Amman, JO

A downtown institution open around the clock, serving nothing but the essentials, falafel, ful, hummus, and fresh bread, on metal tables spilling into an alley. There is no menu and the bill is tiny, and Jordanian royalty has eaten here alongside everyone else.

A traditional Jordanian restaurant in a restored Rainbow Street villa with a garden and rooftop, the go-to for a proper sit-down mansaf, the national lamb-and-yogurt-and-rice dish. Where to eat Jordanian heritage food without the canteen rush.

A modern Jordanian cafe-restaurant championing local, seasonal produce, best known for a beautiful traditional breakfast spread of labneh, eggs, and za'atar. The contemporary, daylight counterpart to the old downtown canteens.

A cozy Weibdeh restaurant built around a leafy, shaded courtyard, serving home-style Levantine food, drinks, and shisha in a tiled, soft-lit setting. The neighborhood's relaxed all-evening hangout among the galleries.

A downtown sweets institution famous for kunafa, the hot cheese-and-syrup pastry, sold by weight from a hole-in-the-wall counter that draws a constant local crowd. The single best bite of Jordanian dessert in the city.

An upscale Levantine restaurant in a restored 1950s villa near the First Circle, plating refined mezze and grills with garden seating and proper service. The special-occasion version of Jordanian and Lebanese cooking.

A legendary shawarma stand by the Second Circle where a perpetual late-night queue forms for tightly-wrapped, garlicky shawarma off the spit. A cheap, standing-room city ritual rather than a sit-down meal.

A first-floor downtown cafe-restaurant with a nostalgic, lamp-lit interior, Arabic music, mezze, and shisha overlooking King Faisal Street. The atmospheric spot to slow down in the middle of the souk bustle.

An eco-minded cafe run by Jordan's nature conservation society, perched on a Jabal Amman terrace with one of the best downtown-and-Citadel views in the city and a healthy, local menu. Coffee and a view with a conscience.

A warm, well-regarded Italian restaurant in Jabal Al-Weibdeh doing handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza when the table needs a break from mezze and grills. Consistent and unflashy, a dependable choice for a non-Jordanian night.

A rooftop restaurant and bar in Jabal Amman with a sweeping city view and a Mediterranean-leaning menu of sharing plates and cocktails. The grown-up sundowner-into-dinner spot above the rooftops.

A green valley walk west of the city following a stream past springs, terraced gardens, and old watermills to Qasr al-Abd, a rare Hellenistic palace carved with lions. A genuine countryside hike a short drive from the capital's hills.

The capital's largest landscaped park, a sweep of lawns, woodland paths, and walkways linking the automobile and children's museums on the city's western side. The flat, green space Amman families fill on weekends.

A big green expanse around the Sports City complex on the north side, threaded with shaded walking and jogging tracks among pines. The everyday urban run-and-stroll park rather than a destination sight.

The long public staircases that climb from the valley of Al-Balad up to Jabal Amman, some painted in bright murals, linking the old city to the Rainbow Street heights. A short, steep, atmospheric urban climb through everyday neighborhoods.

The country's flagship museum in Ras al-Ain, home to the 9,000-year-old Ain Ghazal statues, some of the oldest human figures ever made, and Dead Sea Scroll fragments. The single best place to grasp Jordan's deep history.

A leading modern and contemporary art museum in Weibdeh, with a strong collection of work from across the Arab and Islamic world spread over two buildings and a sculpture park between them. The serious art stop in the city.

An influential art center spread across restored 1920s houses on a Weibdeh hillside, with galleries, an art library, a leafy garden, and the ruins of a 6th-century Byzantine church in the grounds. As much a place to linger as to look.

The late King Hussein's personal collection of cars and motorcycles in King Hussein Park, tracing modern Jordan's history through the royal garage, from vintage Mercedes to film-used vehicles. A surprisingly engaging stop even for non-car people.

A large, hands-on children's museum in King Hussein Park with interactive science, culture, and play exhibits across two floors. The obvious rainy-day or kid-energy outlet, and one of the best in the region.

A summer Friday flea-and-craft market that takes over a Rainbow Street side lane with handmade goods, vintage finds, street food, and live music. The liveliest seasonal evening out in Jabal Amman.

A hands-on Jordanian cooking experience in a Weibdeh family home where you learn to make traditional dishes from local women, then sit down to eat what you cooked. A warm, social way into Jordanian food and home life.

A traditional hammam in Jabal Amman offering steam, scrub, and massage in tiled, candle-lit rooms, a relaxing, atmospheric way to end a day on the city's hills. Sessions are typically single-sex by time slot.

A grassroots cultural center in a downtown-edge Weibdeh house, hosting live music, talks, film nights, and a courtyard cafe that draws the city's students and artists. The place to catch Amman's independent creative scene in action.

The ancient hilltop heart of the city on Jabal al-Qal'a, layering Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad ruins, including the towering columns of the Temple of Hercules and a domed Umayyad palace. The best single overview of Amman's hills spreads below from the edge.

A steep 6,000-seat theater carved into the hillside in the 2nd century when Amman was Roman Philadelphia, still used for the odd concert today. The climb to the top tier is rewarded with a head-on view of the Citadel opposite.

The walkable spine of Jabal Amman, a sloping street of old villas turned cafes, galleries, and shops that comes alive in the evening. The easiest place to feel the city's social side, with side alleys of street art and viewpoints branching off.

Al-Balad, the dense old commercial core in the valley, all spice shops, gold souks, juice stalls, and family-run stores under crumbling facades. The most authentic, sensory slice of everyday Amman, and the city at its least polished.

The city's most striking mosque, crowned by a huge blue mosaic dome and open to respectful non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times. The one major mosque in Amman set up to welcome a look inside.

The pink-and-white mosque at the very center of downtown, rebuilt on the site of an ancient mosque and ringed by the busiest souks. Less a tourist sight than the living pivot the old city's commerce turns around.

The hilltop neighborhood that has become Amman's art district, a quieter grid of 1930s villas, galleries, indie cafes, and the leafy Paris Square. Where the city's creative class lives, and the best area to wander aimlessly.

The oldest surviving residential building in downtown, a 1920s house preserved as a free cultural salon stuffed with old photographs, furniture, and a balcony over the bustle of King Faisal Street. A quiet, atmospheric peek into Amman before the sprawl.

The remains of a grand 2nd-century Roman public fountain tucked among the downtown shops, slowly being excavated and restored. An easily-missed ruin that rewards the short detour off the souk lanes.