Tabriz

It is a state palace and main office of East Azerbaijan Province governorship. This used to be the site for the residence palace and office building of the governor or crown prince of Iran and his office since 1500s. The palace and complex were destroyed in a major flood during 1930s when the current state palace built. The cite also include the Azerbaijan Governorship Museum.

This used to be part of fire fighting services for the city of Tabriz, for monitoring of any sign of fire around the city. In case of fire, the watchman would inform the fire fighters with the directions of fire. Nowadays only the tower is kept in its original construction while a modern fire fighting station was built next to the tower.

This is a large, congregational mosque (Jāmeh) in Tabrīz city built and repaired from Seljughiya to Qadjar era (11th till 19th century). It used to be the main mosque for the city of Tabriz and it still used for prays and some other religious ceremonies. It has a Shabistan with nice colorful windows.

The edifice was built during the later part of the Zand dynasty (1750–1794) and the early part of the Qajar dynasty (1781–1925), as a residential house. During the reign of Nasereddin Shah Qajar (1848–1896) this building was substantially renovated and embellished with ornamental paintings. The house consists of a main building, referred to as the Winter Building, and a smaller structure, referred to as the Summer Building. The Winter Building is a two-story symmetrical construction standing on a basement. Like many traditional houses in Iran, this house has an inner (اندرونی, andaruni) and an outer (بيرونی, biruni) courtyard, the former being the larger of the two. In the course of a 2009 renovation project, some hitherto unknown miniature frescoes were discovered in this house which were restored by specialists. The Behnām House is part of the School of Architecture of Tabriz Art University.

It is ruins and remnants of an educational and scientific complex was built 13th century when Tabriz was the capital of Ilkhanid dynasty. Scientists, physicians, writers, and poets from all around the Ilkhanid territories brought here to build a big dominant scientific complex. They had schools for teaching the latest scientific discoveries of the time. An encyclopedia calls Safina-yi Tabriz is also written here. The recovery of the complex and its renovation is incomplete and some other constructions are going on the site.

This is a city center park built in 1930s. It is a good place to relax under the shadows of trees.

A museum of natural history with taxidermy samples from wild life of Iran and some other countries.

A museum and gallery for caricature. There is also an annual international caricature competition held in here.

This is the house of a famous Iranian poet Shahriar in his last years. Shahriyar has poems in bothn Persian and Azeri languages. This is a simple Iranian 1970s style house, and its belonging kept the same way since Shahriyar's death in late 1980s. There is no explanations in English, however this house is interesting for Persian/Azerbaijani literature lovers.

Hub of the Armenian community. Church and museum of the Armenian community of Tabriz. Previous church here was visited by Marco Polo in 1275 on his way to China. The tabernacle of the church was built in the style of Armenian architecture, parts of which can be dated back to the 12th century AD.

A salt lake with salt beaches and improbable bathing spots (gender separate, of course). Numerous migratory birds stop there on their long trip for some rest and food. The lake is drying because of the many dams on the feeding rivers, so check for the status of the lake before heading towards the lake.

A 9th-century castle in the peak of Jomhour in the middle of Arasbaran Forrest. It is nested on a rocky peak at an altitude of 2,700 m. Babak was one of the Iranian heroes fighting the Arabs invasion, around 9th century. The road goes up to the foot hills of the Jomhour castle and from there it takes 2 hours hiking walk to get up to the peak where the castle is, but definitely worth it. The castle has an interesting military design which made it impenetrable for invaders back in the days. It has also nice view to the forests around. It is better to visit it in summer time to avoid the harsh winter weather of the Azerbaijan region.

A big dome topping at around 3,700 m. Interesting to climb in summer, or for skiing in winter (1 lift available, another in progress)

This 9th-century Armenian church is north of Tabriz and south of Aras River, close to the Iran-Nakhichevan border. Along with two other Armenian churches in the region (St Thaddeus and the Chapel of Dzordzor) it was inscribed a UNESCO site in 2008.

It is remnants and ruins of seventh century Iranian Royal Palace and Zerdostian Temple dated to 224-651 AD inscribed a UNESCO site. It includes a lake in the center of palace and the ruins of the Sasanid palace around the lake. There is a royal prison several miles away from the palace. Takhte Soleyman is named one of the 10 best ancient ruins by The Guardian: newspaper. The name means the Throne of Solomon, in earlier ancient period known as Shiz or Adur Gushnasp, literally "the Fire of the Warrior Kings".

El-Gulu or as local calls Shah-Gulu is a grand park in south east of Tabriz. There is a big rectangular artificial lake in the middle of the Park with a restaurant. This place used to be a summer palace for the Iranian royal families during the time that Tabriz was the capital of the state and once it was the resident for the crown prince. Nowadays the palace in the middle renovated in the form of a restaurant and a small amusement park is constructed in next to the park. In summer time many residents came to the park and dust hike through the pedestrian pathway around the lake or have their dinner in the Forrest hills next to the lake. This is also fabled to be the "Garden of Eden"

Important and rich hydrotherapy centers such as "Sare Aine", Boostan Abad, and specially the coastal strip along Urmia Lake enjoy great popularity among all tourists. 20 km from the city of Ardabile, Sare Aine Spa forms one of the most significant health resorts in Iran. Moreover, hot springs rich in phosphoric and other mineral properties in this region have various medicinal benefits. As a picturesque natural phenomenon comprising distinctive medicinal and healing features, Urmia Lake definitely constitutes one of the main attractions around Tabriz.

The biggest amusement park in the Northwest of Iran. Its normal operation season starts late spring and lasts to early autumn.

Eynali is the mountain range in a shape of a red wall just in north neighborhood of Tabriz. The red wall can be seen from most parts of the city. Many of Tabriz residents hike to the first peak of Eynali in early mornings or in the weekend. There is a paved trail from the foot hill of Mount Eynali in Northern highway of Tabriz to first peak of mount Eynali however there are more difficult trails to the peak, and a 90-degree wall as well. Eynali cable, a gondola lift, goes from the base to the station 1 at the peak. The station 1 which calls The Roof of Tabriz has a view to almost all of the city. There are a couple of sites in the top station including an old shrine (a former Zoroastrian Temple), a monument for the unknown fallen soldiers (war heroes), two windmills and a restaurant, Bam-e-Tabriz. A small food court next to the shrine sells hot tea, milk, and appetizers.

Sahand soccer stadium, the second largest soccer stadium in Iran, is in the south of Tabriz. The city also hosts three Iranian Pro-league soccer teamsː Tractor-Sazi, Gostaresh, and Machin-Sazi. During Iran's soccer season, there are normally weekly matches at Sahand Stadium. In Iran, women are banned from attending men's soccer matches.

This is an international road cycling tour called Tour of Iran (Azerbaijan) which is held annually in Tabriz. It starts from the city center of Tabriz and lasts about a week. Check for this year's schedule on the tour's web site.

Most of the movie theaters are in the city center of Tabriz close to Shahnaz St. The majority of the movies are Iranian movies in Farsi with no subtitles. There are some local theater and music festivals time to time which are held normally in one of the following saloons: Vahdat (in main campus of University of Tabriz), Moalem in Northern Artesh St., and Petrochemical Cultural Complex in Chay Kenar Blvd.

This is a ten-day religious festival for mourning Shia Imam Hossein, who was killed in the seventh century. Most of city residents wear black shirts. In first nine days of festival people come to streets after sun set with drums and march in the streets. At the tenth day, called Ashura day, the ceremony starts from early morning and lasts up to sunset. Many people donate food, tea, and sherbet in the streets in tenth day. The ceremony held every year based on Islamic Lunar Calendar from Muharram 1st to Muharram 10.

This is a religious Shia ceremony to celebrate the birthday of the Imam Mahdai. Normally there are fire works all around the city. The ceremony is held in the city based on the Islamic lunar calendar on the night of Shaban 15.

This is a major fireworks ceremony held on the last Tuesday night before March 20 every year. During the day people go to the new year shopping and traffic jam is expected in downtown area. Then people all around the city celebrate the night by a very intense fire works. They also make bonfires and young people jump through the fire. This is one of the major pre-Islamic ceremonies which have survived till today. It is normally safe to participate but always consider take necessary safety measures as there is no official regulations.

Sahand Ski Resort is the biggest ski resort in the north-west of Iran. Its seasonal operation normally starts in January and it continues up to mid March. It has two ski lifts, a small restaurant and shelter which normally operate on Thursdays and Fridays. You can get information about road conditions and snow conditions from the Ski Federation in Tabriz.

Yam is a ski resort in north of Tabriz in vicinity of Marand cirty and in northern foot hills of Mishoodaghi. It is accessible via Tabirz-Marand highway.