Shiraz rewards thin wallets: half its beauty is street-level architecture, orchard air and poetry read aloud for free. This route strings together no-fee shrines, coppersmith alleys, faludeh counters and a mountain shrine hike above the Quran Gate.
The 10th-century northern city gate, rebuilt by Karim Khan, straddles the Allah-o-Akbar gorge. Climbing the terraced stairs beside it costs nothing and the park below opens 24 hours; travellers once passed under a Quran for safe passage.
Saadi's turquoise-domed pavilion sits in a cypress garden 3 km east of the Quran Gate. Below it a vaulted underground qanat pool swims with fish and stays cool all summer. Open 08:00-21:00; foreigner tickets are sold at the gate.
Shiraz's oldest mosque, founded in 894 CE, sits directly behind Shah Cheragh and charges nothing. Its courtyard holds the Khodakhaneh, a stone House of God built in 1351 to store Qurans, unique in Iranian architecture.
The city's largest central green space runs along the Khoshk riverbed off Zand Boulevard. Families spread picnic cloths, samovars come out after 17:00 and the rose beds and pine walks are open until midnight with no entrance fee.
A two-storey Qajar caravanserai at the southern end of the bazaar, wrapped around an orange-tree courtyard with a pool. Entry is free, the workshops sell kilims and glass, and nobody minds if you only sit and watch.
Shiraz eats falafel the way Tehran eats kebab. A dozen hole-in-the-wall counters on Sattarkhan fry chickpea patties to order and stuff them into baguettes with pickles, mint and hot sauce for around 150,000 IRR.
A working lane of hammered copper north of the Vakil complex, where samovars, trays and ewers are still beaten by hand. The noise is the attraction; small copper spoons start near 400,000 IRR if you want a light souvenir.
Faludeh Shirazi — frozen rice-starch noodles in rose water and lime — was invented here and sells for roughly 120,000-200,000 IRR a bowl at the old shops near the Vakil quarter, often served with sour cherry syrup.
A stone path climbs from behind the Quran Gate up the Babakuhi ridge to a small hilltop shrine at about 1,900 m. It takes 90 minutes up, costs nothing, and delivers the widest view over Shiraz's basin from any free point.
A small Zand-era garden pavilion holding the graves of seven dervishes, with rare Karim Khan-period wall paintings inside. It is one of Shiraz's cheapest ticketed sites and rarely holds more than a handful of visitors.
A Sassanid-origin Persian garden near Saadi's tomb, with a long citrus avenue, water channel and a two-storey Qajar mansion. Far quieter than Eram Garden and priced the same, it is open 08:00 until dusk.
The 'Roof of Shiraz' terraces climb the hills above Chamran Boulevard on the western edge of town. Walking up and watching the city lights come on is free; the cable-car and restaurants above are the only paid parts.