Must-see attractions in Tehran

  • Imamzadeh Saleh

    Tehran

    One of Tehran's most attractive shrines, Imamzadeh Saleh provides a photogenic focus to Tajrish Sq with its twin minarets and dome covered in beautiful…

  • Ebrat Museum

    Tehran

    There's nothing subtle about the graphic displays (suitable for adults only) in the one-time prison of the shah’s brutal secret police. A prime example of…

  • Sahebgharanieh Palace

    Tehran

    Closed for renovations until 2018 this Qajar period building in the Niyavaran Cultural Historic Complex was once Nasser-al Din Shah’s harem before later…

  • Behesht-e Zahra

    Tehran

    Tehran’s biggest cemetery is interesting primarily because it’s the main resting place for those who died in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88). Like windows…

  • Ahmad Shahi Pavilion

    Tehran

    Immediately west of Niyavaran Palace in the cultural-historic complex, this attractive two-storey mansion dating from the early 20th century was last used…

  • Iranian Majlis

    Tehran

    Also known as the People's House, the country's legislative body occupies a compound that is defined by the modern pyramid-shaped debating chamber where…

  • Tehran University

    Tehran

    At the centre of political change in Iran, Tehran University is a fascinating place to wander around. There is, however, a ban on foreign nonstudents…

  • Portal of Bagh-e Meli

    Tehran

    The decorative gateway to the National Garden complex of museums and government buildings, dates from 1906 and was renovated in 1922 by the Minister of…

  • Automobile Museum

    Tehran

    Just before the exit of the Niyavaran Cultural-Historic Complex is this small collection of cars and toy motorbikes used by Shah's family. There are two…

  • Royal Tableware Museum

    Tehran

    Drop by here, one of the smaller museums in the Sa'd Abad complex, as much for the faux-French architecture (check out the elegant double staircase…

  • Military Museum

    Tehran

    At the Sa'd Abad Museum Complex and set inside and around a palace that belonged to the shah’s nephew Shahram, this museum contains a wide range of…

  • Imamzadeh Zeid

    Tehran

    Weave your way through the bazaar to find this ornately decorated shrine to a descendant of the prophet.

  • Tejarat Bank

    Tehran

    The late 19th-century building housing the first public bank in Iran sits at the east end of Imam Khomeini Sq. At the time of writing the brick building…

  • Imam Khomeini Sq

    Tehran

    Ringed by perpetually seething traffic, Imam Khomeini Sq is not a place to linger. Little of the grandeur of the Qajar era remains here, although there is…

  • Mosalla Mosque

    Tehran

    Under construction since the 1990s, this mammoth mosque, with 230m-tall minarets, will be one of the largest in the world when eventually completed – an…

  • Royal Automobile Museum

    Tehran

    This minor attraction within the sprawling Sa’d Abad Museum Complex is one for motorheads with its well-buffed collection of Rolls Royce and Cadillac, and…

  • Qazaq Khaneh

    Tehran

    Dating from 1892, the old Cossacks Quarters forms an impressive architectural flourish at the northern end of pedestrian Melal-e Mottahed, the street once…