Iran is not blessed with one of the world's loveliest capitals. Pollution, traffic snarls, chronic overcrowding and a lack of responsible planning have all helped to make Tehran a metropolis that even the most effusive travel agent would have difficulty praising.

The major attraction for visitors to Tehran is the city's excellent museums, featuring everything from ancient stone carvings to Islamic paintings and jewels that have started wars. Its best non-museum sight is the haphazard bazaar, so big it's practically a separate city.

Previously a pleasant town with a striking inner citadel and a spectacular 2000-year history, the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Bam in December 2003 decimated the few ancient structures that were still standing along with 70% of the residential area.

Up to 13,000 people once lived in this 6 sq km (2 sq mi) city until it was abandoned following an Afghan invasion in 1722. The city was abandoned again in about 1810 after bloodthirsty invaders from Shiraz popped in, and then was used as an army barracks until the 1930s.

The cool blue tiles of Esfahan's Islamic buildings, and the city's majestic bridges, contrast perfectly with the hot, dry Iranian countryside around it: Esfahan is a sight you won't forget. It's a city for walking, getting lost in the bazaar, dozing in beautiful gardens and meeting people.

Not only is the architecture superb and the climate pleasant, but there's a fairly relaxed atmosphere here, compared with many other Iranian towns. The famous half-rhyme Esfahan nesf-é jahan (Esfahan is half the world) was coined in the 16th century to express the city's grandeur.

Persepolis, the Throne of Jamshid, was a massive and magnificent palace complex built from about 512 BC and completed over the next 150 years. This magnificent site embodies the greatest successes of the ancient Achaemenid Empire, exemplified by the monumental staircases, exquisite reliefs, immense columns and imposing gateways.

Persepolis was burnt to the ground during Alexander the Great's time, in 331 BC, although historians are divided about whether it was accidental or in retaliation for the destruction of Athens by Xerxes. The ruins you see today, rediscovered in the early 1930s, are a mere shadow of Persepolis' former glory, but you can still get a great idea of its majesty if you carry a map and use a bit of imagination.

One of the first things you'll see is Xerxes' Gateway, covered with inscriptions and carvings in Elamite and other ancient languages. The gateway leads to the immense Apadana Palace complex, where the kings received visitors and celebrations were held. Plenty of gold and silver was discovered in the palace, but it was predictably looted by Alexander the Great, and what he left behind is in the National Museum in Tehran.

The largest hall in Persepolis was the Palace of 100 Columns, probably one of the biggest buildings constructed during the Achaemenian period, and once used as a reception hall for Darius I.

Shiraz was one of the most important cities in the medieval Islamic world and was the Iranian capital during the Zand dynasty (1747-79). Through its many artists and scholars, Shiraz has been synonymous with learning, nightingales, poetry, roses and, at one time, wine.

Today Shiraz is a relaxed, cultivated city, with wide tree-lined avenues and enough monuments, gardens and mosques to keep most visitors happy for several days. The university here is one of Iran's finest, and you'll come across lots of students eager to speak English.