Azadi Tower

Lonely Planet review

Way out west at the end of Azadi Ave is the inverted Y-shaped Azadi Tower, built to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971. After being closed for years the underground gallery, Quran museum, cinema and, best of all, the viewing platform finally reopened in 2006.

Like the City Theatre, Carpet Museum and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the 50m-high structure is a mix of '60s-era modern architecture with traditional Iranian influences, such as the iwan -style of the arch. The exterior is clad with more than 8000 cut stones, while inside you can see architect Hossein Amanat's complex structural engineering in concrete. The park surrounding the monument is a relative oasis compared with the surrounding maelstrom of traffic. It was the scene of much protest during the 1979 revolution and remains a focal point for (pro-government) demonstrations today. You can reach the top by stairs or lift, and will probably be accompanied. To get here, take a bus or shuttle taxi west and ask for 'Azadi' or take Metro line 2 (dark blue) to Azadi and walk from there.