7 Essential UNESCO sites of Iran in 7 days

Upon arrival at IKA airport (Imam Khomeini International Airport) in Tehran, an Adventure Iran representative will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in Tehran. Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 2 is all about what makes this city the capital of Iran. Tehran has a lot of attractions in southern, central and northern part of it. For this intensive day trip, we will focus the tour on the central part of the city which is a combination of different attractions in this busy part of the city. Your hotel that we have considered is in downtown and your sightseeing excursion would begin from your hotel in shape of a walking tour. In the morning, you English speaking guide will take you to Golestan Palace which is the one and only world heritage UNESCO site in the capital. The palace was built during the Qajar Dynasty and it’s constructed in a big garden with long trees and a few different buildings and monuments surrounding it. You will be walking through interesting parts of the city which would be perfect for seeing what it’s like to live in Tehran and taking fascinating pictures as well. After visiting the palace, you will continue your walking tour to Tehran Grand Bazaar. We will spend a couple of hours visiting this historical & important trade center. There is an unwritten rule in Iran that the best food in most cities usually is found in the heart of its grand bazaar so that would make it a good place for having lunch in a Dizi Sara. Dizi is one of the most delicious Iranian dishes which is a traditional Persian food as well. One of the main interesting part of Dizi is that it has a special custom to eat it which makes in one of your first Persian experiences in the trip. After lunch you will continue your walking tour in the afternoon towards Iran National Museum which is the main historical/archeology museum of Iran. Afterwards we will take you to one of the oldest coffee shops in Iran which has a long history even before the Islamic revolution and you will be enjoying a good quality coffee and different types of fresh cake in it. Afterward, in the late afternoon we will drive to Esfahan takes 5 hours (440 km). You will check in the hotel in the evening. Overnight stay at hotel in Esfahan. (B)

Todays plan is to have an active walking day in the most popular touristic destinations of Esfahan city. You will have your breakfast in your hotel and your walking tour will start from your hotel which is in the downtown of Esfahan. You will cross Sio seh Pol Bridge (33 pol) to reach Chahar Bagh Abbasi Street which is the most beautiful street in Esfahan. There are a lot of interesting attractions in both side of the street and it would be the best place to meet the locals and taking some pictures. You will continue the boulevard towards Hasht Behesht palace (Eight Heaven) and visit this lovely building with unique wall paintings inside. The next stop would be Chehel Sotoun palace (Forty Pillar) which is located inside of a royal garden. After visiting the palace, you will have lunch in a local restaurant with traditional meals which are very tasty. After having lunch and a short rest, you will continue your walk towards Naghsh-e Jahan (Shah Square) which is one of the most famous UNESCO world heritage sites of Iran. This square covers a big area with many important attractions of Esfahan surrounding it. You will visit Ali Ghapoo palace (Ali Qapu), Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Shaah mosque (Imam Mosque), Qeysarriyeh Gate and the Grand Bazaar of Esfahan. Basically, you will be spending all day visiting the highlights of Esfahan. There is a nice café (Gheysari cafe) on the roof of a museum which is a nice place to have a rest in this intensive day tour with the view of the whole square. After visiting all the attractions around the square, you will have some time for buying souvenirs from handicraft shops of Naghshe Jahan and have some free time for yourself as well. Then you will walk back to your hotel. Esfahan has beautiful nights with people running around in the city and you will enjoy your walk via special spots that locals visit and experiencing their life style. Overnight stay at hotel in Esfahan. (B)

After an early breakfast we will drive to Yazd through Dasht-e Kavir desert which takes 4 hours (330 km). You will check in to your hotel and spend half a day on intensive sightseeing in Yazd to visit most touristic attractions in the city. Yazd is a UNESCO world heritage city registered on the list on 2017. It was the center of Zoroastrians community in Iran many years ago. It’s a desert city and famous for the architecture style of their houses and with the older part of the city still having the same architecture, you can enjoy these beautiful pieces of art exclusively. The narrow alleys of the old neighborhoods would be perfect for having another active walking tour. Yazd is also very famous for their cookies and sweets which has a special taste different from any other Iranian sweet. It would be a good place to buy the most famous ones which are Qottab, Baklava and Loz. Your walking tour start from your hotel again which is in the historical part of the city and you will walk through alleys to have time to sightsee and take photos. You will visit the Zoroastrian site of a Fire temple, Amir Chakhmagh complex and the main Grand Mosque next to the bazaar. Next comes Rokn-o-din Shrine and the old prison named after Alexander, the Alexander Prison. After our walking tour we will drive to Dakhmeh (Towers of Silence & old cemetery) situated 15 kilometers southeast of Yazd city. We’ll have to ascent the hill to visit this Zoroastrians site and having a good view of the area around is a bonus. You will have dinner in a traditional restaurant and you can try their local dishes there. We stay one more night in the traditional hotel in Yazd. (B)

We have to leave Yazd early in the morning as we have a long drive to Shiraz as well as the visit to the important and most famous UNESCO site of Iran. You will have breakfast in the hotel and we’ll start the drive towards the south in the direction of Shiraz which takes about 5-6 hours (450 km). The first stop is Pasargadae site, which is 315 km from Yazd (4 hours) and it was registered in 2004 in the list of Iran’s world heritage sites. Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by “Cyrus II the Great” dating back to 559–530 BCE. We will have a short rest and lunch around Marvdasht town. Afterward we will continue our drive towards Persepolis which takes about an hour (80 km). Persepolis is one of the first Iranian UNESCO world heritage sites which was registered on 1979. We will spend a few hours visiting this huge complex completely. There are two other important sites (Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rostam) which are on the list of the tentative UNESCO sites. Depending on your travel time and the daylight we might have time to visit them. We then drive to Shiraz from there taking an hour to reach it (60km). Overnight stay in hotel in Shiraz. (B)

Shiraz is a city famous for many many things. It’s the city of lovers and the city of poets (the two famous Iranian poets (Hafez & Sa’aadi) are from Shiraz). It’s the city of flavors and gardens and the people of Shiraz are also famous for their hospitality even among Iranians. We start with a walking tour of the historical city centre of Shiraz and visit Karim Khan Zand citadel, Nasir al-Molk famous colourful mosque (also known as the Pink Mosque) and afterward we will continue our walk towards the grand Bazaar, Vakil mosque and Vakil bath (Hamam-e Vakil). Shiraz has an authentic Bazaar which is famous for its original perfumes. You will have lunch in Bazaar (a traditional Shirazi meal), and in the afternoon we will visit the Shah Cheragh and the Mausoleum of the Kings of Lights which is a holy monument in Shiraz with many visits from the locals daily. It’s also a nice place for photography as well. Our walking tour finishes at this place and we will have to drive to Eram Garden which is another important garden in Iran and is registered in the Persian Garden of UNESCO world heritage site which was registered on 2011. After snapping some pictures and walking around the garden, in the evening we will drive to the mausoleum of Hafez, Iran’s beloved poet. Hafezie is a holy destination for many Iranian and they respect this place very much and it’s mostly crowded in the year. Then we will drive to a special restaurant to have the last dinner with your guides and from there drive to your hotel in the centre of the city. Overnight stay at hotel in Shiraz. (B)

This day is the last day of the tour and we will arrange a domestic flight to return to Tehran’s domestic airport of Mehr Abad. From there our driver takes you to IKA airport to catch your return flight back home. (B)