Iran was once the heart of the Persian empire with great dynasties such as the Achaemenids (559-330 BC), Savafid period and Qajar that all left their historical marks. Throughout the centuries the capital changed from Shiraz, Qazvin or Isfahan to nowadays Tehran. Lots of historical buildings and gardens remind us of the great cultural past these empires once had, and many of them are now on the UNESCO heritage list - with some still waiting to be recognised.
- 1: Bisotun (Kermanshah)
- 2: Susa
- 3: historical hydraulic system (Shushtar)
- 4: Tchogha Zanbil (Susa)
- 5: Meidan Emam (Naqsh-e-Jahan Square Isfahan)
- 6: Jameh Mosque (Isfahan)
- 7: historic city of Yazd
- 8: Sassanid archaeological landscape (Fars region)
- 9: Persepolis (Shiraz)
- 10: Pasargadae
- 11: Persian gardens (in red)
- 12: cultural landscape of Maymand (Kerman)
- 13: Armenian monastic ensembles of Iran (Jolfa)
- 14: historic Bazaar complex (Tabriz)
- 15: Sheikh Safi al-din Khanegah (Ardabil)
- 16: Takht-e Soleyman (Takah)
- 17: Soltaniyeh (Zanjan)
- 18: Golestan palace (Tehran)
- 19: Gonbad-e Qabus (Gorgan)
- 20: Hyrcanian forests
- 21: Persian qanat (Yazd, Kerman, Kashan)
- 22: Dasht-e Lut desert (Kerman)
- 23: Bam and its cultural landscape (Kerman)
- 24: Shahr-i Sokhta (Zahedan)
- other: cultural landscape (Hawraman and Uramanat) and the Trans-Iranian Railway
- note: many places are still to be recognised (tentative list)