City guides
City guides for Iranian travellers
Twenty cities Iranians travel to most, each with the best areas to stay, the places worth your time, how to get around, what the trip costs a day, and the advice travellers from many countries repeat, written for Iranian visitors.
Turkey
Istanbul
A huge, busy city split by the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia, with Ottoman palaces, grand mosques, old bazaars and cheap public ferries. Most sights sit close together in the old city, but the city is hilly and traffic is heavy, so trams, metro and ferries are the easiest way to move. It is easy for Iranian families: food is halal almost everywhere and many shops and hotels are used to Iranian guests.
from US$55 a day
Georgia
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is a hilly, easygoing capital on the Mtkvari river, with an old town of wooden balconies, sulphur baths and a fortress above it. It is close to Iran, friendly to visitors and cheaper than most of Europe, so it works well for a first trip abroad or a short family break.
from US$40 a day
Armenia
Yerevan
Yerevan is a compact, friendly capital built of pink stone, with wide avenues, open-air cafes and Mount Ararat on the skyline on clear days. It is close to Iran by road, cheap, safe and easy for families, and most sights are a short walk or taxi ride apart.
from US$40 a day
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is a green, humid, modern city where Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures live side by side, with huge malls, cheap tasty food and easy halal options. It is good value, English is widely spoken, and a large Iranian community makes it feel familiar.
from US$40 a day
Thailand
Bangkok
Bangkok is a huge, busy and hot city of golden temples, river boats, giant malls and street food on every corner. It is cheap and full of things to do, with good trains above the traffic, but it needs some care with halal food, scams and the heat.
from US$40 a day
Oman
Muscat
Muscat is a calm, clean capital stretched along the sea between bare rocky mountains, with low white buildings, an old covered souq and easy beaches. It suits families and older travellers who want a relaxed trip, short taxi rides and a culture that feels close to home.
from US$70 a day
Turkey
Antalya
Turkey's main beach city on the Mediterranean, with a walled old town, long beaches, waterfalls and Roman ruins close by, under a wall of mountains. Most visitors split their time between the beach (Lara, Konyaaltı or a resort town) and short trips to old sites. It is warm from April to October and very hot in July and August.
from US$50 a day
Turkey
Van
A compact city in eastern Turkey on the shore of Lake Van, close to the Iranian border, known for its huge breakfasts, an ancient Urartian fortress and the church on Akdamar Island. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians come each year, mostly overland, for short holidays and shopping, so many shops have Persian signs and staff who speak some Persian. It sits high in the mountains: summers are mild and winters are very cold.
from US$35 a day
Georgia
Batumi
Batumi is Georgia's Black Sea resort, with a long seaside boulevard, a pretty old quarter and a skyline of new towers against green mountains. Summer is for the beach and evening walks by the sea; the rest of the year it is quiet, green and often rainy.
from US$45 a day
Russia
Moscow
Moscow is a huge, grand capital of wide avenues, onion domes, palace-like metro stations and big parks, with Red Square and the Kremlin at its heart. It is clean and well organised, but visitors must plan ahead: foreign bank cards do not work and many internet services are limited.
from US$70 a day
Qatar
Doha
Doha is a compact, modern Gulf capital built around a curved seafront, with world-class museums, a rebuilt old souq and new districts of towers and marinas. It is very safe, clean and easy with a metro, but hot for much of the year and fairly expensive.
from US$80 a day
Thailand
Phuket
Phuket is Thailand's largest island, with long sandy beaches on the west coast, a colourful old town in the middle and boat trips to tall limestone islands nearby. It is easy for families and first-time travellers, but the island is bigger than it looks, so moving between beaches takes time and money.
from US$45 a day
China
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is a huge, modern trading city on the Pearl River in south China, known for its wholesale markets, the twice-yearly Canton Fair and some of the best food in China. It is safe, clean and easy to move around by metro, but daily life runs on phone payments and Chinese apps, so a little preparation before you fly makes a big difference.
from US$50 a day
India
Delhi
Delhi is India's huge, noisy and fascinating capital, where Mughal forts and tombs with Persian inscriptions sit beside wide British-era avenues and modern malls. It rewards patience: the sights are world class and food is cheap, but traffic, crowds, touts and winter smog can wear visitors out, so a calm plan matters.
from US$35 a day
Canada
Toronto
Toronto is Canada's biggest city, a clean and safe lakeside metropolis where nearly half the people were born abroad and neighbourhoods feel like small countries. For Iranians it is also home to one of the largest Persian communities outside Iran, centred on Yonge Street in North York. Prices are high and winters are cold, but public transport is easy and the city is very family friendly.
from US$110 a day
United Kingdom
London
London is a huge, busy capital with world famous museums, royal sights and big parks, and many of its best museums are free. It is easy to get around by Tube and bus, but distances are long and the city is expensive, so plan each day around one area. A large Persian-speaking community means Persian food and help in your own language are never far away.
from US$110 a day
France
Paris
Paris is a compact, very walkable city of grand boulevards, riverside views, great museums and cafes on every corner. The big sights are crowded and need tickets booked ahead, but simply walking the old neighbourhoods and parks costs nothing. The metro is fast but full of stairs, so older travellers and families with prams should mix it with buses and walking.
from US$95 a day
Germany
Frankfurt
Frankfurt is a compact, practical city where glass skyscrapers stand next to a rebuilt old town square and a calm riverside full of museums. Most visitors pass through its huge airport, and many Iranians come to see family in the wider Frankfurt and Hesse region. Two or three days are enough for the city, and fast trains make easy day trips to Heidelberg and the Rhine valley.
from US$85 a day
Austria
Vienna
Vienna is an elegant, calm and very safe capital of imperial palaces, grand museums, coffee houses and parks. Public transport is excellent and step-free, the old centre is flat and walkable, and the city feels relaxed even for first-time travellers and older relatives. It is also a comfortable base for day trips to the Danube valley and Bratislava.
from US$80 a day
Turkey
Ankara
Turkey's capital is a calm, modern government city on a high plateau, with wide avenues, good metro lines and fewer tourists than Istanbul. Its highlights are Atatürk's mausoleum, one of the world's best museums of ancient Anatolia and the old citadel quarter. Many Iranians come for embassy or visa appointments, and it works well as a quiet two or three day stop.
from US$45 a day
Updated 7 November 2026