Qazvin Travel Guide and Tourist Attractions

Qazvin Province, located 150 km away from Tehran, is a historical province in northwest of Iran. Its capital is the city of Qazvin. This province has a rich history and civilization. Qazvin was founded from Sassanid dynasty. In Safavid dynasty, Qazvin was the capital of Iran for near 60 years, therefore there are a lot of historical places and tourist attractions in this region. In Safavid era, “Sepah St.” that’s Iran first street was built in Qazvin. Best time for travelling to Qazvin is summer since it has a pleasant and cool weather then.

Top tourist attractions in Qazvin:

Alamut Valley

Qazvin Province has many historical and also natural attractions, the most important one is called “Alamut”. Alamut is a famous region in northeast of this province, amongst the Alborz range. The truly beautiful Ovan lake amongst the mountains and the historical Alamut Castle (Fortress) on top of a mountain are located in this area. From the top, there is a stunning view. This region is historically and naturally attractive and it’s also a good place for an adventurous climbing.

Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh

Caravanserai of Sa’d al-Saltaneh is one of Qazvin most important tourist attractions which was built during the Qajar era. Sa’d al-Saltaneh Caravanserai is the largest urban caravanserai in the world. It has an attractive architecture and by walking in this historical place, you feel that you have traveled back in time. Today, it serves as a bazaar in which there are also some nice cafes and galleries.

Chehel sotoun Qazvin

The beautiful edifice of Chehel Sotun which is located in a large garden. It was part of an early Safavid palacebuilt in 1510, when Qazvin was Iran capital. This pavilion has beautiful colored-glass windows and an octagonal structure since eight is a holy number in Islamic and Persian architecture, it also has interesting wall paintings from Safavid and Qajar eras. Today, in this place, the Qazvin Museum is installed.

Aminiha Hosseiniyeh

“Aminiha Hosseiniyeh” is a beautiful historical house in the city of Qazvin which was built in Qajar dynasty and belonged to a wealthy merchant. This large house consists of three splendid halls, two yards, a basement and some other parts. The interior spaces have been decorated with attractive paintings, mirror works and plaster works exquisitely.

Jameh Mosque of Qazvin

Jameh Mosque of Qazvin is one of the oldest and largest mosques in Iran. It was built on the foundations of a fire temple from Sassanid dynasty. This place is a collection of different periods in Persian Islamic architecture. This mosque is beautifully decorated with colorful tile works. There is also a museum of pottery and stone in this mosque.

Hammam Qajar

Another historical place in Qazvin is Hammam Qajar which was a public bath house from Safavid dynasty (over 400 years ago). Traditional Iranian bathhouses (or hammams) had different parts and also separate sections for men and women. Now, it has turned into an anthropology museum with many wax figures.

Kantur Church

“Kantur Church” is one of the smallest churches in the world which was built on World War II by Russians in Qazvin, when Iran was occupied by Russia. It’s a different construction from other Qazvin historical places. The grave of a Russian pilot, who was dead in World War II, is also in this place.

Imamzade Shahzadeh Hossein

“Shahzadeh Hossein” was the two-year-old son of Imam Reza (the 8th Shia Imam). His mausoleum was built in Safavid dynasty in the city of Qazvin. The building has an attractive and exquisite architecture and is one of Qazvin historical attractions.
 

What & Where to eat in Qazvin:

In Qazvin, you could try and enjoy its delicious traditional sweets and foods. Qazvin most famous traditional food is Gheymeh Nesar. If you go to Qazvin you could have the best Gheymeh Nesar in Eqbali, Nemooneh or Kermani Restaurants, or even you can make it yourself (the recipe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_KNPYyUDs0) and one of its famous sweets is yummy Baklava of Qazvin. Different types of baklava are made in different cities of Iran, cities like Yazd, Tabriz, Ardabil and also in the city of Qazvin there are some special kinds of Baklava. You can buy the best traditional sweets of Qazvin from Parastoo Confectionery or you can go to the Negarossaltaneh Café and try them. There are numerous vineyards in Qazvin and you can buy different products made from grapes like vinegar and syrup. Another special thing which you can try in Qazvin is a type of old cheese with the caraway flavor that’s put in a ceramic jar and keep it under the ground for minimum one month.

What & Where to buy in Qazvin:

There are a wide variety of souvenirs in Qazvin, edible and non-edible ones. Besides special sweets of Qazvin, the jar cheese, raisin, grape syrup and grape vinegar, visitors could also buy various kinds of hand-woven fabrics in this city like many other Iran cities. Another somehow funny souvenir that you can buy in Qazvin is called “Sang-e Pa” (the stone for foot!) which is a pumice stone that Persians have been using it since ancient times for foot exfoliating. An interesting place for shopping is “Caravanserai of Sa’d al-Saltaneh” where you can enjoy its historical atmosphere as well.

Best hotels in Qazvin:

- Behrouzi house
(Behrouzi house is a 200-year-old house from Qajar era. Today it is a traditional hotel in which you can enjoy its live music, tea house, restaurant and bath house, all of them in a traditional and original form.)
- Iranian Hotel
- MarMar Hotel

Bahareh Yousefian