Kashan
Introduction
Kashan is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran, and serves as the capital of both Kashan County and its Central District. It is one of the oldest cities in Iran, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Getting there
Kashan sits on the main rail line between Tehran and Isfahan, so trains are a practical way in: there are frequent departures in each direction, plus overnight services linking Tehran with cities in central and southeastern Iran such as Yazd, Shiraz and Kerman. The railway station is on the eastern fringe of the city.
By road, Kashan is roughly 250 km south of Tehran, and the bus from Tehran's South Terminal takes at least three hours; from Isfahan the distance is 220 km, with frequent buses from the Kaveh terminal taking about 2.5 hours. Buses often drop passengers at Valiasr Square or Montazeri Square, especially transit services just passing through, and plenty of taxis wait there. To leave the city, head to the Kashan Bus Terminal. The city also has its own airport, but its only scheduled flight connects with Mashhad; Tehran and Isfahan have the nearest alternative airports.
Getting around
Walking is the best way to see the heart of Kashan: the historic centre is compact, and the traditional houses, the bazaar and the Agha Bozorg Mosque all sit within easy walking distance of one another, so you can plan a loop through the old streets without any transport at all. Time those walks for the morning or evening — summers are very hot and dry, winter and early-spring evenings are cool, and many shops, bazaar stalls and offices close for several hours in the middle of the day. For anything beyond the centre, taxis are your main option, whether to the Fin Garden, the train station on the eastern fringe, or the bus terminal some distance from the centre; for sights further outside the city, consider hiring a taxi for the outing. Ride-hailing apps show fixed prices and save you from bargaining. Kashan has no metro or tram, and the source describes no local bus network in detail, so short trips come down to walking and taxis. Note that international Visa and Mastercard do not work in Iran, so bring cash in good condition and exchange it at official exchange offices in the city centre rather than with street money changers. English is often spoken in tourist hotels and museums but less so in the bazaar or in taxis, so an offline translator or a few basic phrases will help.Where to stay
Kashan is a small town where the tourism infrastructure is not yet fully developed, so reserve your accommodation well in advance if you're travelling in the tourism season. In high season, locals also offer private rooms.
- Noghli House – a traditional house arranged around a courtyard, with double en-suite and double shared-bathroom rooms.
- Sayyah Hotel – on Abazar street, with double rooms available with or without a shower in the room, breakfast included.
- Hostel Green House – on Emam Khomeini St near Emam Khomeini Sq, behind the Al-e Yasin (Melal) Historic House, with twin rooms and dorm beds.
- Golchehregan Guesthouse – at Motahhari Square, a short walk from the Bazaar's Eastern Entrance, offering extremely small rooms with concrete floors.
- Puppet Museum Hostel – a museum and academic passion project as well as a place to stay, occupying the former house of Qajar-era poet and cleric Jafar Allameh Feizi. It has seven traditionally decorated rooms, all leading into a courtyard.
For something more comfortable, Ehsan House near Kamal-ol-Molk Square was Kashan's first traditional house converted into a hotel, with a courtyard, free Wifi and breakfast, and a mix of rooms where you sleep on the floor and rooms with beds; it's popular, so book at least a day ahead. Manouchehri House, close to the Bazaar, is a traditional boutique hotel with an atmospheric interior and an inner courtyard with a water basin for an afternoon's relaxation; it is often booked out, so reserve ahead. Amir Kabir Hotel is another option. At the premium end, Mahinestan Raheb Traditional Hotel is a traditional house remodelled into a hotel, and the Iranian House Hotel (Kane Irani) near Kamal-ul-molk Sq is a boutique hotel.
Food & drink
Kashan eats Persian, and mostly Persian only. The traditional hotels around town all run decent restaurants for lunch and dinner, and you'll find further traditional restaurants near the main sights. Several garden restaurants line the road beside Fin Garden, and fast food shops turn up on every busier street if you want something quick.
- Mozaffari Restaurant, off Alavi Street opposite the Tabatabaei residence — a traditional place serving kebabs and other Iranian dishes, decorated with carpets and a pond beneath a very high ceiling.
- Manouchehri House, on Mohtasham Street — a small restaurant attached to a boutique hotel, overlooking an inner courtyard with a fountain. The menu changes daily and aims higher than the standard Iranian fare, with better service and higher prices to match; a good choice if you've tired of the usual dishes.
- Abbasi Tea House & Traditional Restaurant, off Alavi Street on Fazel Naraghi Street, part of the Abbasi traditional house — kebabs and other Iranian dishes, carpets and a pond, and an intricately worked wooden ceiling worth looking up at. Some menu items carry no prices, so ask before ordering.
What to see and do
Start with the traditional bazaar, whose mudbrick architecture is one of the jewels of the city; walk the neighbouring streets afterwards to catch the feeling of an Iranian town on the fringe of the desert. Within the bazaar you can climb to the roof for a view over the old city, and visit Timcheh Amin-o-dowleh, a renovated caravanserai that was once part of the complex, where you can take tea and watch the Iranian way of doing business. The historical bathhouse Hammam-e-Khan has been turned into a traditional coffee shop for tea or a shisha, and the restored Sultan Amir Bath is worth seeing for its lighting and its roof. Elsewhere in the city, the Agha Bozorg Mosque, built in the late 18th century, is no longer in use as a mosque though its basement theological school remains active, and the Sultan Amir Shrine is free to enter, with women required to cover with a chador. Plan time for Fin Garden, the oldest garden in Iran and a Persian Paradise Garden that uses waterways to divide the space into four rectangles, and for one or two of the historical houses: Boroujerdi ha Residence, Tabatabaie Residence with its wind towers, stained glass and wall paintings, the Ameri-Ha House, and Abbasian House, now a public museum, with six courtyards and a chamber whose mirrored ceiling suggests a starry sky. If you tire of historical houses, the Puppet and toy museum is a small alternative. Further out are the Sialk Ziggurat, the walled Ghal'eh jalali fortress, and the Abu-Lu'lu'ah Shrine with its turquoise-tiled conical dome. Many travellers treat Kashan as a first stop after Tehran, and it rewards an extra day: the tea houses and gardens encourage you to linger and recharge, and the attractions are best visited without a guide. In the right season, the rose gardens of the suburb are a reason to visit, and day trips reach the historic village of Abyaneh, the fire temple and other sights of Niasar, and the sand dunes, salt lake and caravanserai of the Maranjab desert, which can be combined with the underground city and mud castle near Noushabad.When to go
Kashan has a hot desert climate, with cold winters and very hot, dry summers. Because the city sits at a lower elevation than much of the Iranian Plateau, it is warmer than other cities in the region. In winter, expect chilly days and nights, though conditions are milder here than in other Iranian cities; pack warm layers for sightseeing.
Summer brings intense desert heat, very hot and dry, with strong sun through the day. If you visit in summer, plan your outdoor sightseeing for the early morning or evening and avoid the midday sun.
Three days in Kashan
Day one: Arrive in Kashan and settle into the area around Emam Khomeini St and Emam Khomeini Sq, where you can find places to stay such as Noghli House, Sayyah Hotel, Abazar, Hostel Green House, Al, Yasin and Melal. Spend your first afternoon walking the streets of the Central District and visiting Agha Bozorg Mosque. In the evening, eat near Emam Khomeini Sq.
Day two: Give the morning to Fin Garden, reached by a short ride from the centre. Return to Kashan for lunch and an unhurried afternoon around the bazaar and the lanes off Emam Khomeini St. Note that Visa and Mastercard are not useful here, so carry cash, and that English is not widely spoken.
Day three: Use Kashan as your base for a longer day out, or move on. Buses run from Kashan Bus Terminal, and from Valiasr Square and Montazeri Square you can reach the South Terminal in Tehran, as well as Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz, Kerman and Mashhad. Kaveh is one operator serving these routes. If you have time before departure, walk once more through the Central District of Kashan County.