Tehran Attractions

It is one of most visited places in Tehran, which was the Qajars' royal residence. Its garden is an oasis of coolness and silence in the heart of the city. The main building, architecturally unpretentious, houses a museum with objects from the Qajar period in the overloaded and pompous style of last century. In the Golestan garden, a one-story pavilion to the right and slightly behind the entrance, shelters one of the best organized museums in Tehran. It contains about thirty showcases presenting everything, which makes up the basic originality of Iranian life in the various provinces of the country.

The treasury contains the largest collection of jewels found anywhere in the world. For the 50,000 rials admission fee you'll get to see the collection of jewels including Darya-e-Noor diamond, the sister diamond to the Kuh-e-Noor diamond. Other highlights include the world's largest uncut ruby and a free standing golden globe made from 34 kilograms of gold and an astounding 51,366 precious stones. 

National Museum of Iran Designed by French architect André Godard and completed in 1928, it’s one of the more attractive modern buildings in Tehran, blending Sassanian principles such as the grand iwan -style entrance with art deco–style brickwork. Inside is a collection including ceramics, pottery, stone figures and carvings, mostly taken from excavations at Persepolis, Ismail Abad (near Qazvin), Shush, Rey and Turang Tappeh. Tehran Bazaar Tehran Bazaar area is absolutely worth visiting, there you can find anything you ever may need: food clothes, shoes, gold, tools, machines - everything. To see the real life and feel the heat of Tehran this is just the place to go, even if you are not going to buy anything. But you may anyway, because the prices are more than reasonable.

Milad Tower is the tallest tower in Iran, the fourth tallest tower in the world and 12th tallest freestanding structure in the world, and it is visible from almost everywhere in Tehran. It stands 435 m high from base to tip of the antenna. There is a rotating restaurant at 390m above the ground, which has become one of the most luxurious restaurants in the country.  

Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire, this "Gateway into Iran" was named the Shahyad Tower, meaning "Kings' Memorial", but was dubbed Azadi (Freedom) after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It is 50 meters (164 ft) tall and completely clad in cut marble. Today it is the symbol of Tehran. The entrance of the tower is directly underneath the main vault and leads into the Azadi Museum on the basement floor. The black walls and proportions of the building are austere. Heavy doors open onto a crypt with subdued lighting issuing from showcases, each containing an object. Gold and enamel pieces, painted pottery, marble, miniature, and paintings are located among black marble walls.

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is in a striking concrete modernist building constructed during the shah’s rush to build modern landmarks in the 1970s. Progressive Queen Farah Diba was the driving force behind the museum (her cousin Kamran Diba was the architect) and by the time it opened in 1977 its nine major galleries in their distinctive, Guggenheim-esque spiral layout were home to a remarkable collection of Western and Iranian art. The museum boasts works by Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, Miró, Dalí, Bacon, Pollock, Monet, Munch, Moore and Warhol, among many others. On the open market, the collection is estimated to be worth between US$2 billion and US$5 billion. 

The exhibition hall of museum covers 3400 square meters, containing two halls used to display different kinds of kilims and handmade rugs. The ground floor hall is devoted fairs and the one upstairs to temporary exhibition of kilim and rugs. One of the oldest and most important carpets, available in this museum, is a carpet belonging to Safavid era, called "Sangeshku". There are also seven animal carpets, "Sheikh Safieddin Ardebili" carpet, garden carpets and tapis Polonaise or Polish carpets, which are some of the precious carpets available in this museum.

On a sunny or smoggy day few things could be nicer than fleeing the traffic fumes for the foothills of the Alborz Mountains and the walking trails of Darakeh and Darband. The trails pass waterfalls and cross streams as they head up into the hills. They are crowded on Thursday afternoon and Friday and make a great place to meet Tehranis in a relaxed, social atmosphere. The lower reaches of both trails are lined with teahouses and stalls selling food and drinks, which are hugely popular in the evenings – some close midweek and in winter. A dish of dizi (stew), a kabab or two, a cold drink or a huff and a puff on a qalyan by the stream will soon help you forget the Tehran traffic. Among other tasty treats to sample on the way up are dates, apricots, pickled walnuts, lavashak (sheets of pressed dried fruit), fresh mulberries and steamed lima beans.

Popular Tochal Telecabin runs 7.5km up Mt Tochal (3957m) to the fourth-highest ski field on earth where you’ll find snow for between six and eight months a year. The telecabin is busy on Fridays when the slopes are packed with well-off young Tehranis here as much for the socialising as the skiing (or hiking during the summer months).