Top tourist attractions in Iran
Here is a list of top tourist attractions in Iran. Only the topmost tourist destinations are presented here. To see other destinations, please check the images from Iran section.
Curious if any of these place from Iran made it our best tourist attractions in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
You can also view all tourist attractions in Iran and other countries on our tourist attractions map.
Persepolis
World Heritage Site
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Lake Urmia
Salt Lake
Lake Urmia is a salt lake in northwestern Iran near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea. It is the largest lake in the Middle East, and the third largest saltwater lake on earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km², 140 km length, 55 km width, and 16 m depth. It is protected as a national park by the Iranian Department of Environment. In 1967 the Department sent a team of Iranian scientists to count the deer population and study the ecology of the Shahi Island. A paper on the ecology of the island was published in the Iranian Scientific Sokhan by Javad Hashemi. This included a microscopic study of the breeding habit of Artemia.
Imam Reza shrine
Tourist attraction
Imām Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eighth Imām of Twelver Shi'ites. It is the largest mosque in the world by dimension and the second largest in capacity. Also contained within the complex include: the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, four seminaries, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, a dining hall for pilgrims, vast prayer halls, and other buildings. This complex is the center of tourism in Iran. The shrine itself covers an area of 267,079m² while the seven courtyards which surround it cover an area of 331,578m² - totaling 598,657 m². Every year the ceremony of Dust Clearing is celebrated in the Imam Reza shrine.
Naqsh-e Jahan Square
World Heritage Site
Naqsh-e Jahan Square, known as Imam Square, formerly known as Shah Square, is a square situated at the center of Isfahan city, Iran. Constructed between 1598 and 1629, it is now an important historical site, and one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. It is 160 meters wide by 508 meters long. The square is surrounded by buildings from the Safavid era. The Shah Mosque is situated on the south side of this square. On the west side is the Ali Qapu Palace. Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque is situated on the eastern side of this square and the northern side opens into the Isfahan Grand Bazaar. Today, Namaaz-e Jom'eh is held in the Shah Mosque. The square is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rials banknote.
Takht-e Soleymān
World Heritage Site
Takht-e Soleymān is an archaeological site in West Azarbaijan, Iran. It lies midway between Urmia and Hamadan, very near the present-day town of Takab, and 400 km west of Tehran. The originally fortified site, which is located on a volcano crater rim, was recognized as a World Heritage Site in July 2003. The citadel includes the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple built during the Sassanid period and partially rebuilt during the Ilkhanid period. This site got this Semitic name after the Arab conquest. This temple housed one the three "Great Fires" or "Royal Fires" that Sassanid rulers humbled themselves before in order to ascend the throne. The fire at Takht-i Soleiman was called ādur Wishnāsp and was dedicated to the arteshtar or warrior class of the Sasanid. Folk legend relates that King Solomon used to imprison monsters inside the 100 m deep crater of the nearby Zendan-e Soleyman "Prison of Solomon". Another crater inside the fortification itself is filled with spring water; Solomon is said to have created a flowing pond that still exists today. Nevertheless, Solomon belongs to Semitic legends and therefore, the lore and namesake should have been formed following Islamic conquest of Persia. A 4th century Armenian manuscript relating to Jesus and Zarathustra, and various historians of the Islamic period, mention this pond. The foundations of the fire temple around the pond is attributed to that legend.
Chogha Zanbil
World Heritage Site
Chogha Zanbil; Elamite: Dur Untash is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. Chogha in Bakhtiari means hill. It is one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia. It lies approximately 42 km south-southwest of Dezfoul, 30 km west of Susa and 80 km north of Ahvaz.
Niavaran Palace Complex
Building
Niavaran Palace Complex is a historical complex situated in the northern part of Tehran, Iran. It consists of several buildings and a museum. The Sahebqraniyeh Palace, from the time of Naser al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty, is also inside this complex. The main Niavaran Palace, completed in 1968, was the primary residence of the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial family until the Iranian Revolution. The main palace was designed by the Iranian architect Mohsen Foroughi.
Vank Cathedral
Building
Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as Vank Cathedral and The Church of the Saintly Sisters, is a cathedral in Isfahan, Iran. Vank means "monastery" or "convent" in the Armenian language.
Azerbaijan Museum
Museum
Azerbaijan Museum is the major archaeological and historical museum in Tabriz, in the northwest part of Iran. It was established on April 1958. The museum consists of three major halls, a side yard, office rooms and a library. It mostly contains objects discovered from excavations in Iranian Azerbaijan also some artworks and sculptures of artists. Its library contains more than 2500 books both hand written and printed book about history, archaeology, art and Iranian culture. Apart from National Museum of Iran in Tehran, Azerbaijan Museum has the largest collection belonging to different periods of Iran's history.
Amir Nezam House
Museum
The Amir Nezām House, or The Qajar Museum of Tabriz, is a historical building in the Sheshghelan district, one of the oldest quarters of the city of Tabriz, Iran. The base of the edifice covers an area of 1200 square metres. This monument which since 2006 houses a museum dedicated to the Qajar dynasty, was built in the period of the Crown Prince Abbas Mirza. It was renovated by Hasan-Ali Khan, Amir Nezām Garrousi, in his position as the Major-domo of Azarbaijan, and used as his residency. In the subsequent periods, the house was employed as the official residence of the provincial governors of Azarbaijan. Because of persistent neglect over a long period of time, this building had come to be in such a bad state of disrepair that for a time it was seriously considered to demolish it and build a school in its place. Between 1993-2006 it has been subject of an extensive renovation process and since the completion of this undertaking it has been granted the National Heritage status. The Sheshghelan district has been Governor's seat during the Ilkhanate dynasty. Hasan-Ali Khan, Amir Nezām Garousi, was born in 1820 in Bijar, in the Kurdistan Province. For a period of twenty-two years he served in various governmental positions. In particular, for a period he was in charge of the Iranian students sent to Europe by the government of Iran. He also served as the General of the Garrus Army and Head of the Security Guards of the High Court and of Arg-e Tabriz. He is buried in Mahan, in the Kerman Province. He is best remembered for his exemplary prose in the Persian language.
Museum of Ostad Bohtouni
Museum
Museum of Ostad Bohtouni is a museum in Tabriz, north-western Iran. Handcrafts of artist Bohtouni are kept in this museum including sculptures of different stuffs like flowers, fruits etc. The museum is located in the Sheshghelan suburb of Tabriz, next to Maqbaratoshoara and Seyed Hamzeh shrine.