Things to do in Damascus
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Damascus
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring, the first window: highs from about 18 to 28 degrees, rain falling away, Ghouta blossom and jasmine in the old city.
Summer: hot and dry at 35 to 37 degrees with cool evenings. Sightsee early, take museums at midday, start Bosra at dawn.
Autumn, the most reliable window: cooling, golden light, and the September feasts at Maaloula and Saidnaya in a calm year.
Winter: cold and wet, highs about 13 to 15 degrees, short days; Christmas in Bab Touma is the compensation.
What's on
- Feast of the Cross, Maaloula 14 September
Bonfires on the heights above Maaloula for the Exaltation of the Cross. Attend as a guest with a local guide in a calm year.
- Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, Saidnaya 8 September
The great pilgrimage feast of the Saidnaya convent, drawing crowds from across Syria.
- Christmas in Bab Touma 25 December
Lit lanes and church services in the Christian quarter; keep to the security advice for the city.
- Eid al-Fitr Moveable, end of Ramadan
Multi-day family festival closing Ramadan. Sites and offices close; sightseeing schedules should pause. The month varies by year.
- Eid al-Adha Moveable, about ten weeks after Eid al-Fitr
Multi-day family festival following the Hajj period. Expect closures and family visiting. The month varies by year.
- Ashura Moveable, 10 Muharram
A period of heightened sensitivity and security at Sayyidah Zaynab and Sayyidah Ruqayya. Avoid shrine sightseeing then. The month varies by year.
Best things to do in Damascus
Umayyad Mosque
The great Umayyad mosque on a Roman temple site, with a vast marble courtyard and golden mosaics at the city's heart.
Al-Azm Palace
An Ottoman governor's palace of ablaq stone and inlaid rooms, now the museum that teaches you to read Damascene houses.
National Museum of Damascus
Syria's greatest collection, from Ugarit tablets to Dura Europos, reopened in 2025 then hit by a statue theft that year.
Citadel of Damascus
Saladin-era fortress walls over the Barada, planned as an exterior circuit since public access has long been intermittent.
Souq al-Hamidiyeh
The vaulted Ottoman souk that is the grand approach to the Umayyad Mosque, best walked first thing on the first morning.
Souq al-Bzourieh
The spice and sweets souk past Khan Asad Pasha, where Damascus buys baklava, barazek and pistachios by the kilo.
Straight Street
The Roman Via Recta from Bab Sharqi to Bab al-Jabiya, the straight spine that makes the old city quarters legible.
Chapel of Saint Ananias
A small underground chapel tied to Ananias and the baptism of Paul, visited quietly with a caretaker and a guide.
Where to stay in Damascus
Old City: Bab Touma, Bab Sharqi and al-Qaymariya
first future-window stay
Courtyard house hotels inside the walls, walking distance to the mosque, souks and dinner.
Barada and Umayyad Square corridor
full-service hotels
The flagship buildings stand here, with the National Museum and Takiyya a short walk west and the old city a short drive east.
Think twice about
- All of Syria today, including Damascus, for leisure travel
Do not travel today: Syria is in active conflict and consular support barely exists. Save this trip for when that changes.
- Eastern Ghouta suburbs, including Jobar and Douma, as sightseeing
Besieged and largely destroyed from 2013 to 2018 and still rebuilding. Understand the Ghouta from Qasioun with a guide; do not tour it.
- Sayyidah Zaynab town as a base, and its shrine at Ashura or peak pilgrimage
A pilgrimage economy in a repeatedly targeted area, with a bomb plot reported thwarted in January 2025. Visit as a calm-period excursion only.
- Southern provinces, border zones and the desert east
The Bosra day runs only when the southern road and Daraa region conditions allow. Border areas and Islamic State remnant areas are never part of a trip.
Best restaurants in Damascus
Naranj Restaurant
Damascus's top traditional table in the old city, singled out for borgol, hummus and cherry kebab in a polished house.
Beit Jabri
A vast courtyard house restaurant near the Azem Palace, the courtyard lunch to choose if you choose only one.
Beit Sitti
A grandmother's-house restaurant by the Azem Palace for hummus, grills and a long unhurried afternoon tea.
Haretna Restaurant
A lively Bab Touma favourite for mezze, kebab and kibbeh, up the stairs by the police station as locals direct you.
Elissar Restaurant
A long-listed Levantine dining room north of the walls for family-style dinners; evidence is directory level and stated.
Bakdash
The original 1885 booza parlour in Souk al-Hamidiyeh, stretchy mastic ice cream pounded by hand and coated in pistachio.
Al Sediq
A cheap shawarma and grill favourite praised in rankings for meat shawarma; choose the busy spit and eat it fresh.
Best coffee in Damascus
Al Nawfara Cafe
The old city cafe by the Umayyad Mosque famed for its hakawati storyteller; go at dusk and ask if storytelling happens.
Outdoor things to do in Damascus
Mount Qasioun
The mountain panorama over the whole oasis city at sunset, read with a guide, including the destroyed eastern suburbs.
Sayyidah Zaynab Shrine
A major Shia pilgrimage shrine south of the city, visited only in a calm period and outside Ashura, with heavy caveats.
Maaloula
An Aramaic-speaking gorge town of cliff monasteries, war-wounded in 2013, visited as a guest of a returning community.
Saidnaya
A Byzantine pilgrimage convent town north of Damascus, paired with Maaloula for one Qalamoun day with a driver-guide.
Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi Monastery
A cliff monastery of medieval frescoes revived for Muslim-Christian dialogue, reached by a long desert staircase.
Bosra
A black basalt Roman city with a great theatre inside an Ayyubid citadel, war-damaged and on the UNESCO Danger List.
Best hotels in Damascus
Four Seasons Hotel Damascus
The 297-room flagship building by the Barada; the brand left in 2019, so verify the operator before paying brand prices.
Talisman Hotel
A palace house hotel of about 17 rooms near Bab Sharqi, the courtyard splurge travellers remember Damascus by.
Seven Gates Hotel
The former Sheraton being redeveloped as the Seven Gates Hotel from 2025; check what phase is open before booking.
Beit Al Wali Hotel
An 18th century group of Damascene houses in Bab Touma turned into a 29-room courtyard hotel at a moderate level.
Beit Zafran Hotel De Charme
A small house hotel down a car-free lane, praised for breakfasts and staff who solve problems before you name them.
Beit Zaman Hotel
A converted Damascene house hotel at the honest cheap end of the old city houses, with a thin record stated plainly.
Is Damascus expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | SYP 250,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | SYP 700,000 a person |
| Splurge | SYP 2,000,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Four Seasons Hotel Damascus: weeks ahead
- Talisman Hotel: weeks ahead
- Seven Gates Hotel: weeks ahead
- Beit Al Wali Hotel: a few days ahead
- Beit Zafran Hotel De Charme: a few days ahead
- Naranj Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Book any Damascus trip only through a reputable operator who can confirm that month that each property and site is operating.
- Check current travel advice when planning, when booking and on the day of travel. If it says do not travel, do not travel.
Is Damascus safe?
- Do not travel today: Syria is in active conflict, with terrorism, hostage taking and unexploded ordnance among the risks.
- There is no US embassy service beyond Czech protecting power emergencies and no UK consular support from within Syria.
- Unexploded ordnance is a live risk. Stay on established roads and paths outside the city.
- Dress modestly, carry a scarf for mosques and shrines, and never photograph checkpoints, armed men or gatherings.
Damascus travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- A foreign-currency rate far from the official one offered in a lane is a trap, not a bargain. Change money through your hotel or operator.
- Never buy antiquities offered in lanes or markets. Syrian antiquities were looted at scale and the trade is illegal.
- Listings outlive hotels and restaurants in Damascus. Confirm every pick is open that season through a guide or hotel.
Getting around Damascus: public transport and more
- Walk the old city; its lanes take feet, not cars.
- Move across the wider city and on every excursion by car with a vetted driver arranged by an operator or hotel.
- Check intercity roads on the morning of travel and return from excursions before dark where possible.
Who Damascus suits
| Solo travellers | Not ideal |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Not ideal |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Damascus your trip
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