Walk through tile-lined courtyards where poets sought wisdom
Step into Shah Cheragh and you enter the holiest place in Shiraz—a funerary monument and mosque housing the tomb of Seyed Amir Ahmad, brother of Imam Reza, who arrived in the city in the 8th century. The exquisite mirror work and beautiful silver doors are the work of Shiraz masters. A small museum inside displays about 30 rare and ancient Qur'an books. The visit is free, and a guided tour costs nothing. Before you leave, walk the old quarters nearby: pass through the Atigh Jame' Mosque, founded in 894 and still standing, or pause at the Sayyed Alaeddin Hossein Mosque, where intricate mirror mosaics and coloured glass cover the walls and ceilings. Both offer free entrance and free guided tours.
Stand in Karim Khan's military palace turned architectural showpiece
The Arg of Karim Khan combines military and residential design in a single structure—once a prison, now an architectural exhibition. Tile works depicting legendary tales line the entrance gate, added during the Qajar period. The building opens daily from 08:00 to 21:00 and costs 200,000 rials to enter. Nearby, the Vakil Mosque, built between 1751 and 1773 during the Zand period, displays exuberant floral decorative tiles added when it was restored in the 19th century during the Qajar era. Entry is 150,000 rials.
Witness the play of coloured glass in morning light at the pink mosque
The Nasir al-Mulk Mosque earns its nickname from the extensively colored glass in its façade, combined with traditional elements such as panj kāseh-i (five concaves) in its design. It opens from 08:00–11:30 and 14:30–17:00. Visit before 10:00 to see the beautiful mosaic glasses lit up by the background sun, a sight that has made this one of the most photographed mosques in southern Iran. The entry fee is 300,000 rials.
Navigate bazaars stocked with centuries of craft and trade
Bazaar-e Vakil sprawls as a huge ancient marketplace specializing in fine carpets, textiles, antiques, handicrafts, and spices. Hundreds of vendors occupy caravanserais, bath houses, and old shops. A wonderful courtyard with a pool sits at the heart of the bazaar, perfect for photographs and rest. Just outside, Saray-e-Moshir functions as a caravanserai at the south entrance of Bazaar Vakil and now exhibits Iranian handicrafts. The Vakil Bath, an old public bath nearby, has been remodeled into a museum of waxworks and is open from 08:00 to 17:30 for 150,000 rials. Walk these passages and you move through the same routes merchants have followed for over a thousand years.
Visit the tombs of the two greatest poets and trace their influence on the city
Hafez, master of Persian lyric poetry in the 14th century, was born, lived, and died in Shiraz. His mausoleum sits in a garden bearing his name in the northeast part of the city, rebuilt in the early 1950s. A flight of stone steps reaches the tomb under a tiled cupola resembling a dervish's hat, and his tombstone is inscribed with two of his poems. Visitors follow the centuries-old custom of taking omens by picking a page at random from a volume of Hafez kept for this purpose. The mausoleum is open from 08:00 to 22:00 and costs 500,000 rials. Saadi, another of Iran's greatest poets, is buried at the Saadi Tomb, rebuilt in the early 1950s and marked by a porch with tall columns of pinkish marble. Entry is 200,000 rials. Both sites remain places of pilgrimage for lovers of poetry and literature.
Climb stone stairways and walk gardens from the Qur'an Gate to the city's edge
The Qur'an Gate, the city's main entrance, was originally built as an ornamental decoration by the Buyids about 1000 years ago. The structure was replaced 60 years ago with a design that has won numerous awards and is considered one of the finest architectural designs in Iran. Stone stairways lead upward to picturesque and panoramic views of Shiraz. Hidden in the alleys on the hill-side are restaurants serving chelo kabob, and the gate functions as an excellent place for picnics and photographs. The tomb of Khajooyeh Kermanee, a famous poet, sits nearby and costs 115,000 rials to enter. Further into the northern parts near Baba Kuhi and Chehel Maqam mountains, the Baba Kuhi Tomb sits atop a mountain overlooking the city and offers free entrance. Gahvareh Did, also on Haft Tanan Boulevard, serves as a fantastic observation point; climbing up 800 steps rewards you with impressive overviews of Shiraz, or ask a guard at the gate for a ride up the hill. Even further up the road stands the Mortaz Ali well, offering an even more impressive overview if there is no smog.
Step into the refined domestic world of 19th-century Shiraz merchant families
The Narenjestan Ghavam (Qavam House), built in the mid-to-late 19th century by Mirza Ibrahim Khan, preserves the elegance and refinement enjoyed by upper-class families. The mirrored porch overlooks gardens lined with date palms and flowers, and the house now operates as a museum open to the public for 200,000 rials. Next door, the Khan-e Zinat ol-Molk House is a historical house with adjoining gardens—it was once connected to Narenjestan Ghavam by an underground tunnel. Now it functions as a separate museum housing the Fars History museum in its basement, with entry at 150,000 rials. The Pars Museum, open from 08:00 to 13:30 and 14:30 to 17:30, displays its pavilion as the place where royal guests were hosted during the Zand dynasty and where official ceremonies were held. It later became the burial place of Karim Khan Zand and now exhibits 30 handwritten Qurans and paintings of Persian artists.
Walk through gardens where flowers and fruit trees define the city itself
Eram Garden, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, contains a vast network of gardens, a colorful palace, and a system of small artificial rivers flowing throughout the entire area. It houses wonderful flora and opens from 08:00 to 17:00. Afif abad Garden contains a former royal mansion, a historical weapons museum, and a Persian garden counted among the oldest in Shiraz, all open to the public. Delgosha Garden offers a walk through an old garden with flowers and bitter orange trees. These spaces embody Shiraz's identity as a city of gardens.
Understand the layers: ancient quarters, sacred shrines, and living craft traditions
The Armenian Church, a 17th-century structure from the Safavid era, stands as a reminder of Shiraz's historically diverse communities. The Ali Ibn Hamzeh Holly Shrine, built over the shrine of Emir Ali—a nephew of Shah Cheragh—features richly-ornamented interiors with marble and mirror mosaics and offers free entrance with a free guided tour. The Haft Tanan Museum on Haft Tanan Boulevard is a mausoleum housing seven Sufi mystics and a museum of stones collected from historical sites in Fars province, open from 08:00 to 19:30 for 60,000 rials. The Khan school on Lotf Ali Khan Zand Street has been fully reconstructed, preserving only its original façade. These sites and others map the religious, cultural, and architectural heritage that shaped Shiraz over centuries.
Venture to the ancient city of Bishapur, 140 kilometres west
A day trip to the ancient city of Bishapur extends your understanding of the region's historical depth beyond Shiraz's walls.
Shiraz has drawn travelers for over a thousand years as a regional trade center. Its reputation as a city of poets, literature, and flowers rests on real foundations—the gardens still grow, the tombs of Hafez and Saadi still draw pilgrims, and the bazaars still overflow with carpets and handicrafts made by the same hands and methods that have filled them for centuries. Begin planning your visit by deciding which month suits you, then map the old quarters and northern sites into a day's walk, leaving time to sit in a garden or wander the Bazaar-e Vakil without hurrying.