For other places with the same name, see Palmyra (disambiguation).
The UNESCO heritage sites at Palmyra may be mined, and some parts have been heavily damaged or destroyed. It may be unsafe to travel to Palmyra. See the Syria article for more details. The information on this page may not be current, and some listed sites may no longer exist.
Palmyra was the only oasis in Syria and perhaps the only truly tourist town.
Palmyra (the Roman name) was known as Tadmor to the Syrians. Both meant the same thing - date palm. The name came from the lush oasis adjacent to the city which was home to some million date palms.
Palmyra is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site; all six Syrian UNESCO-listed heritage sites are 'endangered' as of 2013.
Palmyra sat on the standard tourist trek around Syria. Intense competition for business amongst local outfits made the experience somewhat overwhelming to the traveller who had come from the North and had enjoyed a relatively 'quiet' trip thus far. The major tourist attraction of the area was the stunning ruins - the most famous and well-preserved of which were the Temple of Bel, the colonnade, the funerary towers, the hypogeum of 3 brothers, and the Arab castle. All were within a few kilometres of each other.
Much of this irreplaceable heritage was deliberately destroyed by ISIS during armed conflict in 2015. Although Syria's directorate of antiquities and museums makes hopeful statements about rebuilding at least part of the lost heritage using the original pieces, Palmyra is landmine-infested and no longer a tourist destination.
The Lion of Al-lāt was restored in 2017 and can now be found at the National Museum of Damascus.
Many of the historic sites have been destroyed or severely damaged. Mines were removed by Russian forces in 2016-17, but there is no guarantee that all mines have been cleared.
There were no ATMs (that accepted international cards - there was one for Syrian cards) in Palmyra or even a full-service bank. Hotel Bel (on the main street) offered advances on Visa and MasterCard for a 20% commission. There was a local exchange office by the museum which changed foreign currency but did not change traveller's cheques. You would have needed to bring sufficient cash, Syrian pounds, US dollars, or euros for your time in Palmyra.
As usual, the Syrian Commercial Bank offered terrible rates and added commission. You'd have gotten a better deal by checking the rates online then changing with the shop owners in the Souq.
Souvenir shops abounded on the main street with all kinds of jewellery, handicrafts and other wares typical to the Bedouin places. Shopkeepers (in a town with few sources of income other than tourism) were masters in the art of making you part with as much money as possible, so it would have been wise to only carry as much money with you as you were willing to spend on souvenirs (and food - see below) to avoid being talked into spending all or most of the money you had for the rest of your trip in Syria. Typically souvenir shopping would happen around dinner, as many of the restaurants and shops were in the same main street and you would have happened to walk past them on your way to or from the hotels and restaurants.
On the same street, several stands sold roast chicken.
On any of the main roads running north you would have found find falafel stands and small restaurants selling the typical range of Syrian fast food, bakeries selling sweet treats and plenty of convenience stores with drinks and snacks.
The only bars in Palmyra were inside the hotels, such as the Cave Bar in the basement of the Ishtar Hotel. The bar carried a good selection of local beers and wines and you could drink on the terrace of the hotel.
Due to the conflict it is unknown which, if any, of these hotels are in business.
Al Faris Hotel, +963(955)865-545. By the entrance to the village, on the left. Very nice and clean place with big rooms and a nice owner. The owner (who spoke English) welcomed visitors with a watermelon and a tea and could provide a lift anywhere around with his car inexpensively.
The Sun Hotel, +963 31 591-1133, sunhotel-sy@hotmail.com. Just around the corner on the main street near the ruins end, this quiet backpacker joint had a great dorm on the roof and friendly, relaxed owners. Home cooking for all meals of the day (extra cost), very tasty. Double and Triple rooms were available with average bathrooms.
New Afqa Hotel. A good budget bet, was just around the corner from the tourist office. Staff were friendly and spoke English well. Rooms were clean with en suite bathrooms, heating, air conditioning and satellite TV.
Baal Shamen Hotel. Another backpacker favourite. Accommodation was more basic than at the New Afqa Hotel but the rooms were still clean and staff were friendly.
Ishtar Hotel, +963 31 591-3073 (main), +963 944 318-068 (mobile), ishtarhotel@hotmail.com. Was one of the best hotels in Palmyra with very reasonable prices - US$30 for a double room, US$20 for a single room including tax and breakfast. It had a nice cave bar in the basement where you could enjoy the local beers and the tasty red wine. Clean comfortable rooms with private bathrooms and AC in every room. The friendly owner Naim spoke fluent English and French, and was happy to help you about anything you needed in Palmyra. US$20
Bel Hotel, Jamal Abd Alnaseer St, +963 31 5912096, info@hotel-bel.com. Had a friendly family atmosphere; clean rooms with en-suite bathroom, satellite, fridge, air-con and heating. 24-hr hot water, Wi-Fi, and on-site restaurant were available.
Al Nakheel Hotel, +963 31 591-0744, info@alnakheelhotel.net. Was a clean and very friendly hotel with comfortable beds and private bathrooms only a few minutes from the ruins. Run by Mohammed and his brother Ahmed, Mohammed helped you in anyway he can to ensure you had a great time in Palmyra.
{{sleep | name=Orient Hotel | url=http://www.orienthotel-sy.com (dead link: December 2020) | email=orienthotel@hotmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+963(31)591-0131 | tollfree= | fax=+963(31)591-0700 | hours= | price=US$50 double occupancy | checkin= | checkout= | content=Was in city centre, clean, with friendly staff and generous breakfast included. }}
Heliopolis Hotel, PO Box 75 (Main Street near Customs Square), +963 31 591-3921, info@heliopolispalmyra.com. Had unobstructed views of the ruins, Internet service, traditional breakfast. US$100 double occupancy
In the main tourist area, the Hani Internet Café inside the Traditional Palmyra Restaurant charged a pricey S£50 for a half hour. This may have been negotiable in low season. An Internet café slightly north of the centre charged S£20 an hour but had irregular hours.
Buses departed frequently for Damascus, Homs, and Deir-az-Zur.The bus station was a little under a kilometre away from the main street. Other destinations may have needed a private car.
If hiring a private car, you might have wanted to consider side trips to Qasr al-Heir ash-Sharki - a partially excavated Ummayad palace quite literally in the middle of nowhere - and Rasafa, originally a Roman city with heavy Byzantine influence, also used by the Ummayads before being destroyed in the Abbasid era. Rasafa was also of interest as the stone it's built out of, more a quartz-like crystal instead of the usual granite or sandstone, made for a unique appearance. This route led quite close to the Euphrates, where you could have been dropped off in Raqqa, Aleppo, or Hama. Car hire was often pricey and the driver still had to get back to Palmyra. Private tours were the real money maker in the Syrian tourism industry, so expect to pay as much as US$100 if you were heading for Aleppo or Hama or a bit less to Raqqa.