Amman Citadel

Tickets and tours: all the options

Entry is a single ticket bought at the gate at the top of the hill, and it is covered by the Jordan Pass, which most foreign visitors buy before arrival because it also waives the tourist visa fee. The ticket includes the Jordan Archaeological Museum on the site. There is nothing to book in advance and no timed entry.

What is sold online is mostly city walks in which the Citadel is one part. Walking tours of downtown Amman take in the markets, the Roman Theatre and the hill, sometimes with a street art trail. Food walks add tastings of falafel, knafeh and coffee, and a few cultural outings combine the Citadel with a cooking, embroidery or dance class and a meal in a local home. Day trips by car cover the Citadel in the morning and then Jerash and the hilltop castle at Ajloun, or the old town of As-Salt with lunch. Private guides are easy to hire in Amman and are reasonably priced.

Signs on the hill are short, so a guide helps to separate the many periods. For most visitors the Citadel works best on their own with the Jordan Pass, perhaps with a short guide at the gate; join a city walk if you want the downtown streets explained too.

A short history

Citadel Hill has traces of settlement from the Neolithic period, and a tomb shows occupation in the Middle Bronze Age. In the Iron Age it was the capital of the Ammonite kingdom, the Rabbath Ammon of the Bible. It passed to Assyrian, Babylonian, Ptolemaic and Seleucid rulers, and under Rome the city, renamed Philadelphia, spread into the valleys, leaving the hill as its acropolis. The Great Temple dates from AD 161 to 166. After the Muslim conquest the Umayyads built a palace here, but the town declined later and was largely empty until Circassian settlers arrived in 1878. Excavations by Italian, British, French, Spanish and Jordanian teams have continued since the 1920s, and much of the hill is still unexcavated.

Getting there

The Citadel sits on the hill directly above downtown Amman. From hotels in the city centre a taxi or ride-hailing car takes about 5 minutes to the gate on the hilltop road; from Abdoun or Shmeisani allow 15 to 20 minutes. On foot, steep lanes and stairways climb from the area near the Roman Theatre and King Talal Street; the walk takes about 20 minutes and is hot in summer, so many people take a taxi up and walk down. Queen Alia International Airport is about 35 km south, around 40 minutes by taxi or by the Airport Express bus to the city. Parking at the top is limited but usually possible.

Rules and what to bring

Keep off the walls, the temple podium and the statue fragments, and do not enter fenced excavation areas. Drones are not allowed without official permission in Amman. Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, as you would elsewhere in the city. The hill is exposed, so bring water, a hat and sunscreen; in winter a windproof layer helps. Toilets are near the entrance and a few vendors sell drinks, but there is no proper café on the site.

When to go

Arrive at opening at 8 am for cool air and an empty hill, or come in the last hour before closing, when the low sun lights the city and the call to prayer rises from the mosques below. Tour groups usually visit between about 10 am and 1 pm, often combined with the Roman Theatre.

March to May and October to November are the most comfortable months. Summer afternoons are hot on the open hilltop, though Amman is less extreme than the Jordan Valley. Winter brings cold winds and occasional rain, and on rare days snow. Fridays, the weekly holiday, bring local families in the afternoon. During Ramadan the site may close earlier than usual. Allow about an hour and a half for the ruins and museum, and longer if you want to sit at the viewpoints.