan, comes as something of a surprise given its location in the sleepy village of…
Iran
Jolfa’s tourist pearl is this stunning, Unesco-listed Armenian church, whose origins date back to St Bartholomew. On a wooded hill above the Aras River,…
Aramgah-e Shah Ne’matollah Vali
Southeastern Iran
The physical and spiritual heart of Mahan is filled by the impressive mausoleum complex of dervish-mystic and poet Shah Ne’matollah Vali, who died in 1431…
Iran
The town's Friday mosque is the highlight of a visit to Na'in. Constructed between the 10th and 11th centuries, it was one of the first mosques built in…
Iran
Bishapur (literally, 'Shapur’s City') was the grand capital of the Sassannian king, Shapur I. Shapur and his armies defeated the Romans three times, and…
Iran
The extensive Katale Khor cave system, rated by locals as the best in western Iran, is 150km south of Zanjan, off the Soltaniyeh–Hamadan road near Garmab…
Kashan
Built around 1880, Seyyed Jafar Tabatabei’s house is renowned for its intricate stone reliefs, including finely carved cypress trees, delicate stucco, and…
Iran
An exquisite alpine lake lies nestled under the southern wall of the Oshtoran Kuh range in a protected nature reserve. Beginning at the ranger hut and car…
Iran
The palaces in the southwestern corner of the site are believed to have been constructed during the reigns of Darius and Xerxes. The Tachara is easily the…
