Amman · Where to stay

The base most visitors want: 1920s and 30s stone houses, the bars and restaurants of Rainbow Street, and a walkable descent to the Roman Theatre. It is the busiest strip in the city at night, so a room set back from the street matters, and prices are the highest outside the international chains.

The next hill over, around Paris Circle: small guesthouses, cafés, art spaces and a lot of stone staircases. Quieter than Jabal Amman and cheaper for the same standard, with downtown ten minutes downhill and a hard climb back. Not the choice if anyone in the party struggles with steps.

Budget hotels sit directly above the souks between King Faisal Street and the Roman Theatre. You wake to the market and you are ten minutes from the Citadel steps, Hashem and Habibah. Rooms are basic and street noise starts early; almost nowhere here is licensed.

Amman is not a city you walk end to end — the hills are steep, pavements are intermittent and distances look shorter on a map than they are. Sariyah's airport coach runs to Tabarbour North Station via the Seventh Circle, which is nowhere near Jabal Amman or downtown, so budget a taxi at each end.