24 Hours in Amman: best things to see and to do
Amman, the capital city of Jordan, often gets overlooked as a tourist destination.
To be fair, Jordan’s most renowned tourist attractions are elsewhere: Petra, the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba…The country’s location, in an area of near-constant geopolitical turmoil, doesn’t help and you can also add to that the fact that, Jordan, as a country, lacks the budgets and resources which other countries in the Middle East are investing to become major tourism and business entrepôts.
However, and while it does not have huge landmarks, Amman is not lacking its unique charm and, most of all, authenticity (yes, I know this word is cliché, but if you have visited other cities in the Middle East and then you go to Amman, you will understand what I mean). There’s, in fact, more than enough to keep you going for a full intense day of sightseeing or two, if you take things at a more leisurely pace.
In my case, it was a short 24 hour stopover with an overnight. My hotel was rather central, so this allowed me to visit the key areas of the center on foot during the day (Note: it was November, so the heat was very bearable, I guess it’s different in summer).
Perhaps after Ryanair announced a significant ramp up of its flights between Amman and Europe, the city is going to become a lot more popular with tourists.
Let’s see what I think are the top things to do and to see in Amman if you there on a short visit!
Arriving in Jordan: some practical informations
Although I found Jordan quite an easy country to move through, it’s important to prepare a bit before going.
Visa: citizens of many countries (including the EU and US) can get a visa on arrival. It costs something like US$50 and you can get it at the airport. There is a counter at the airport where they will take payment (credit cards accepted).
There is also a Jordanian government web portal where you can prefill the form, but in my case it turned out not to work properly.
Currency: although cards are accepted in many places, I found it convenient, particularly since I arrived in the middle of the night, to get some cash at the airport. This proved to be handy latter during the day.
Moving around:
Queen Alia International Airport (a beautiful and very modern airport, btw) is a bit far from the center, some 40km or so. There are some buses, but the taxis are not too expensive, so I opted for this option. Both Uber and its Middle Eastern equivalent, Careem, work in Jordan. I think it was a very good decision to use them to optimize travel times.
There is no metro in Amman and public transportation seems a bit difficult to understand if you are not local. In fact, if you stay in the city center and provided you have no problem withe going a bit uphill at timse, you can just walk around, which is what I did.
What I would recommend, though, is getting an e-sim, to be able to orient yourself around and get an Uber or Careem if you need to.
Making sense of Amman: a very hilly city
One thing that you will notice immediately when you are on site is how hilly Amman is (like so many iconic cities it is built on 7 hills!),
In fact, the most buzzing part of the historical center is basically on a narrow stretch of flat space found between several of these hills. And some of the landmarks, like the citadel and Rainbow Street are located on top of them.
For reference, most of what I describe in this post is located within the red square above.
This was the area I moved around in during my visit.
This are is all within walkable distance (although bits of it are quite steep, tbh!)
Top sight: Amman Citadel
If you have time just for one thing in Amman, go to the Citadel! This is the most ancient part of the city, and that’s no small statement. In fact, Amman is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements in the World!
So, pretty much all Ancient civilizations that the Near East has seen have, at some point or another, left their imprint on the area where the Citadel is now located.
Curious fact: throughout most of Classic Antiquity, from the Hellenistic period (around 3rd C BC to the early Middle Ages, Amman was known as “Philadelphia”!
Most of what you see today on the Citadel is actually from the Roman and Umayyad periods.
But even if you are not that interested in the Ancient history, the Citadel will give you some of the best views of the modern city of Amman (including the massive flag which has become something of a landmark)!
The Citadel occupies the whole top of an “L-shaped” hill with majestic views on all sides.
Besides the different layers of Ancient ruins, it also contains a small archaeological museum (more on this soon.
The Citadel perimeter is enclosed by a fence, and there it is necessary to pay a small entry fee to get in.
There are also some services, including a café and a shop.
There are buses that go up to the Citadel, although it is also perfectly possible to walk (it’s a bit steep, though!)
I would advise allocating a couple of hours to visit the Citadel, since there are quite a few points of interest, including the, rather impressive, remains of the temple of Hercules and a palace complex dating back to the early Islamic period.
To walk through the ruins I used a new app which I had been offered to try, GPSmyCity, which works essentially like an audioguide on your phone, with several landmarks explained (it works in quite a few cities around the world, btw, not just in Jordan).
There is also a small archaeological museum. Quite old school and, to be honest, sometimes a bit cluttered, trying to explain the whole history of mankind in such a small space! .Given the richness of the archaeological heritage in Jordan, it had quite a few remarkable pieces, though!
From the Citadel it is possible to spot the next big landmark on our Amman sightseeing list: the Roman theatre!
Amman’s Roman Theater
As you may have seen in the picture above, the Roman theatre is just downhill from the Citadel, actually built on the sides of the opposite hill.
It is possible to walk down a few alleyways and get to the theatre in a few minutes. The biggest challenge is crossing the major avenue that cuts through the middle of Amman, since the traffic is nonstop (I finally just followed a group of locals that just forced their way through the traffic, strength in numbers!)
Now, I have been to quite a few Roman theatres (see my post about the Lycian coast), but this one is rather exceptional in two ways:
1) it’s rather good state of conservation/restoration
2) It is sooooo steep, it’s almost vertical! (seriously, look at the pictures below!)
There is a big square in front of the theatre and you can get a good view already from here, but I recommend paying the ticket to get in (it costs the equivalent of a couple of dollars/euros). The view from the top is great (if you don’t maind heights!) and you get the symmetrical view of the Citadel from the opposite hill).
With your entrance ticket you can visit also a small antropological museum located on the wings of the theatre’s base building. Tbh, as a museum is a bit mmmh…don’t expect much, but there are some real life figures representing the different peoples that lived in what it is today Jordan. Spent 10 minutes maximum there.
A walk through Central Amman
After visiting the Citadel and the Roman Theatre I walked a bit through the area around Al-Hashemi Street and its surroundings. This is the valley that lies between three of the city’s hills and it appears to be the historical downtown.
Don’t expect major landmarks here. In fact, I would say it is not even particularly beautiful, BUT it is quite an interesting area that is buzzing with commercial activity.
It is neither old souk experience (in the 1001-nights sense) nor the sanitized modern shopping experience you find in some Gulf countries, it does not even resemble the very touristified Istanbul, but it does have a character of its own.
Jordan is not just a Kingdom, but the monarchy is at the very center of its sense of nationhood. You can see signs of that all over the place.
Here below you can get an idea of how streets look like when you leave the main commercial avenues behind and start climbing uphill through the side streets.
Lunch at Hashem
King Faisal Street, Amman
I went to Hashem for lunch after I saw it popping up repeatedly when researching where to eat in Amman. It didn’t disappoint!
Not only the food was great, but the place has character, staff is efficient and it delivers great value for money.
It is located in a sort of indoors courtyard off one of the main commercial streets and its specialty is Middle Eastern “street food”, that is, several types of hummus (and its derivatives), falafel and the like.
Portions are really big! I ordered hummus, mutabal and falafel and I ended up really full. They also serve the typical flat bread, which is served straight on the table, which is covered with a disposable transparent plastic.
What’s more, I came in expecting I would have to wait a bit, since the place was packed and buzzing, but the staff somehow managed to find me a spot straightaway. The ordering experience is also quite a thing, since you mark on a piece of paper which dishes you wish and in which quantities. The service was also really fast and, upon finishing you pay at a small booth at the exit. Very efficient throughout! As a bonus I also managed to taste the local equivalent of Coca-Cola/Pepsi, called “Matrix”.
The food itself was also great and you can see why this is a place that seems to be a “must-go” for anyone visiting Amman, as the gallery of celebrities on the walls of the restaurant shows.
I would certainly come back!
A walk through Rainbow Street
After such a substantious meal, it was time to get moving again and nothing better to exercise a bit that climbing all the way up to Rainbow Street, another of the areas of note in Amman.
Rainbow Street is at the crest of another hill, just immediately south of downtown, and it is a sort of posh-bohemian area with some cafés and artsy spots. Don’t expect a specific major landmark or some super impressive views here, but it is good for a pleasant stroll along some quiet streets and some coffee.
In this regard, a nice place to stop by is the garden of the Turquoise Mountain Showroom, which showcases artisan handiwork from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
It also has a nice café with a terrace which offers a space of calm to sit down after all the up and down walking.
Great value hotel in Amman: Shams Alweibdeh Hotel Apartments
Al-Baouneyah St., Amman
I booked this hotel at the very last minute since it offered a good combination of reasonable price, good reviews and proximity (walking distance) to the city centre. It turned out to be a good choice for my overnight stay.
This is a 3-star, so not luxurious, but it delivered in everything it promises. The room was actually quite big, it was more of an apartment, since it has its own kitchen and living room. And everything was pretty clean. The bathroom had toiletries, as well.
I didn’t try the breakfast, so, I can’t comment on that. Staff at reception also help me arrange my airport transfer at approximately the same rate than Uber charges.
The hotel is located in a rather calm residential area on top on, you guess it!, another hill. From here to the downtown sights I previously mentioned is about 15 minutes downhill walk, with some sights of both the urban maze that is Amman and the modern business district, along the way.
