Major Tourist Attractions In Iran

The capital city of Iran, Tehran, is the first and the most important destination on any travellers list for sightseeing in Iran. It is a very modern city as far as its look, feel and facilities are concerned, but at the very time Tehran has retained and preserved the oldest of its treasures. So apart from the regular city icons - the Cultural Centers, the National Library, a City Theatre, a Zoo and the University there are several good museums, which showcase its past through rules and dynasties. Not to be missed here are Abgineh Museum of Iranian Pottery, the Rea Abbasi Museum, which houses a rare collection of Iranian calligraphy and paintings; the National Museum of Iran or the Iran Bastan Museum, which has archaeological and anthropological exhibits; the Rassam Cultural and Art Foundation of Carpet, and the Carpet Museum which is home to a 450 years old carpet.
Apart from these, Glass & Ceramics Museum which is a great architectural experience in itself, the Sa'd Abad Museum Complex with the last Shah's White Palace a part of it and the Jewels Museum that houses incredible jewellery, which had ignited quite a few military conflicts, are also worth while a peek while sightseeing in Tehran.

Move northwest from Tehran to Tabriz, Iran’s second largest city most known for its restored Blue Mosque built in 1465 and the covered aisles of Qaisariyeh Bazaar, which were made in 15th century. Central Iran is where the former capital of Iran, Esfahan, is located. Esfahan is one of the cities on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. It is home to some of the finest architectural features like the Emam Khomeini Square, which is almost seven times larger in size than San Marco in Venice and one of the largest in the world, the Emam Mosque with its trademark blue tiles or the Shaikh Lotfullah Mosque, with its unique entrance with a stalactite effect or the Vank Cathedral, with the historical and architectural significance of an Armenian church in Iran.

Towards the southwest of Iran is the ancient city of Shiraz, which was the medieval capital city of the Fars province. Some salient sightseeing spots in Shiraz are the Hafez Tomb and Garden made in memory of the celebrated poet; the Shi’ite pilgrimage at the Shah-Cheragh mausoleum and the Pars Museum, which displays relics from the Zand dynasty. Around 50 Km further from Shiraz is, Persepolis another heritage site designated by UNESCO. It is referred to as the throne of Jamshid and was a magnificent palace complex that took 150 years to finish. In 331 BC Persepolis was destroyed by Alexander the great and was burnt to ashes, so what can be seen today are the ruins of its magnificent glory. So Persepolis can be considered a conjectural unearthing of that time. Some places not to be missed here are the Xerxes' Gateway, known for inscriptions and carvings on it in various ancient languages, which leads to the famous Apadana Palace. The Palace of 100 Columns, which is one of the largest halls in Persepolis and one of largest buildings constructed during the Achaemenian period.

The Golden Triangle, a popular region for sightseeing marked by the ancient cities of Hamadan, Kermanshah and Khorramabad placed at its vertices. The region has several associations with Iran’s glorious past dating almost 6000 years back in the past including the fact that the famous Silk Road once passed from here.

Other than the important and ancient cities in Iran, there are also a few monuments and ancient architectural sites, which are worth a visit. To begin with there is the 55m high tomb tower, Gombad-é Kavus, which Ghabus - a prince, a poet, a scholar and a patron of arts, built as his memorial six years before he died. The site is 93km northeast of Gorgan and can be reached by minibuses that leave every hour from a special terminal. Chogha Zambil - an extremely well preserved ziggurat, is another architectural site not to be missed. It is one of finest surviving examples of Elamite Architecture standing 45km east of Shush in southern Iran very close to the Iraqi border. It is interesting to note that a 25m high structure with multiple concentric storeys went unnoticed for almost 2500 years until an oil company spotted it and got it registered with UNESCO.

If a traditional untouched mountain village is what matches your interest, then Masule is the only place in Iran you should head off for. The village is set along very steep slopes of mountain features almost 1050m above sea level. The most unique feature of this village is there are very few alleys cut across for access and mostly the roof of the houses make for pedestrian pathways. But if uninhabited caves is what you can crave for then you must take a trip to Ali Sadr Caves. The caves are around 40m in height and have several deep clear water lakes. Ali Sadr caves are around 100km north of Hamadan and can be accessed by minibuses that frequent between the two places.