How many days do you need in Palmyra?
The ruins, the tower tombs and sunset from the castle fit into a single day, and the order follows the light: the first two hours of the morning on the colonnaded street, a break at midday, the tower tombs late in the afternoon, and up to the castle an hour before sunset. Damascus is about three hours away by road, so a day trip means six hours in the car — if you can stay a night you keep the morning light. There is no shade: a hat and at least two litres of water.
- Suggested length
- 1 day
- Total visiting time across these places
- 12 hours 20 minutes
- Best season
- March–May, October–November
Ready-made routes
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On foot · 3 hoursA second walk in Palmyra: from the Baths of Diocletian to the Funerary Temple
A second half-day walk in Palmyra: the granite-columned baths, the Temple of Nabu, the agora with 11 gates and the only tomb inside the walls. Four stops, timed.
By car · 2 daysDesert palaces: two days from Palmyra to Damascus
The two Qasr al-Hayr palaces the Umayyad caliph Hisham built a year apart, and the front door of one now standing in Damascus: 470 kilometres of steppe, two days.
By car and on foot · 2 daysTwo days in Palmyra: from the spring to a desert palace
A second programme for anyone who has walked the colonnade: the spring that made the oasis, an army camp, the valley of tombs, and a palace on the steppe.
What to see
Palmyra · 2nd century ADThe Temple of Nabu at Palmyra
A 2nd-century temple at Palmyra built for Nabu, the Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. Where it stands by the colonnaded street, what is known and its state.
Palmyra · late 2nd–3rd centuryThe Funerary Temple at Palmyra (Tomb 86)
A family tomb dressed as a temple, with a six-column portico at the west end of Palmyra's colonnaded street. The only tomb inside the walls: what to see and where.
Palmyra · Roman periodThe Baths of Diocletian at Palmyra
Four giant granite columns mark the entrance to a Roman bath on Palmyra's colonnaded street. Each is over 12 metres tall; what else survives and where to find it.
- Palmyra · 2nd century AD
The Agora of Palmyra and the Tariff Court
Where Palmyra's caravans paid tax: a 71 by 84 metre courtyard with 11 gates, and the court where the tariff of AD 137 was found. What remains and how long to allow.
- North-east of Palmyra · 8th century
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi
An Umayyad palace in open steppe: two walled enclosures built for Caliph Hisham in 728, decorative towers, a bathhouse, and water piped in from far away.
Palmyra · AD 103The Tower of Elahbel
The one tower tomb in Palmyra's Valley of the Tombs open to visitors: four floors of burial niches, each sealed with a portrait. Blown up in August 2015.
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- The answer on this page is written by hand. The lists are built from published records tied to this city and grow on their own as records are added.
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Last updated
- September 15, 2026