Milad Tower

Milad Tower was completed in 2007 and reaches 435 metres including the antenna, which makes it the tallest structure in Iran, with a twelve-storey pod near the top holding open and enclosed observation decks, a revolving restaurant, a cafe and a small art gallery. The lobby structure at the base is large and contains exhibition halls and a conference centre. What the tower offers is the only comprehensive view of Tehran: the city spreading south across the plain, the Alborz wall to the north with Damavand visible on the rare clear days, and the sheer extent of a metropolitan area of some fifteen million people. Air quality determines everything, and Tehran's pollution frequently reduces the view to a few kilometres.

What you actually see

• The open observation deck - the city seen from over three hundred metres.
• The Alborz wall to the north - the mountains closing the city.
• Damavand on clear days - the cone visible far to the north-east.
• The scale of Tehran - the extent of the built area from above.

When to go

Year round, but pick a clear day, which in practice means after rain or wind, or in winter when inversions lift. Two hours including queues. Evenings for the lit city. Fridays are busiest.

Honest expectations

Air pollution ruins the view on most days and there is no refund for haze. Queues at the lift are long at weekends. The revolving restaurant is expensive and the food ordinary. The tower is awkward to reach without a taxi.

Nearby

Western Tehran surrounds it; the Tabiat Bridge lies east.