Many budget travelers often overlook spending a day in Tehran to explore and do time outing like locals. Tehran as the capital of Iran is the 3rd most populous metropolitan in the middle east which has a lot to offer for sightseeing.
importantly this city is a mix of past and present that gives tourists and visitors a chance to visit the old and modernism of Tehran.
Tehran is home to Persian art and architectures, eye-catching palaces, royal gardens, delightful museums, shopping, and culinary hubs and etc.
The best seasons for visiting Tehran are from March-June and November-December. we will tell you how to day-out in Tehran by only 50 Euros, and plan out your journey in 5 minutes by reading this text.
Spark off your day in the center of the city!
Apochi recommends and lists hotels and accommodations around tourism hubs to make things easy and affordable for you to get started your day-out from the central spot:
Arian Hostel in Amir Kabir St, The 3 star Eskan Forsat hotel near Ferdowsi Sq., Mashhad hotel in Mofateh Avenue, and Ferdowsi Grand Hotel in Ferdowsi St near to Imam Khomeini St.
Doubtless, Tehran has endless activities, landmarks, and attractions which takes entire a week to visit, we are going to introduce the scheduled routes and attractions to visit the main Tehran’s highlights in one day by only 50 Euros.
Morning
1- Royal Citadel of Tehran (Golestan Palace, Old Grand Bazaar of Tehran, Mashq Square).
Golestan Palace: for going to the palace you can take a public taxi or catching an online cap application which is called ‘Snap’ or ‘Tapsi’. the fares vary between 9 cents to 1.5 Euro from the center to the palace. Golestan palace opens at 9 Am and closes at 5 pm.
Fortunately, around the Royal Citadel and Golestan Palace are walk able areas to make you easy access.
Golestan means paradise and Golestan Palace which is located in Royal Citadel is the UNESCO site and one of the most beautiful palaces of Tehran. the Palace became the royal residential and political center of Qajar Kings in 1786, over 135 years.
All constructions of this palace are the unique treasures of Persian arts and architecture of that era. This palace opened to the public in 1977 and has several halls.
Marble Throne 
Greeting Hall
The popular ones are Greeting and Mirror Hall, Marble Throne, Karim Khan Nook, Royal Garden, Palace of Sun (Shams Alemare or clock tower), and Wind Cather Palace. This palace is one of the top and must-visited in Iran.
| Entrance fee | Marble Throne | Greeting Hall | Palace of Sun | Wind Cather palace | Total price |
| 3 Euros | 1.5 Euros | 3 Euros | 1.5 Euros | 1.5 Euros | 10.5 Euros |
One hour a half would be enough for visiting Golestan palace. The best option after visiting the Golestan palace is walking toward to old grand bazaar which takes only 3 minutes walking from the palace.
Now it’s time to splash out!
2-Grand Bazaar of Tehran:
Grand Bazaar of Tehran is one of the economic lifelines of Iran which dates back to the Qajar era. it is a good place for shopping lovers to find numerous shops with various products.
the grand bazaar is ornamented with historical texture and traditional architecture which is very charming to international tourists.
the bazaar consists of many entrances, corridors, narrow and twisted passages, mosques, restaurants, tea house end etc., which has many sub-markets.
fruit market place, nuts and dried fruits, copper smith market, carpet market, gold and watch market, shoes market, perfume and cosmetic market (Marvi alley), mercer market, garment market, home appliance market, etc,
Products in bazaar are sold cheaper than other shopping malls in Tehran and you can buy the best quality of saffron and pistachio as souvenirs.
Per kilo of pistachio and saffron costs 14.5 and 5 Euro respectively.
Now its tea time!
After wandering through the bazaar it’s time to fill up your fuel with a hot and fragrance hearty tea!
3-HajAli Darvish Tea House:
HajAli Darvish Tea House is entitled to the smallest tea houses in the world because it is less than 2 square meters and one of the cool attractions of Tehran grand bazaar.
This cozy tea house is a small business family that has been inheriting generation to next generation over 100 years. The owner of tea house is hosting you open-heartily and warm welcoming. If you go there, should not miss out on its love tea (saffron + mint). This tea is actually served with a candy of saffron flavor.
| Classic tea | Cinnamon tea | Love tea(saffron + mint) | Mint tea |
| 3 cent | 3 cent | 3 cent | 3 cent |
HajAli Darvish Tea House is located in Zargar bazaar (gold market) and from the beginning of the main entrance gate after 5 minutes of passing some corridors you will reach to plaque 78 where the tea house is. No trouble to find it, google map directs you to a tea house or if you ask anyone, they will lead you to the address.
After refreshing, let’s move off to the oldest landmark of Tehran, which is known as ‘Sardar e Bagh Meli’ (National Garden Gate) in ‘Mashq Square’ (parade square).
Now it’s time to sightseeing!
after wandering in bazaar, the next place to visit is other parts of the old Tehran.
get out of bazaar, turn left toward Golestan Palace, follow your way to go straight to Bab Homayoon Street.
If you continue your way, you will reach’ Imam Khomeini Square’.
on your way, you will see the building of Tehran’s radio, Arg Mosque and courthouse of Tehran, the neoclassic building which was built in 1946 by the Pahlavi the first, Reza Shah. After passing Bab Homayoon St, you will get to Imam Khomeini Square, the circular square which is one of the main gathering points for public events and military exercise in the Qajar era.
Sardar e Bagh Meli (National Garden Gate) is located at the north of Imam Khomeini square in Imam Khomeini St, exactly at the entrance gate of the Square (parade square).
4-Sardar e Bagh Melli (National Garden Gate) & Mashq Square (Parade Square):
Sardar e Bagh Melli (National Garden Gate) is the first landmark of Tehran, that it is exactly erected at the entrance of the Mashq square.
Mashq Square (Parade Square) is a historical quadrilateral square that was built by the second king of Qajar, Fath Ali Shah, to parade and military exercises.
the square is a place where some important historical events had been taken place there , such as:
the landing of the first airplane, the first balloon flight, and hanging of Mirza Reza Kermani the murder of Qajar King, Naseredin Shah.
this square as one of the largest pedestrian area of Tehran, placed many popular buildings like Post and Telecommunication Museum, Palace of Foreign Minister Affairs, Malik National Museum and Library (museum of books and calligraphy) and National Museum of Iran (museum of ancient Iran).
after spending out there, Apochi suggests walking along side this square to get 30 Tir street . to get there, it takes 3 minutes walking.
Midday
Now it’s yummy time!
Now it’s time for refreshing after an amazing excursion in Old Tehran, to branch out your day, let’s have a mouth-watering meal in delicious hangout of Tehran!
5- 30/Si Tir Street:
From Bagh e Meli Gatwaye turn right and walk on the length of Imam Khomeini Street, after 2 minutes you will get to 30 Tir Street. Across the 30 Tir and Imam Khomeini Street, there is the Museum of Ancient Iran. 30 Tir St, is a street food that covered with cobble stones and lined food stands that functionally is as a culinary hub of Tehran. The colorful moving food stands, various types of foods with different smells of savories, crave you to grab a bite to eat and drink. Nobody gets hungry back from 30 Tir St!
Walking on 30 Tir St is like strolling the passage of time.
30 Tir is entitled to passage of religions because it placed:
Muslim Mosque, San Peter Church, Hayyem Synagogue and Azar-Bahram Fire Temple of Zoroastrians near to each other.
Let’s grab a bite to eat
keep having your main dishes in wonderful and nostalgic café of Tehran on 30 Tir St, Gol Rezaieh Café, For having a delightful meal in 30 Tir St, but before that, it is a good idea to grab a small snack for an appetizer from the food stands.
For having a small snack in 30 Tir St, costs you between 1 to 1.5 Euro!
6-Gol- Rezaieh Café& Restaurant:
Walk up 30 Tir Street, after 3 minutes you will get to Gol-Rezaieh Café on the left side of the street and the opposite side of the Café, there is an imposing building of ‘Abgineh Museum’. Gol-Rezaieh Café is the second oldest café and restaurant after ‘Naderi Café’ in Tehran which has opened since 1931.
This cafe is one of the retained elements, which is indeed nostalgia for Tehran. The café maintained its old interior decoration and exterior texture. Its walls from up to down are covered with photos and pictures of global celebrities and artists of that era in 20 centuries like Charlee Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Lenin, Fidel Castro, Elvis Presley, Queen Music Band, etc. Gol-Rezaieh Café was the hangout of Iranian literates and penman as well like Sadeq Hedayat and Forogh Farokhzad. Although it’s a small café, it serves a wide range of both international and Persian cuisines. The foods prices are between 3 to 7 Euros.
Save your energy, now it’s time for a short excursion in the history of ancient Iran!
After having your meal, Apochi suggests walking down back to the south of 30 Tir Street, where the Museum of Ancient Iran is located there.
7- National Museum of Iran (Ancient Museum of Iran):
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Ancient museum of Iran, which is considered as the mother museum, was built in 1939 by a famous French architect- Andre Godard- who was profoundly inspired by ancient Iranian architecture. In this museum, per-Islamic works of art have been displayed. Another museum was built later on the premise of the Ancient Museum of Iran, in which a collection of Islamic arts is kept. In this latter building, tourists can enjoy visiting works being made during the early Islamic era until the end of the Qajar Dynasty.
It is estimated that 1 hour and half could be enough for visiting two museums. The admission fee at museums is only 6.5 Euro!
Evening
Now it’s time to chill out!
After spending an amazing day in the eyefuls of old Tehran, it’s time to have fun and view watching!
The best choice is skipping from the south of Tehran to the north, but how?
Your next destination is Darband!
8-Darband:
Darband means a gateway or door to a mountain, and it’s the beginning of a hiking trail to Mount Tochal .it is also a popular weekend destination for Iranians, who go there to relax and to escape from the fast pace of life. Furthermore, there is a river, along which many restaurants, cafés, hookah lounges, and local dried fruit shops are settled.
To go to Darband you need to first go to Tajrish square. There are some ways to reach Tajrish square: you can go by metro from Imam Khomeini station to Tajrish station and then you have to ask for a shared taxi or private taxi to Darband Square, but Tehran’s metro is too hustle and bustle that makes you exhausted through the long-distance, so the best means of commuting is taking a private taxi or using online cap applications – which are either ‘Snap’ or ‘Tapsi’ platforms. The added benefit is that private taxis and online caps will drop you off directly in Darband Square. The fare costs between 2 to 2.5 Euros.
If you go on a private taxi, the tourist price may be 5 times more, so be careful not to pay more than 2.5 Euros!
When you get to Darband, if you are not in the mood of hiking, you can get a chair lift for round trip which costs 2 Euro. you can wrap up and end the day-trip by enjoying the spectacular bird’s-eye view of the city, Tehran. And you may feel as if you were walking above Tehran.
| Taxi from center to Golestan Palace | 2.5 Euros |
| Golestan palaces | 10.5 Euros |
| Buying pistachio and saffron | 19.5 Euros |
| Haj Ali Darvish Tea | 3 cents |
| Appetizer | 1.5 Euros |
| Meal in Gol Rezaieh Café | 7 Euros |
| National Museum of Iran | 6.5 Euros |
| Taxi from National Museum to Darband Square | 2.5 Euros |
| Chair lift | 2 Euros |
| Total costs | 49.8 Euros |
one day tour in Tehran by Apochi
for having more convenience and saving up your time, you can account on us!
Excursion in Tehran with endless activities to do, various places to see and many interesting stories to listen would be more charming and pleasant to you to be accompanied with our professional local guide in Tehran.
Apochi Team are 24h available to make an unforgettable tour for you in Tehran. if you are interested in exploring Tehran deeply , Apochi offers you a one day- tour package in Tehran which follows the routes and attractions that are mentioned in this article.
our package includes:
bilingual driver- guide,
Hotel pick up and transfer,
entrance fees,
meal and branches .
the excursion starts at 9 Am and our professional local guide picks you up from the hotel, and then in the end the tour finishes at 7 Pm by dropping you off at the hotel.
this tour costs 30 Euros.
if you would like to book this tour or the other tailor-made by yours, please send us an email to [email protected]
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