Milad Tower435 metres above the city

The antenna mast

The journey begins at the very top: a 120-metre steel mast that carries the tower from the 315-metre roof of the head to its full reported 435 metres. It tapers as it climbs and ends just below the aviation beacon. This is the tower's broadcast heart — national TV and radio signals leave the city from here.

The mast is accessible only to broadcast technicians via a service lift. You will never walk here — but the whole city sees it every night.

A crown of glass and steel

Below the mast sits the tower's defining feature: the 12-floor head — a steel pod of about 25,000 tonnes whose roof sits at 315 metres, clad in glass and reported as the largest tower head in the world by enclosed floor area. Its widest floors, around the observation decks, span roughly 60 metres across.

Not every floor is public. Some floors host visitors; others hold mechanics, broadcast equipment and fire-refuge zones. The exact assignment of floor numbers differs between published sources, so this journey follows altitude — and only descends through the levels you can actually enter.

THE CROWN / PHOTO → LINEWORK

Further reading: Council on Vertical Urbanism building record and Contemporary Architecture of Iran profile. The figures shown here are reported reference dimensions, not a measured model.

The Sky Dome

The highest publicly referenced space is the Sky Dome (Gonbad-e Aseman) — a glazed domed hall crowned with an ornamental ceiling near the top of the head, reported around 300 metres. It has hosted exhibitions of Iranian artists and special cultural events; at night its illuminated dome reads as the glowing crown of the tower's silhouette.

Commons includes a dated interior photograph categorized under the Sky Dome and observation decks. It documents the interior at the time of capture, not a current exhibition or access arrangement. Visitor programmes change; check the official visitor and ticketing portal before planning around this space.

The observation decks

The head has two reported viewing levels. The open-air deck is usually cited near 280 metres and has historically been described with craft displays and city views. The enclosed deck is reported near 261 metres and described as sheltered; it has been associated historically with Municipality Museum displays. These are reported descriptions, not a guarantee that either level is operating now.

High pollution or severe weather can affect access to exposed terraces; confirm which levels are operating on the day. Published architectural descriptions place lift access at a bridge level of around 28 metres; treat that as a reported reference rather than a visitor instruction.

Tehran from this altitude

From the decks, Tehran acquires its true scale: the Alborz range walling the north, the Hemmat and Hakim expressways running like ribbons of light, and on clear days Mount Damavand floating on the horizon. This is one of the few places where the metropolis can be understood as a single organism. The photographs below are explicitly captioned as views from the tower; other images elsewhere in this exhibition document the head, lobby, grounds, and event spaces.

The revolving restaurant

A revolving restaurant has been documented within the tower's head structure. Visitor sources have reported rotation times that vary substantially, so no single duration is treated here as confirmed. Current operation, reservations, and dining access need direct verification. A separate Commons photograph identifies the revolving restaurant in August 2019; it documents a past state, not current operation, menu, or visitor access.

"You don't watch the view. The view is delivered to you, one degree at a time." — a common description of Tehran's revolving restaurants

A food court and cafés have been described among the complex's lower-level services. Their current locations, opening times, and access arrangements need verification.

Museums in the sky

Culture lives at altitude here. The Museum of Iranian Celebrities — reported at around 271 metres — keeps wax figures and the stories of the nation's artists, scientists and athletes. One level of the head has long been associated with the Municipality Museum and its archive of the city's documents and gifts, and galleries across the head and the grounds host rotating exhibitions.

These are small, quiet museums — the counterweight to the view outside. Verify opening arrangements in the catalogue before planning a visit around them.

The concrete shaft

Leaving the visitor floors, we meet the structure itself. The body is an octagonal concrete core flanked by wings that taper like a pyramid as they climb, up to the base of the head. Below the lobby bridges, the shaft continues to the foundation — a transition structure visitors never see.

The shaft contains lift infrastructure and an emergency stair; technical areas are not visitor routes. The Council on Vertical Urbanism lists six elevators. Published architectural descriptions associate visitor lift access with a bridge level around 28 metres, but this guide does not turn reported architecture into live directions or assume a ride time.

THE SHAFT / PHOTO → LINEWORK

The lobby & the base

Near the ground the tower widens and finds a human scale. The six-storey lobby building holds ticketing, visitor services, commercial space and administrative floors, and connects to the shaft by bridges at the 28-metre roof level — where the high-speed lifts begin their climb. On the first floor stands the tower's own architectural maquette: the entire complex laid out at model scale, the best orientation map you will find on site.

Visitor descriptions have reported free entry to the base and grounds, with separate tickets for upper levels. These are not live operating terms; check the official ticketing portal before travelling.

The grounds do not end at the door

The moment you touch the ground, the complex opens: visitor sources describe roughly 60 hectares of grounds around the tower — lawns, fountains, family parks and the Tehran International Convention Center with its halls and exhibition site. (The famous Tehran permanent international fairgrounds lie adjacent, beyond the complex fence — they are not part of the 60 hectares.)

The diagram below is a conceptual orientation sketch, not a surveyed site plan — relative positions are simplified and drawn for orientation only.

A city built for children

Across the grounds, the complex trades altitude for imagination. Karbazia is a job-themed miniature city where children aged roughly 2–14 try out professions; the Land of Legends adds themed rides and playful installations; and around them run playgrounds and open lawns built for an afternoon, not a photograph.

For the adventurous, the south-west corner holds a squash and padel club and an adventure area with a zip line and suspension bridge reported at about 75 metres. Indoors, Starland — reported as a 12-lane bowling and billiards venue — keeps evenings busy after sunset. Each of these carries its own "verify" flag in the catalogue: family attractions change often.

The convention city

On the northern edge of the grounds stands the Tehran International Convention Center: concert and conference halls — including the Hafez hall — plus a large exhibition site. It has hosted the Fajr Film Festival among hundreds of congresses, fairs and ceremonies, making Milad one of the busiest event venues in the country.

One honest note from the research: the complex's dolphinarium, once advertised as the world's highest, no longer operates after its dolphins were relocated to Kish Island. It stays in this guide — clearly marked closed — because its story is part of the place, and it is excluded from every generated route.

From the virtual visit to the real one

You have now descended from the mast tip to the plaza — through the broadcast crown, the glass decks, the silent concrete spine, and the grounds at its feet. The final chapters of this journey happen on your own feet: the planning section gathers practical guidance, a route builder built on verified spaces, and official links — with every changeable number clearly labelled and pointed back to its source.