Stand at the foot of the Azadi Tower and the traffic of Azadi Square moves around you in wide, unbroken loops, with the Alborz mountains holding the northern edge of the city behind the rooftops. Tehran is a capital you read in layers: a Qajar palace complex beside a covered bazaar, a Pahlavi summer retreat in the cool hills of Shemiran, and a tower built to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire.
The city suits travellers who are comfortable with scale and with planning ahead, since several of the best-known sights sit far apart and some tickets need to be arranged in advance. This guide covers the monuments, palaces and museums named in the source material, with practical notes on what to combine and when to go.
Top things to do in Tehran
1. Golestan Palace
The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, this Qajar royal residence is a complex of 17 palaces, museums and halls, and its garden is an oasis of coolness and peace in the heart of the city. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013, and the one-story pavilion to the right of the entrance shelters one of the best organized museums in Tehran, with around thirty showcases presenting material from across the provinces.
Allow plenty of time and budget carefully: admission to the gardens is 150,000 rials, the main buildings and some less important rooms cost 300,000 rials, and other buildings and museums are 80,000 rials each, so visiting everything can exceed 1 million rials. It is open 09:00 to 18:00, with museums closing at 17:00, and the nearest metro stop is Panzdah-e-Khordad, about 300 m away.
2. Saadabad Palace
A palace complex built by the Pahlavi dynasty in the Shemiran area of Tehran, first inhabited by Qajar monarchs and the royal family in the 19th century. Parts of the compound are museums where you can look through the country's history, among them the Fine Arts Museum, the Mir Emad Calligraphy Museum, the Ethnological Research Museum, the Iranian National Museum of War, the Green Museum, the Water Museum, the Vessels Museum, the Dafineh Museum, the Natural History Museum and several miniature painting museums.
Entrance to the park is free, but you must purchase all the tickets for the museums you want to visit beforehand at the gate. It can be reached on foot from Tajrish Square by walking up Sa'dabad St., turning left on Afraz St., right at the next intersection down Javdan St., right again, and continuing to the end of Taheri St. where the south gate is; be careful of traffic while walking there.
3. Niavaran Palace
A historical complex of several buildings and a museum that includes the Saheb-Qaranieh Palace from the time of Naser al-Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty, along with the Jahan Nama Museum and the Cinema Museum. It sits in the north of the city, reached from Tajrish Metro Station by taxi from Tajrish Square — ask to be dropped at Niavaran Square, and expect a "dar baste" taxi to cost 20,000–30,000 rials.
On leaving, a cheaper option than the taxis at the front gate is the municipal bus that terminates at Tajrish Square; look for a bus stop on Niavaran St. close to a branch of the Refah Bank.
4. Azadi Tower
The longstanding symbol of Tehran, constructed to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire and combining elements of Sassanid and Islamic architecture. The entrance is directly underneath the main vault and leads into the Azadi Museum on the basement floor. The nearest metro station is Azadi Square.
Do not sit on the grass: officers chase away people who do.
5. Azadi Museum
Located under the Azadi Tower, this museum is the natural companion to the tower itself and is reached through the same entrance beneath the main vault. Pair the two in a single stop, since the museum sits on the basement floor of the monument and the metro station serves both.
6. Milad Tower
A tower visible from almost everywhere in Tehran, with two viewing decks: an indoor sky dome at 305 m costing 350,000 rials and an outdoor viewing deck at 250 m costing 120,000 rials. There are several restaurants in and around the tower, and a mediocre art gallery.
Tickets to enter the observation lounge must be reserved well in advance, so arrange this before you plan the rest of your day. It is reachable from Metro Tarasht to the northeast or Metro Hemmat to the west.
7. Treasury of the National Jewels
Housed on Ferdosi St near the corner of Jomhuriyeh Eslami Ave, this is one of the city's central museum collections. It is well placed for combining with the surrounding Ferdosi St area, and the nearest metro stops are Saadi to the northeast and Imam Khomeini, both within a short walk.
8. Takht Marmar (Marble Throne)
A spectacular terrace built in 1806 by order of Fath Ali Shah Qajar, adorned with paintings, marble carvings, tile work, stucco, mirrors, enamel, woodcarvings and lattice windows. The throne itself, set in the middle of the terrace, is made of the famous yellow marble of Yazd province, and the building is one of the oldest of the historic Arg.
It forms part of the Golestan Palace complex, so see it as part of the same visit rather than as a separate trip.
9. Khalvat Karim Khani
A small building that was part of the interior residence of Karim Khan Zand, with a basic structure similar to Takht Marmar but much smaller and far less ornamented. Inside is a small marble throne, and in this quiet corner sits the valuable gravestone of Nasser-ol-Din Shah, carved with an image of the ruler.
Because it is modest in size, it is easy to pass by; look for it while working through the Golestan Palace complex.
10. Talar Berelian (Hall of Brilliance)
Built by Nasser-ol-Din Shah to replace an earlier hall called Talar Bolour, which had been laid waste by damp after being built by Fath Ali Shah. The Hall of Brilliance is known for its mirror work and chandeliers, and it is one of the rooms rebuilt and expanded at Golestan Palace in 1865.
11. Hoze Khaneh
A summer chamber from the Qajar era that used a special cooling system, pumping water from a subterranean system of streams into small ponds inside the chambers. That system is no longer in use, and European paintings are housed here.
Visit it alongside the Negar Khaneh to see the two halves of the palace's painting collections together.
12. Negar Khaneh
The gallery showing the evolution of painting in Iran during the Qajar era, with the works of Iranian painters exhibited in two sections. The southern part houses early Qajar masters including Mirza Baba, Mehr Ali Afshar, Ali Akbar Khan Mozaien-ol-Douleh and Aboul Hassan Sani, who was Kamal-ol-Molk's uncle.
The European paintings are housed separately in the Hoze Khaneh, so plan to see both if painting is your interest.
13. Masoudieh Palace
Built in 1879 for the prince Mass'oud Mirza, son of Nasseredin Shah and governor of Isfahan. It is open 08:00 to 17:00 and admission is 200,000 rials.
14. Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini
On the southern edge of the city near Behesht-e Zahra, this gigantic mausoleum is worth the trip for the sheer size of the shrine and shopping centre alone. Entrance is free, and the nearest metro stop is Haram-e-Motahar, about 300 m to the northwest.
Women can borrow chadors at the entrance, and bags have to be left for free at one of the compound doors, so travel light.
15. Den of Espionage
The former US embassy, stormed by revolutionary students in 1979, is now a museum, with anti-American propaganda paintings decorating the walls of the compound. Despite the official hostility, Iranians in the streets around the former embassy are friendly towards Americans and other foreigners. Admission is 200,000 rials, it closes at 18:30, and the nearest metro station is Taleghani.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at Golestan Palace when it opens at 09:00, working through the gardens and the main buildings, then Takht Marmar, Khalvat Karim Khani, Talar Berelian, Hoze Khaneh and Negar Khaneh inside the same complex. The metro stop Panzdah-e-Khordad is about 300 m away.
Afternoon: Continue to the Treasury of the National Jewels on Ferdosi St near the corner of Jomhuriyeh Eslami Ave, within walking distance of the Saadi and Imam Khomeini metro stops. If time allows, take the metro to Azadi Square for the Azadi Tower and the Azadi Museum beneath it, and remember not to sit on the grass.
Evening: Head north to Milad Tower, where the indoor sky dome and outdoor viewing deck give you the city after dark, and where several restaurants in and around the tower make it a natural place to end the day. Reserve your observation lounge ticket well in advance.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get around Tehran's sights?
The Tehran Metro serves several of the places above, including Azadi Square, Panzdah-e-Khordad for Golestan Palace, Saadi and Imam Khomeini for the Treasury of the National Jewels, Taleghani for the Den of Espionage, and Haram-e-Motahar for the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini. For the northern palaces, taxis from Tajrish Square are the usual approach, and a municipal bus runs back to Tajrish Square from Niavaran Palace.
Which sights need booking or payment in advance?
Tickets to enter the Milad Tower observation lounge must be reserved well in advance. At Saadabad Palace, entrance to the park is free but you must purchase all the museum tickets you want beforehand at the gate.
What should I know before visiting religious sites?
At the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, women can borrow chadors at the entrance and bags have to be left for free at one of the compound doors.
Is Golestan Palace expensive to visit in full?
Admission is 150,000 rials for the gardens, 300,000 rials for the main buildings and some other less important rooms, and 80,000 rials for other buildings and museums. Visiting all of them can come to more than 1 million rials in total.
Decide which palaces and towers matter most to you, check the metro stops against your list, and start planning your days in Tehran around the opening times above.