In Iran there are 24 Unesco heritage sites, on this trip 5 cultural ones of them are visited: Golestan Palace in Tehran, Persepolis and Pasargade in the Fars region, Naqsh-e Jahan Square and Emam Mosque in Esfahan.

Highlights

• Visit the Esfahan Music Museum and attend a live concert of traditional Iranian music.
• Visit the Bazaar of Esfahan a historical bazaar where there are shops that have been selling the same merchandise for 400 years.
• The Zoroastrian Fire Temple where is guarded the fire called "victorious" from 470 AD lives.

1° day  Home country - TEHRAN

Departure with the scheduled flight to Tehran. Arrival and meeting with the guide, transfer to the hotel. Accommodation in reserved rooms and overnight. 

2° day   TEHRAN - SHIRAZ

In the morning visit of the city, located between 1100 and 1750 meters, close to Mount Damāvand.

The day begins with a visit to the National Museum (Mūze-ye Īrān-e bāstān), where there is a splendid collection of ceramics, terracotta, sculptures and stone engravings found in the main archaeological excavations.

The days continues with a visit to the National Jewelery Museum (open only from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm - from Saturday to Tuesday). Inside we can see one of the most important jewelry collections in the world, accumulated over the centuries by all the Persian dynasties. If the jewelry museum is closed instead, we will visit the Museum of Glass and Ceramics, a splendid exhibition with hundreds of artifacts coming mainly from Neyshabur, Kashan, Rey and Gorgan, dating back to the second millennium BC. You can also see the Golestan Royal Palace (Palace of Flowers), the oldest of Tehran's historical monuments and a UNESCO heritage site.

Transfer to the airport and departure for Shiraz (flight duration of about one hour and twenty minutes).

Arrival in the city, transfer to the hotel and overnight.

3° day    SHIRAZ – PERSEPOLI – NAQSH-E ROSTAM – SHIRAZ 

In the morning we leave for the excursion to Persepolis (a UNESCO heritage site). Originally called Takht-e-Jamshid, it was built in the 5th century. B.C. by order of Darius, Xerxes and their successors.

We continue with a visit to Naqsh-e-Rostam where the tombs of four Achaemenid kings have been carved into the slope of a mountain.

Return to Shiraz to visit the city, known for its gardens and for some important monuments such as the Vakil complex which includes Vakil Mosque, Vakil Bazaar and the Hammam. In addition: the fortress of Karim Khan (to be visited from the outside), the caravanserai of Moshir, the Koranic school of Khan and the Mauseleo Hafez, the Iranian popular poet who steals the heart of those who read his ghazals.

Return to the hotel. Overnight.

4° day    SHIRAZ – PASARGADE – YAZD  

Departure for Yazd. On the way, visit Pasargade (a UNESCO heritage site), the first capital of the Achaemenid kingdom, where the tomb of Cyrus the Great is located.

Continuation of the journey and arrival in Yazd, a city with a color of clay, which rises on the edge of two deserts: the Dasht-e-Kavir and the Lut desert. It is famous for its Badghir, the characteristic ventilation towers on the roofs of the houses.

Start of city tours.

Check-in at the hotel. Overnight.

5° day    YAZD – MEYBOD – ESFAHAN 

In the morning the visit of the city that hosts the largest community Zoroaster's followers. We will visit the "Sacred Fire" the temple where a flame that has been burning since 470 A.C. is preserved, the "Towers of Silence" two barren hills, where the Zoroastrians left their dead to the vultures to pluck their bones. The Friday Mosque (Masjed -e Jāmeh) which features a majolica-clad portal among the most beautiful mosques in Iran and the Mirciakhmaq complex, with its beautiful square and bazaar.

In the afternoon departure for Esfahan with a stop in Meybod to visit the ancient Narin castle which dates back to 3000 years ago.

Arrival in Esfahan in the evening, hotel accommodation. Overnight.

6° day   ESFAHAN

The whole day is dedicated to visiting Esfahan which is one of the most evocative cities in the world. For centuries the city has been a crossroads of trade, merchants, enlightened artisans who have given impetus to the creation of a cultural, stately city that leaves you breathless by the beauty of its monuments.

We visit the central square Naqsh-e jahan (512 x 163 meters - UNESCO heritage) which overlooks two theories of arches, in the lower part occupied by artisan shops (interesting shops of precious items: miniatures, turquoise, fabrics). Between the arcades the Imam mosque (Shah mosque - UNESCO heritage) fit together, by far one of the most beautiful in the entire Islamic world for the refinement of the blue and yellow tiles decoration and the harmony of the dome and the spaces interior. Then there is the little gem: Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, in front of which you can see the royal Safavid Ali Qapu palace where it will be visited later. Around this particular square there is the very lively central Bazaar covered by small surmounted domes.

Return to the hotel and overnight.

7° day   ESFAHAN – TEHRAN

In the morning, visits to Esfahan continue: The Friday Mosque (Masjed-e Jāmeh), the royal palace of Chehel Sotoun (with forty columns) and the famous Sio-o-se Pol and Khaju bridges.

Then departure for Tehran. Accommodation in the hotel in front of the airport, overnight.

8° day   TEHRAN – Home country

Depending on the flight schedule, transfer to the airport with the hotel shuttles in time for the departure of the return flight to Italy.