Esfahan · Historic Centre · Iran

Shah Square

plazaUNESCOSafavidgoogle verified

easy

10/10

best: late afternoon, evening

grand, social, historic

A local would say...

Shah Abbas designed this square so he could watch polo from his palace balcony — the goalposts are still embedded in the ground.

At 512m long and 163m wide, this is the second-largest square on earth and one of the world's great urban spaces — a UNESCO World Heritage Site ringed by the Imam Mosque, Ali Qapu Palace, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the royal bazaar entrance. Best visited in the late afternoon when the fountains play and the architecture glows gold.