A week in Iran
Seven days across Iran: Marvdasht, Pāsārgād, Isfahan, Shūsh, Harsīn, Tehran and Damāvand. Each day is a walk through the best-known places in one city, and the cities follow in the order that keeps the travel between them short.
Day 1: Marvdasht
- TacharaPalace · On the map
- Apadana of PersepolisPalace · 0.1 km on from Tachara · On the map
- PersepolisArchaeological site · Next to Apadana of Persepolis · On the map
- TripylonPalace · 0.1 km on from Persepolis · On the map
- Hall of hundred columnsPalace · 0.1 km on from Tripylon · On the map
- Tomb of Artaxerxes IIIMonument · 0.2 km on from Hall of hundred columns · On the map
6 stops, 0.8 km on foot along the streets: about 10 min of walking.
Day 2: Pāsārgād
- Tomb of Cyrus the GreatMonument · On the map
- PasargadaeArchaeological site · 1.4 km on from Tomb of Cyrus the Great · On the map
- Pasargadae GardenGarden · 0.2 km on from Pasargadae · On the map
3 stops, 2.1 km on foot along the streets: about 31 min of walking.
Day 3: Isfahan
- Jameh Mosque of IsfahanMosque · On the map
- Naqsh-e Jahan SquareSquare · 1.5 km on from Jameh Mosque of Isfahan · On the map
- Sheikh Lotfollah MosqueMosque · 0.1 km on from Naqsh-e Jahan Square · On the map
- Shah MosqueMosque · 0.3 km on from Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque · On the map
- Chehel SotunPalace · 0.6 km on from Shah Mosque · On the map
- Si-o-se PolBridge · 1.4 km on from Chehel Sotun · On the map
6 stops, 5.6 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 9 min of walking.
Day 4: Shūsh
- SusaArchaeological site · On the map
- Palace of Darius in SusaPalace · 0.7 km on from Susa · On the map
- Shush CastleCastle · 0.3 km on from Palace of Darius in Susa · On the map
- Tomb of DanielTemple or shrine · 0.2 km on from Shush Castle · On the map
- Artaxerxes II PalacePalace · 0.3 km on from Tomb of Daniel · On the map
5 stops, 2.1 km on foot along the streets: about 26 min of walking.
Day 5: Harsīn
- Farhad TarashMonument · On the map
- Bisotun Old CaravanseraiPalace · 0.4 km on from Farhad Tarash · On the map
- BehistunLandmark · 0.2 km on from Bisotun Old Caravanserai · On the map
- Behistun inscriptionMonument · 0.3 km on from Behistun · On the map
- Heracles statueStatue · 0.1 km on from Behistun inscription · On the map
- Vologases reliefMonument · 0.2 km on from Heracles statue · On the map
6 stops, 1.6 km on foot along the streets: about 21 min of walking.
Day 6: Tehran
- Marble PalacePalace · On the map
- City Theater of TehranTheatre or opera house · 1.3 km on from Marble Palace · On the map
- Plasco BuildingSkyscraper · 1.5 km on from City Theater of Tehran · On the map
- National Museum of IranMuseum · 1 km on from Plasco Building · On the map
- Golestan PalacePalace · 1 km on from National Museum of Iran · On the map
- Shah MosqueMosque · 0.4 km on from Golestan Palace · On the map
6 stops, 7.5 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 34 min of walking.
Day 7: Damāvand
- Shebeli TowerTemple or shrine · On the map
- Jameh Mosque of DamavandMosque · 0.3 km on from Shebeli Tower · On the map
- Imamzadeh Abdullah and KhalilullahMonument · 0.3 km on from Jameh Mosque of Damavand · On the map
- Imamzadeh Abdullah and ObaidullahMonument · 0.2 km on from Imamzadeh Abdullah and Khalilullah · On the map
4 stops, 1.5 km on foot along the streets: about 20 min of walking.
More for Iran
- Things to do in Iran · 40 places to see, led by Persepolis and Susa
Photo credits
- Tachara: درفش کاویانی, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Apadana of Persepolis: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Persepolis: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tripylon: Jona Lendering, CC0
- Hall of hundred columns: Mardetanha, CC BY 2.5
- Tomb of Artaxerxes III: Martin Yhlén, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Tomb of Cyrus the Great: Bernd81, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pasargadae: Soheil Callage, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pasargadae Garden: Mmho, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Jameh Mosque of Isfahan: Hamidespanani, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Naqsh-e Jahan Square: Arad Mojtahedi, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque: شهاب الدین علیشاهی, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Shah Mosque: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Chehel Sotun: Zenith210, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Si-o-se Pol: Corina Möller, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Susa: Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Palace of Darius in Susa: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions
- Shush Castle: فلورانس, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tomb of Daniel: Unknown author, Public domain
- Artaxerxes II Palace: Farshad.green, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Farhad Tarash: Ehsan.Torabi, CC BY 3.0
- Bisotun Old Caravanserai: ئاسۆ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Behistun: Mahdimanavimvi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Behistun inscription: Korosh.091, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Heracles statue: Alieh, CC BY 2.0
- Vologases relief: Khoshamadgou, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Marble Palace: Hamid Tavakoli, CC BY 4.0
- City Theater of Tehran: Behrad Moudi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Plasco Building: Naser Jafari, CC BY 4.0
- National Museum of Iran: Ondřej Žváček, CC BY 2.5
- Golestan Palace: Miladpoorali, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Shah Mosque: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Shebeli Tower: [http://hamzehmhosseini.com/ Hamzeh Mohammad Hosseini], CC BY-SA 4.0
- Jameh Mosque of Damavand: Zereshk, CC BY 3.0
- Imamzadeh Abdullah and Khalilullah: Mohamadr za, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Imamzadeh Abdullah and Obaidullah: Mohamadr za, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pictures from Wikimedia Commons, through each place’s Wikidata entry.
Good to know
- Each day starts at the best-known place not yet seen and adds the best known within a short walk of it, then puts them in the shortest order. The places come from Wikidata (CC0), ranked by how many Wikipedias have an article about them.
- The map draws each day’s walk along the streets, routed by Valhalla on OpenStreetMap; the distances beside the stops are straight lines.
- Opening hours, tickets and closures are not checked: each place’s Wikipedia article has them.