Medina's Free Sights, Site by Site
Most of Medina’s sightseeing sits outside the Haram line, free to enter and open to anyone. Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the Prophet’s Mosque at the center of the city, is the exception: non-Muslims can visit Medina itself, but are barred from entering the mosque and its surrounding marble courtyards, which are reserved for Muslim worshippers, enforced by the General Authority for the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque . Everything below sits beyond that boundary.
Masjid Quba, about 3 km south of the Haram along Darb al-Sunnah, is the first mosque built in Islamic history, founded in 622 CE when the Prophet Muhammad arrived in Medina. It has been expanded under the King Salman Project to hold 66,000 worshippers across white marble courtyards, and it stays free and open 24 hours. Masjid al-Qiblatayn, a short drive northwest, marks the spot where the direction of prayer changed from Jerusalem to Makkah during Dhuhr prayer in 624 CE; its twin minarets and two prayer niches commemorate the moment, and entry is free.
The Seven Mosques complex sits on the western slope of Mount Sela, marking the defensive positions from the 627 CE Battle of the Trench. Despite the name, the site today is really anchored by one building, the modern Al-Fath Mosque, overlooking the old trench basin; free entry. Mount Uhud, 5 km north of the city center, is the more physical stop: a red granite ridge where the Battle of Uhud took place in 625 CE, with the gated Uhud Martyrs’ Cemetery holding 70 companions’ graves, including Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib, and Jabal ar-Rumat (Archers’ Hill) offering a view over the old battlefield. All of it is free and open daily.
Less visited but worth the detour are the restored historic wells: Bir Ghars, where the Prophet is said to have bathed and drawn water, and Bir Uthman, purchased by the companion Uthman ibn Affan to supply the city with fresh water. Both have been rebuilt with traditional stone aqueducts and palm groves around them, and neither charges admission.
For getting between sites without managing taxis stop by stop, the City Sightseeing hop-on-hop-off bus covers 12 stops across two routes for 90 SAR a day (csmadinah.com ), and a search for guided Medina sightseeing tours on Viator is a reasonable way to compare half-day options that bundle several of these sites with a driver. Whichever way you get around, plan the outdoor stretches, Uhud especially, for early morning or after Asr: surface temperatures on the granite ridge climb well past comfortable by late morning from May through September.
The walking tours guide covers the Darb al-Sunnah promenade and the Uhud route on foot in more detail, stop by stop, for anyone skipping the bus.