7-Day Persia Heritage Tour with Persepolis, Shiraz and Isfahan

After arriving at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) in Tehran, our representative will meet and greet you at the airport. You will then be transferred to your hotel to rest.

Visit the World Heritage Site of the lavish Golestan Palace. Built during the Qajar Dynasty, which rose to power in the late 1700s, this fabulous walled complex is centred on a landscaped garden with tranquil pools. Many of the elements you admire today date back to the 19th century, when local Qajari architects and artisans sought to integrate traditional Persian style with Western and Russian elements. The palace buildings are among the oldest in modern Tehran and are still regarded as a crowning achievement of the Qajar era.

Then, walk around Tehran Bazaar.

Visit the National Museum of Iran and see fabulous historical items dating from 5000 BC to the advent of Islam in Iran, offering a brief history of our land.

Explore the Carpet Museum of Iran, home to a dazzling collection of Persian carpets gathered from around the country and representing centuries of extraordinary art and skill.

Late in the afternoon, we will fly to Shiraz.

After breakfast, you will visit Nasir-al-Mulk Mosque (Pink Mosque), just a few steps away from Vakil Bazaar. Built by order of one of the lords of the Qajar Dynasty, Mirza Hasan 'Ali Nasir-al-Mulk, it took 12 years to complete and was finished in 1888. Its interior reveals a magnificent masterpiece of design with stunning colours. This is a space where light and worship intertwine.

The mosque comes to life at sunrise, and colours dance throughout the day like whirling dervishes. Light reflects on the ground, walls, arches, and towering spires. It even reflects on the visitors, as if a colourful ball were struck by the first ray of sun and exploded into thousands of butterflies all around.

Then, you will visit the Karim Khan Citadel from the outside, which was built during the Zand Dynasty.

You will have time to explore and shop in the bustling Vakil Bazaar, home to hundreds of stores, beautiful courtyards, and even an ancient caravanserai.

After that, you will visit the lovely garden tomb of Hafez, one of our most outstanding poets, to feel the taste of Persian literature. Hafez is one of the great poets who impressed everyone with his mastery. His poems give us a special feeling, and the peace at his tomb is truly outstanding.

We have a full day of driving today to reach our destination of Isfahan.

We will make some stops along the way to visit the legendary city of Persepolis, the former capital of Darius the Great, founded in 512 BC.

Drive a couple of miles to Naqsh-e-Rustam, the necropolis where Darius and his successors are buried.

Then, visit Pasargadae, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the tomb of Cyrus the Great and the former capital of the Achaemenid Empire. We will spend some time exploring the site, and though it is not as striking as Persepolis, there is a great viewpoint where we can look over the site and the surrounding area.

Continue to Isfahan and check in to our hotel.

Your exploration starts in Imam Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This 17th-century site is one of the largest public spaces in the world. Here, you will visit the 17th-century Shah Mosque, revered as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture and easily recognised by its magnificent tile work, soaring cupola, and minarets.

You will also visit Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, also known as the Ladies Mosque, as it was built for the Shah's harem. It is renowned for its brightly coloured domed ceiling, where the light creates the image of a peacock.

In Ali Qapu Palace, you will marvel at its beautiful music rooms and the balconies where Safavid kings would sit to enjoy the polo matches unfolding in the square below.

You will end your exploration of the square by visiting Qeisarieh Bazaar. With hundreds of local vendors specialising in traditional arts and crafts, it is a wonderful place to shop for pottery, enamel, jewellery, and delicately inlaid board games.

Next is Chehel Sotun Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Set in a landscaped and forested park in front of a tranquil reflecting pool, this graceful pavilion was built by Shah Abbas II for entertainment and court receptions. Entering through a portico with twenty slender wooden columns, you will discover soaring halls embellished with frescoes, paintings, and mosaics. The Hall of Mirrors is especially breathtaking.

Leaving Isfahan behind, we will travel north to Kashan, a town originally famous for its textiles and ceramic production, but now better known for Fin Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fin Garden is our first stop, a relaxing and visually impressive Persian garden with water channels all passing through a central pavilion.

There is also the chance to buy some rose water, a local specialty, outside the site.

Then, you will visit Boroujerdi Traditional House. It was built about 130 years ago during the reign of the Qajar dynasty, in 1857, by the famous Iranian architect Ustad Ali Maryam. The owner was Haj Seyed Hasan Natanzi, a well-known merchant who mostly dealt with people from Boroujerd city. That is why the house is known as Boroujerd's House.

Our representative will transfer you to Imam Khomeini International Airport according to your flight time.