Park-e Jamshidiyeh Tehran

Also known as Stone Garden, Park-e Jamshidiyeh climbs steeply up the lower reaches of the Alborz Mountains and offers a clean, quiet atmosphere in which to enjoy the views and escape the smog. It’s the sort of place you could happily while away an entire afternoon sipping tea, chatting with random Tehranis and watching the lights of this huge city slowly come to life. If you’re feeling energetic, a steep trail leads from the northwest corner of the park along the side of the mountain for about 5km to Darband, making a thigh-burning but enjoyable and relatively pollution-free hike.