What's a good 3-day itinerary for Amman?

Amman is built across 19 hills, and your legs will know it by noon. Day 1 stays in the valley at the bottom of Jabal al-Qala'a, where the Roman Theatre sits with its 6,000 limestone seats dating to somewhere between 138 and 161 CE. The morning sun hits the eastern tiers first, and before 9 AM the only sounds are pigeons and the distant call to prayer from King Hussein Mosque. The acoustics still carry a whisper from the stage to the top row. From the theatre, a steep stairway climbs about 20 minutes to the Citadel, where the Temple of Hercules, built around 162 CE, stands with two columns visible across half the city. The Umayyad Palace complex behind it dates to the 8th century. Back down in the valley, Hashem Restaurant has served falafel and fuul since the 1950s for about 2 JOD a plate. Tables crowd the sidewalk, the air smells of frying chickpeas, and the foot traffic on King Faisal Street stays thick until after dark.

Day 2 moves west into Jabal al-Weibdeh, a neighborhood of narrow streets lined with fig trees and stone walls that looks nothing like downtown. The Jordan Museum opened in 2014 and holds two things worth the 5 JOD admission. The Ain Ghazal statues date to roughly 7300 BCE, plaster figures with wide flat eyes that predate pottery. A copper fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls sits on the second floor under glass. Give the museum 90 minutes, then walk south to Darat al-Funun, where three 1920s stone houses contain rotating art exhibitions. The garden smells like jasmine in September and the terrace gives you a direct sightline to the Citadel across the valley. Lunch at Shams El Balad on Rainbow Street runs 8 to 12 JOD, and the fattoush uses local za'atar from Ajloun. By 4 PM, Paris Circle fills with university students nursing small Turkish coffees at sidewalk tables.

Day 3 starts on the eastern hills and loops back through downtown's markets. Abu Darwish Mosque on Jabal al-Ashrafiyeh has alternating courses of black and white stone, an Ottoman-period design visible from several neighborhoods to the west. Non-Muslim visitors can enter outside prayer times, and the custodian tends to be generous with tea. A 3 JOD taxi gets you to King Abdullah I Mosque in Al-Abdali, the blue-domed building completed in 1989 that holds 7,000 worshippers. The interior stays cool even at midday, with thick carpet underfoot and the hollow quiet of large domed spaces. Save the afternoon for downtown's gold souk along King Faisal Street, where narrow shops smell like cardamom and saffron from the spice stalls next door. Dinner should be mansaf, lamb in jameed sauce over rice on a shared platter. The fermented yogurt has a sharp tang that divides opinion on the first spoonful. Al-Quds Restaurant does a solid version for about 5 JOD.

Some things the first-timer needs to hear. The Jordanian dinar runs stronger than the dollar. 1 USD converts to about 0.709 JOD, so a 15 JOD dinner costs roughly $21. Cash is still the norm at downtown restaurants, though western Amman takes cards. Friday is the weekly holiday, so the Roman Theatre museum and most downtown shops close or shorten hours. Plan the Citadel for Saturday through Thursday. Distances on a map lie because Amman is vertical. A 1 km walk might involve 80 metres of elevation gain. Wear shoes with grip, not sandals. September evenings currently drop to around 22°C after dark, comfortable for sitting outside without a jacket until late October.