Half the world costs almost nothing if you skip the ticket booths. Isfahan's working mosques, Armenian lanes, Sassanid bridges and Zayandeh Rud banks are free, and street beryani feeds you for under a dollar. Buses cost 6,000 rial a ride.
A working Safavid mosque from 1656 that charges nothing and sees almost no tour groups. Its northern Jorjir portal is a survivor of the 10th-century Buyid mosque that stood here. Open roughly 08:00–19:00 outside prayer times.
A 1512 tiled shrine locals visit for wishes, with no entry desk and no ticket. Five minutes north stands the 48m Seljuk Sareban Minaret of about 1130, viewable free from the surrounding lanes of the Jubareh quarter.
The Armenian district resettled here by Shah Abbas I in 1605. Wandering Jolfa Square, Kelisa Street and the lanes past Bethlehem and St Mary's churches costs nothing; only Vank Cathedral's interior needs a ticket.
A Sassanid-era mudbrick citadel on a lone hill 8km west of town. The 20-minute scramble up the ridge is unticketed and delivers the widest sunset panorama over Isfahan and the river plain that anyone can reach without paying.
Isfahan's original Seljuk maidan, now a loud everyday fruit, herb and spice market where residents actually shop. Saffron, dried limes and barberries sell for a fraction of the Grand Bazaar's tourist pricing.
The city's signature dish: minced mutton and lung pressed into a flat patty, served on sangak bread with sumac and basil. A single beryani runs around 600,000 IRR and defeats most appetites. Lunch only, sold out by 15:00.
Gaz is Isfahan's pistachio nougat, made from the sap of tamarisk. The Chahar Bagh shops sell loose broken pieces at roughly half the price of gift tins, and every counter hands out free samples before you commit.
A low, soot-dark alley teahouse off the square's northeast corner, ceiling hung with lanterns, kettles and old tools. Tea with dates costs about 200,000 IRR and nobody moves you along when you nurse it for an hour.
The 2,257m ridge on Isfahan's southern edge, laid out as a free public park with stepped paths and stone shelters. Walking up costs nothing; the telecabin is optional. Isfahan spreads out below with the river as a green seam.
The oldest bridge on the Zayandeh Rud, Seljuk brickwork of the 11th–12th century resting on Sassanid stone piers. It sits 4km east of the tourist bridges with no ticket, no crowd and shaded arches to sit under.
A 14th-century Mongol-era tomb whose twin minarets sway in sympathy when a caretaker pushes one. Demonstrations run roughly every 30–60 minutes; the shaded courtyard is a fair place to wait between them.
Built around 1650 as bridge, weir and pavilion in one. Locals gather in the lower alcoves after sunset and sing traditional avaz into the vaults for the acoustics. Entry is free and the singing is unscheduled.