THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN TABRIZ

Tabriz is the capital of East Azerbaijan province and is the 5th biggest city in Iran, with a population of 1.7 million. If you are traveling to the north of Iran, stop in Tabriz, which is rich in tourist attractions and a good base for day trips to the Babak fort, Kandovan village, and the Urmia Lake as well. Tabriz is the first big city that travelers from Turkey or Armenia pass by. This travel guide provides the necessary information about the best places to visit in Tabriz. 

What you should know about Tabriz

Most people in Tabriz belong to the Azari (Turk) ethnic group and speak Azari (Turkish), not Persian, as their first language. Tabriz is an industrial hub and the center of carpet making. Tabriz is also known as a cultural and intellectual center with prestigious universities. It is the birthplace of renowned poets, politicians, and revolutionaries and enjoys boosting its primary role in many fields. It was the first of many things in Iran:

The first printing house and public library, the first cinema, the first primary school, the first municipality, the first city equipped with the telephone system, the first charity organization, and many other things.

Tabriz served as the capital of several dynasties during the 13th – 16th century. For 50 years (1501-1555), it was the capital of the Safavid dynasty before it was transferred to Qazvin to avoid the threat of the Ottoman Empire.  

Its location made it an important strategic hub for the rule of the regions of the Caucasus until it belonged to Iran.  

Tabriz was the center of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) that created the country’s constitution and parliament. The first Pahlavi ruler, Reza Shah, restricted the usage of the Azerbaijani language and culture when he set off to unify and modernize the country.

After WWII, a short-lived local government (November 1945 – December 1946), called the Azerbaijan People’s Government, was set up as a Soviet puppet state with Tabriz as its capital before the Iranian government retook it. Tabriz was the hotspot of the Islamic revolution’s events and was targeted during the war with Iraq.

People in Tabriz like boosting the greatness of their city and keep on telling it is the best, the safest, the cleanest in the country.

If it is your first time traveling to Iran, read these articles as well:

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Tabriz, the city of carpets

The Tabrizi carpets are especially durable and famous for their figural decorations like four seasons, mosques, and palaces. They often have an ivory background with a motive of a medallion in the middle.

Strolling around the Grand Bazaar and admiring the stunning Persian carpets are one of the best things to do in Tabriz.

What is the best time to go to Tabriz?

The best time to go to Tabriz and the north of Iran is spring to autumn, from May to October. Winter is not ideal for visiting the north because the temperature significantly drops, and there is regular snowfall. Spring and autumn are mild with occasional rain. During the summertime, humidity can be high.

During spring (especially), the surroundings of Tabriz and Urmia turn green with flowers covering the mountain slopes. It is probably the best time to visit Tabriz for the beauty of nature. June is the season of mulberry when you find this delicious fruit in public and private gardens only for a few weeks.

How to go to Tabriz?

By bus: Tabriz has an excellent connection to any major city in Iran. There are direct buses from Tehran, Mashhad, Ardabil, Sanandaj, Qazvin, Rasht, Shiraz, Zanjan, Ahvaz, and Mashhad.

I traveled to Tabriz from Ardabil, which cost 450 000 Rial (4 hours)

By plane: Tabriz has an international airport connected to several cities (Tehran, Kish, Isfahan, Ahvaz). Domestic flight tickets cost around 40-70 dollars.

You can only book your domestic flight ticket through a local travel agency, like 1st Quest. 

How to get around in Tabriz?

Taxi from the main bus terminal takes you to the center for 300 000 Rial. 

Metro is a great option to avoid traffic jams, especially to Elgoli garden, which is the terminus of metro line 1. However, be aware that the metro stops relatively early for a big city, around 9 pm. 

Otherwise, as anywhere in Iran, taxis are available later at night. Use the Snapp and Tapsi applications or get one in the street (Usually, it is not more than 300 000 rial).

Bus number 104 goes to the main bus terminal from the city center from metro station Shahid Mohaqeqqi. 

Where to change money in Tabriz?

If you are traveling in the north of Iran, you often end up in smaller towns and villages where you do not have the opportunity to change money. And as you know, Iran is a cash country where your international credit cards do not work. In Tabriz, you can easily change money in a safe way. (There are cases when tourists got fake money from random money changers in the street).

Right next to the bazaar, at the beginning of Darya Street, there are plenty of money changers.

Where to sleep in Tabriz?

Darya Guesthouse: close to the Golestan garden, this guesthouse has a perfect location to discover the city. There are dormitories and private rooms with shared or private bathrooms. The receptionist was helpful and gave me plenty of advice about what to visit and how to get there. He even noted the name of stations and places in Farsi to help me.   

There are several guesthouses around and in the street parallel to that (Imam Khomeini street). 

Booking.com is unavailable in Iran, but you can book hotels through 1st quest local travel agency.

The best things to do in Tabriz

1. The Grand Bazaar of Tabriz

The Grand Bazaar is the city’s main attraction, and this was what most attracted me to go to Tabriz, which is said to be one of the world’s best. I had high expectations after the one on Isfahan that was already amazing. Locals still prefer going to traditional bazaars for shopping. With a unique architecture dating back hundreds of years and a pleasant atmosphere, they are often one of the main attractions of a city, where you can find all the precious handicrafts, copper and silverware, miniatures, wood carvings, and carpets of Iran.     

It spreads over 7 km2 with several caravanserais opening up from each side of the main paths. The bazaar is usually divided into sections that display similar products: gold and jewelry, carpets, spice bazaar, copper and leather, household tools, clothes, fruit, and vegetables. 

While the size of a labyrinth of alleys is impressive and the carpet collection is mind-blowing, the bazaar of Isfahan with beautiful Iranian handicrafts and other products of high quality made a bigger impression on me. Still, it is a must-see when you are in Tabriz.

Tip: always bargain, especially as they automatically set a higher price for foreigners. 

Next to the bazaar is the Friday Mosque (Jameh Masjid), along with one of the exit passages with a brick-vaulted interior. However, the mosque has no official opening hours and is often closed. It usually opens after 1 pm. Try to ask when you are around, but it seems that even locals are uncertain about it. 

2. Arg of Tabriz and Imam Khomeini Mosalla

Arg of Tabriz is the remnant of the citadel of Tabriz from the 14th century. Next is a vast modern mosque that overshadows the historic structure and even prevents it from being reconstructed because its foundations were destroyed. They turned the main prayer hall of the 700-year-old mosque into a parking lot that is forbidden according to the Quran.  

It was initially a complex with a mosque, a praying hall, a mausoleum, and a vast courtyard surrounded by a wall. The vault of the iwan exceeded that of the famous Taq Kasra in present-day Iraq. During the war with Russia in the 19th century, barracks and cannon foundries were added to the structure.

3. Churches of Tabriz

There was a significant Armenian community in Tabriz and West and East Azerbaijan provinces. However, many of the Christian community fled abroad, and most churches have closed doors.  

You can see the St. Mary Church from outside, but it will probably be closed. 

4. Poets’ mausoleum

The mausoleum is the burial place of several famous poets, including the most respected Ostad Shahriyar, whose house in Tabriz was converted into a museum and is also open for visitors. The monument is a concrete arch with currently ongoing constructions around, but still an important attraction in Tabriz. 

Entrance fee for foreigners: 100 000 Rial

5. Blue mosque – one of the best places to visit in Tabriz

The mosque constructed in the 15th century got its name after its blue-tiled decoration that was largely damaged during the earthquake of 1773. It took 25 years for the artists to cover the mosque with blue tiles. The mosque was severely damaged by the earthquakes between the 16th-18th century and later looted by local people. 

Opening hours: 9-19 h, occasionally it can close earlier

6. Municipality Palace of Tabriz – the landmark of Tabriz

The City Hall, which now serves as a museum, is one of the most notable buildings in Tabriz because of its Western architecture. Reza Shah Pahlavi ordered the construction with the help of German engineers during the 1930s in the shape of a flying eagle if seen above. The municipality building has a remarkable 31-meter-high clock tower that is now closed to visitors. 

The unique part of the museum is the carpet collection on the first floor, with the largest carpet in Iran (111 m2). But it also displays the adjoining “brother and sister carpets” that were woven with special herbal dye. The carpets are approximately 100 years old, and one depicts political figures and famous figures of Tabriz. 

The museum starts in the basement where you can buy your ticket. The three floors’ different galleries display Tabriz’s first firefighters, historical documents, the martyrs of Tabriz in the Iran-Iraq war in the Holy Defense Hall, and old cameras. 

Entrance fee for foreigners: 50 000 rial

7. Azerbaijan museum

It is the main historical and archeological museum of Tabriz, opened in 1958. The entrance gate is a huge iwan. 

Here you find artifacts from the Iron age and other objects discovered in the Iranian Azerbaijan province. After the National Museum of Tehran, the Azerbaijan Museum of Tehran houses the biggest collection related to Iranian history. It contains the findings from the 5th millennium BC until the Sassanian dynasty (3rd century), the remnant of Islamic archeology, coins, seals and pottery.  

Entrance fee for foreigners: 1 million rial

8. Qajar Museum (Amir Nezam House)

The former official residence of the governors of Azerbaijan province is located close to the Poets’ mausoleum, surrounded by an attractive garden. Amir Nazam, one of the influential politicians of Naser al-Din Shah, who also served as the ambassador to Iran in France, built the residence in Qajar style.  

The house is decorated with colorful windows, stucco and mirrorwork. The museum displays a collection of coins, ceramics, glass and metalware. 

The Qajar Museum is close to the Poets’ Mausoleum. After the Qajar times, the Pahlavis used it as the Department of Finance.  

Entrance fee for foreigners: 1 million rial

9. Nikdel and Haidarzadeh historical houses

The Nikdel House is one of the fine examples of the historical houses of Tabriz from the 19th century, built during the Qajar period. I accidentally bumped into this fantastic residential building with a Persian garden near the Shahriar museum and the Municipality Hall. 

The Haidarzadeh House is another historic mansion with wooden-framed windows and colorful glasses that also gives home to the tourist information office of Tabriz.

Entrance fee: Free of cost

10. The Architecture Faculty of the Islamic Arts University – one of the best places to visit in Tabriz

The complex of the University specializing in Islamic arts and architecture is one of the best places to visit in Tabriz. You can see five buildings surrounded by pools and parks, with the Benham House built at the end of the Zand dynasty as the most beautiful example of Islamic arts.

Entrance fee for foreigners: 1.5 million Rial

11. Museum of Measurement (Sanjesh museum)

Close to the Municipality Hall, the museum of measurement may not sound like the most exciting attraction in Tabriz, but it was surprisingly interesting for me. The museum is located in a traditional house with a pleasant courtyard and displays all kinds of tools used to measure any type of thing in the past. The clocks were collected from different countries all over the world. But there are large scales for field vegetables, balance weights, astronomical instruments like astrolabes, meteorology-related assessment tools, compasses and watches from the past centuries, and also, a five million-year-old tree is held in the museum.

Entrance fee for foreigners: 300 000 Rial

12. Shahriar museum

The former home of the most famous poet of Tabriz, Ostad Shahriar, was converted into a museum. You can see his bedroom, work room, and apart from the objects he used daily with documents and his portraits. It is something local visitors can appreciate more. The poet is buried in the poets’ mausoleum.

This museum may be more interesting for the local and less foreign visitors.

Entrance fee for foreigners: 40 000 Rial

13. The Constitution House of Tabriz

Tabriz was the center of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) that led to the creation of the Constitution and Parliament. The leaders, activists, and politicians gathered in this house of a wealthy merchant from the Qajar period. The museum introduces the movement’s prominent figures, such as Sattar Khan, Segat-ol-Eslam Tabrizi, and newspapers about the development of the revolution. 

Although the mansion is one of the most photographed attractions of Tabriz, I think this is more interesting for local visitors, who can appreciate more detailed information about this decisive period of modern Iranian history. 

14. Elgoli park – the best place to go to in the evening

The park is the most popular place for couples and families to spend their time. There are several cozy restaurants to have dinner and smoke shisha around the artificial lake with a restaurant in the middle.  

How to get there?

It is only a short walk from the terminus of metro line 1. Keep in mind that the last metro leaves around 9 pm. After that, you catch a taxi to get to the city center. 

Where to eat in Tabriz?

Asia Kebab: famous for its kebab (in the beginning of the Shariati street)

Hajmajid Chelopaz restaurant: a great place to eat chicken

Delestan traditional restaurant

Gol Azin ice cream

Vahid ice cream (you can order many types of ice creams from the menu, but it is only in Persian)

Tesaj confectionary: a wide range of Persian sweets

Rex confectionary

What to visit around Tabriz?

1. Kandovan village

Kandovan is one of the most famous villages of Iran that looks like something from a fairy tale. It lies 50 km south of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan at the foot of Mount Sahand (3707m) near the city, Osku. The volcanic ashes of Mount Sahand hardened and formed unique forms of tuffs in the region. It is now an inactive volcano with a crater on the top. Usually, after the eruption, the volcanic ashes and debris cover the surface, but in Kandovan, cone-shaped rocks appear instead. The reason is still unclear. The higher levels probably cooled down faster. It made this softer than the base and thus more exposed to erosion. The solid volcanic tuff is hard enough to serve as walls and floors but soft enough to be shaped by human power. 

The houses of Kandovan, called “Karans” are of 2-3-4 storeys with an animal shelter, kitchen, and living quarters interconnected by narrow corridors. Some caves were formed by erosion, but locals carved out most of them. 

The village does not lack any basic facilities. It has a mosque, a public bath, a school, and a mill. Kandovan also has a natural spring traditionally used to heal kidney problems.

The caves are ideal during the hot summer and cold winter as they provide a pleasant temperature.

Kandovan has approximately 600 inhabitants. The first dwellers found refuge in the caves when they fled the Mongol occupation 700 years ago. Many stayed, extended their caves into permanent homes, and added multiple storeys. Others say that a group of soldiers hid in the caves during a military campaign. 

The villagers speak the Azeri language, but the people have traditional Iranian names.

Although Kandovan gets crowded with local and foreign tourists at the weekends, it is something you should not miss visiting. 

How to get there:

Take a minibus from central Tabriz to Osku, where you can get a shared taxi from the main junction leading to Kandovan (25km). 

Where to sleep:

There is one fancier place to stay, the Laleh Rocky hotel, and locals offer simple rooms. However, in my opinion, Kandovan better makes a half-day trip from Tabriz and is less exciting to stay there for the night.

Book a local tour to Kandovan and get 5% off the price with the discount code: VOG%1stQ

2. Rainbow mountains and Babak fort – a day trip from Tabriz

Hiking up to the Babak fort is the best day trip from Tabriz. On the way, you pass by the “rainbow mountains”. To avoid disappointment, I must mention that the colors are far less striking than in the photos on the internet, but they are unique. If you want to get closer to the mountains, you must get a private taxi. Otherwise, you will only see them from the highway if you take a shared taxi. 

The castle, built during the Sassanid times in the 9th century, got its name after Babak Khorramdin, an Iranian warlord who fought the armies of the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and protected the Persian traditions, language, and culture. He built the fort on the top of the mountain to make it unconquerable.

For that, he is a highly respected person in Persian history. After 22 years, he could no longer resist and was executed. Every year the 10th of July is Babak’s day, whom many Iranians, especially Azeris, consider a national hero. Azeri people traditionally climbed the mountain at the beginning of July. However, in response to their regular protests, the government forbids the people to come to honor Babak on this day. They demanded more rights for the Azeri minority, whose Azeri-Turkish language is banned in schools. This is how the government tries to quell separatist efforts.   

How to get to Babak with public transport:

You can get to the Babak Fort in two steps. First, you must take a shared taxi to Ahar and then to Kaleybar. From there, you will find a taxi to take you to the foot of the mountain, where the hiking trail starts towards the fort, from where you have a fantastic view after an hour’s walk. On the way, there is a small stall selling drinks; on the top, you can fill your bottle with water.

On the way back you can choose the same way, however, in the afternoon a shared taxi may fill up slowlier. Although I had to wait almost an hour, on the way back, there was a shared taxi directly from Kaleybar to Tabriz.   

Terminal (darwaz) – Ahar: 450 000 rial

Ahar- Kaleybar: 350 000 Rial

Taxi to Babak entrance 500 000 rial

Kaleybar – Tabriz: 800 000 Rial

3. A day trip to Urmia lake

The Urmia Salt Lake was once the biggest in the Middle East, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km2, a length of 140 km, a width of 55 km, and a maximum depth of 16 meters. By now, the lake shrank to 5-10% of its original size, and where once boats were transporting the passengers has become an arid deserted area. 

“Once there were flamingos on the coast“– tells me Maryam, who grew up in Urmia and often came here with the family. There was a rich fauna at the lake once: pelicans, spoonbills, ibises, storks, shelducks, avocets, stilts, and gulls.

The lake’s retreat happened at an alarming speed, and its fate became labeled as one of the biggest environmental tragedies of the 20th century. There is a real fear that Urmia lake can completely dry up as Aral lake did.  

The travel guide said it was not worth going there; however, it was one of the most interesting places during my visit to the north of Iran, and I’m so happy to have met a family from Urmia who convinced me to go there.

What caused the tragedy of Urmia Lake?

After the Islamic Revolution, the government pushed families to get more children. The rapidly growing population needed more jobs, and agriculture seemed to be the best option to absorb the workforce. The size of agricultural lands expanded around the lake, cities and villages were growing.   

The water-demanding agriculture needed more and more water, so they started to use groundwater to make up for the lack of rain. With the decreasing water level, the lake became saltier. Similar to the Dead Sea, you can only float on the surface. 

The main river, the Zarrinehrud that feeds the Urmia lake, was also diverted.  

The shrinking water had several impacts. Flora and fauna disappeared, and the once-popular lakeside holiday resorts became ghost towns. Due to high salinity, the lake no longer sustains any fish species. 

Can the process still be reversed, or is it too late?

There are attempts to change the type of crops cultivated along the lake to ones that need less water. Plus, they push farmers to water the plants at night when the soil can absorb the water better. 

The bridge with a highway has linked the two big cities, Urmia and Tabriz, crossing the lake and cutting it into two parts since 2008. 

Tabriz is a must-stop during the trip through the north of Iran. One of Iran’s largest cities is famous for the Persian carpets, the grand bazaar, and its wide range of museums. Tabriz is also a good starting point for a day trip to the Babak fort, the Urmia lake and Kandovan village. I hope the above travel guide was useful for planning your trip. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Local tours in Tabriz

Visit Kandovan village

Tabriz sightseeing with a local guide

You can book your local tour in Tabriz here. Use the discount code: VOG%1stQ to get 5 % off the price.

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