Fin Garden

Bagh-e Fin is the oldest surviving garden in Iran in something like its original form, laid out under Shah Abbas I in the early seventeenth century on a site used for gardens long before, and its water is what makes it work: the Soleymaniyeh spring rises above the garden and is piped down under natural pressure, so the channels, pools and dozens of small fountains run continuously without any pump, which is why the water moves in a way that most restored Persian gardens cannot manage. Cypress and plane trees shade turquoise-tiled channels running the length of the enclosure, with pavilions of the Safavid and Qajar periods. The bathhouse in the grounds is where the reforming chancellor Amir Kabir was killed in 1852.

What you actually see

• Fountains running on spring pressure - water moving without pumps.
• Turquoise-tiled channels - the axes running the length of the garden.
• Safavid and Qajar pavilions - buildings from two periods in one enclosure.
• The historic bathhouse - the room where Amir Kabir died in 1852.

When to go

March to May and October to November; spring is best when the trees are in leaf and the water is high. Two hours. Mornings are quieter; Iranian holidays fill it. Summer is hot but the garden is shaded.

Honest expectations

It is smaller than photographs suggest and can be crowded with domestic visitors. Some pavilions are closed. The bathhouse is a small dark space and the historical episode is signposted with more drama than substance. Kashan's traffic makes the short trip slow.

Nearby

Kashan's historic houses are in the town; Abyaneh lies south.