Al Balad – Downtown Amman

Al Balad – Downtown Amman

Al Balad – Downtown Amman
4.5
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2-3 hours
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  • Jadranka P
    London, United Kingdom717 contributions
    Vibrant old town
    Typical Arab bazar located in downtown area, next to the ancient ruins of the 6,000 seater Roman amphitheatre, constructed in the 2nd century when the city was known as Philadelphia. Walking around downtown towards the oldest mosque in Amman, you pass through numerous stalls selling all sort of goods and cafes/ restaurants with exotic smells. The traffic downtown is heavy and everything is buzzing with life and energy.
    Visited November 2022
    Written 27 February 2023
  • zuv
    Bucharest, Romania27,124 contributions
    Not for the faint-hearted
    The old part of the city. Mixed feelings. Seen from a distance, it seems somewhat beautiful, if you ignore the uniform, monotonous, sad color of the buildings. The streets are like a roller coaster route, in a permanent ascent and descent, interconnected by pedestrian paths made up of dozens, hundreds of steps. Up close, you encounter a lot of garbage on the streets, buildings with unmaintained facades, infernal congestion (both cars and pedestrians). The area also looks like a huge bazaar, there are hundreds of small shops, with goods displayed on the sidewalks or hanging on the facades of the buildings. In the souks, agro-food markets, all kinds of products, vegetables, fruits, spices, meat, are sold in poor hygiene conditions. However, the area has a certain charm, fully worth visiting.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 6 April 2023
  • LolaGo1
    Washington DC, District of Columbia6,407 contributions
    Glad that I stayed in this Neighborhood!
    I am glad that I stayed here for 3 days. Accross from my hotel is the Roman Theater that I can see it from my bedroom window for 24 hours. There are shops, restaurants, stores, etc. on both sides of the main street. Went shopping here for some items that I badly needed. Vendors are kind and helpful here, found help in buying a lock for my suitcase. Note that only cash is accepted and haggling is practised here. Along the way, also noted a big mosque that is opened only to Muslims, not opened for tourists.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 30 October 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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LolaGo1
Washington DC, DC6,407 contributions
Oct 2023 • Solo
I am glad that I stayed here for 3 days. Accross from my hotel is the Roman Theater that I can see it from my bedroom window for 24 hours.

There are shops, restaurants, stores, etc. on both sides of the main street. Went shopping here for some items that I badly needed. Vendors are kind and helpful here, found help in buying a lock for my suitcase. Note that only cash is accepted and haggling is practised here.

Along the way, also noted a big mosque that is opened only to Muslims, not opened for tourists.
Written 30 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SJM Jordan
Amman, Jordan209 contributions
Feb 2023 • Friends
This is the one place I make sure to take all guests from outside the country to, the walk there is really nice, you get to see the locals everyday life
Written 20 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

zuv
Bucharest, Romania27,124 contributions
Mar 2023 • Solo
The old part of the city. Mixed feelings. Seen from a distance, it seems somewhat beautiful, if you ignore the uniform, monotonous, sad color of the buildings. The streets are like a roller coaster route, in a permanent ascent and descent, interconnected by pedestrian paths made up of dozens, hundreds of steps. Up close, you encounter a lot of garbage on the streets, buildings with unmaintained facades, infernal congestion (both cars and pedestrians).
The area also looks like a huge bazaar, there are hundreds of small shops, with goods displayed on the sidewalks or hanging on the facades of the buildings. In the souks, agro-food markets, all kinds of products, vegetables, fruits, spices, meat, are sold in poor hygiene conditions.
However, the area has a certain charm, fully worth visiting.
Written 6 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jadranka P
London, UK717 contributions
Nov 2022
Typical Arab bazar located in downtown area, next to the ancient ruins of the 6,000 seater Roman amphitheatre, constructed in the 2nd century when the city was known as Philadelphia. Walking around downtown towards the oldest mosque in Amman, you pass through numerous stalls selling all sort of goods and cafes/ restaurants with exotic smells. The traffic downtown is heavy and everything is buzzing with life and energy.
Written 27 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brun066
Florence, Italy12,220 contributions
Aug 2022
The Amman downtown and the “Al Balad” souk practically coincide. The traditional point of reference of it (however relatively recent, dated from 1924, because as we know Amman is a recent city as a whole) is the Grand Husseini Mosque: from it the stalls of the souk branch off in various directions, with a specialization between areas which is typical of these markets.
Although it is not an extraordinarily large souk, it is nevertheless picturesque, and wandering among the stalls (at least those intended for food) is a joy for the eyes and for the smell. Recommended.
Written 12 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DaisyChain12
Hitchin, UK1,579 contributions
Aug 2022 • Solo
I visited this area numerous times during my time in Amman as a solo female traveller and wandered down the little souls enjoying the hustle and bustle of locals lives. Very photogenic and enjoyable for buying some souvenirs, or just people watching!
Written 6 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

joannehurley
London, UK1,111 contributions
May 2022
We spent about two hours here today, we had a lovely time trying different fruits and cakes. The people were super friendly always saying hello and mostly speaking good English, they were also giving out free water, plus it was lovely to see real Jordanians at work and going about their business.
Written 29 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PepyMasso
Sofia, Bulgaria355 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
Soak up the Orient 😀
Vivid, colourful, exotic, smells of spices, roasted nuts, chestnuts, corn and dozens of stalls selling sweets, confectioners, ice cream, toys on one side and shops on the other, selling souvenirs, clothes, fresh juices, parfumes, shining gold shops., cafés, restaurants, old buildings... Al Balad is a busy place, full of people and cars. Strangely enough, all this hustle and bustle is a kind of relaxing. Do not miss The Duke's Diwan - the oldest building in the heart of Amman, Roman theatre, Hashem restaurant, king Faisal avenue with beautiful tall palm trees. Enjoy during the day, also at night 😀
Written 24 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AlDON B
Amman, Jordan141 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
Nice experience at amman Jordan with nice people as well 😀
Thank youuuu all nice Jordanian people and delicious food
You should try Mansaf
And for breakfast you should try falafel and hummus so delicious of course you will like it so much and I forgot shawarma it's really unforgettable 😋
Written 12 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Belfasttravelguy
Belfast, UK1,748 contributions
Nov 2021 • Friends
It’s worth taking a visit to the downtown area to experience the more authentic part of Amman. There are plenty of shops, souks, restaurants etc and it’s more bustling. There were quite a lot of pet shops too! We also found a rooftop bar which had pet rabbits and a guinea pig running around.
Written 2 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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AL BALAD – DOWNTOWN AMMAN: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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