The Tourist's Guide to Faerûn

Many people know Faerûn for its dungeons, dragons, and dangerous roads. But its adventures are only half the story. Between the coast, the great inland seas, and the deep places beneath the mountains, the Realms are also made of busy markets, late-night inns, strange specialty shops, and cities worth visiting simply to see what is around the next corner.

This is a traveler’s first pass across the lands of Faerûn: a companion to our Cities of the Forgotten Realms, Fantasy Inns and Pubs, and Fantasy Inns, Pubs and Shops collections. Consider it an itinerary for the curious, the thirsty, and the traveler who always leaves room in a pack for an unexpected purchase. The Realms have changed across eras and editions, of course; this guide is about the enduring character of these places rather than a single date on the calendar.

The long road along the Sword Coast

For many visitors, the western coast is the natural place to begin. In the far north, Icewind Dale offers a harder, colder welcome. In Bryn Shander, the Luskan Arms is a good place to get out of the wind and trade news from the road. It also places a traveler in the country long associated with Drizzt Do’Urden—useful knowledge, if only because everyone seems to have a story about the ranger.

South on the coast lies Luskan, where sailors, pirates, and people with reasons not to give their real names tend to converge. A stop at One-Eyed Jax’s is not exactly a quiet evening, but it is an efficient way to take the temperature of the city. The name naturally brings Jarlaxle to mind, and the place feels like the sort of establishment where a wise traveler listens more than they talk.

From there, the coast runs past Neverwinter, the Jewel of the North and city of skilled hands, and on to Waterdeep. Waterdeep’s influence reaches far beyond its harbor; it is the kind of city where a visitor can arrive looking for a map and leave with a new quest, three rumors, and a bag of equipment they did not know existed. For the last of those, begin with Aurora’s Whole Realms Catalogue. If Aurora’s cannot supply it, perhaps you did not truly need it—or perhaps you are about to begin an unusually good story.

Further south, Baldur’s Gate stands in the Western Heartlands, north of Amn and south of Waterdeep. Its nicknames—among them the City of Blood—tell a visitor to keep their wits about them. But trade and travelers flow through the city for a reason: it is one of the great gateways between the Sword Coast and the lands beyond.

Amn and the road to Calimshan

Just south of Baldur’s Gate is Amn, a mercantile power whose roads and sea lanes have long carried goods between the coast, Baldur’s Gate, and Calimshan. Its capital, Athkatla, is the City of Coin—an apt name for a place where commerce is not merely an occupation but a local language. Humans and halflings are especially prominent among Amn’s people, while merchants of every kind give the city its restless energy.

Continue south and the landscape opens into Calimshan, where Calimport has, in more than one age, been counted among Faerûn’s largest cities. It is a proper destination for the traveler who wants a whole day devoted to wandering. Begin with a drink at the Blue Lady, then make time for the textiles at the House of Silken Shadows and the temptations of Sabban’s Luxuries and Oddities. No guide can guarantee what a visitor will find at Sabban’s; that is largely the point.

In far eastern Calimshan, Suldolphor, the Golden City, offers another kind of coastal stop. And in Memnon, a practical traveler should know the name Zephyr’s Caravan Supply. Someone has to see that the souvenirs, provisions, and improbable finds make the next leg of the journey intact.

East across the seas

The eastern Realms make clear just how much Faerûn is connected by water. Across the continent, the Sea of Fallen Stars links coastal cities and the Dalelands, while the Alamber Sea binds together the shores of Mulhorand, Thay, and Unther.

On the Thayan side, Bezantur, the City of a Thousand Temples, is a major port on the Alamber Sea. Across the water and along the southern coast, Gheldaneth sits in Mulhorand near the mouth of the River of Spears, while ancient Skuld carries the weight of its long history on that same sea. Skuld’s destruction in the Spellplague is one of the reminders that even the oldest landmarks in the Realms can be touched by cataclysm.

South of Thay, Unthalass was the capital of Unther. It too was destroyed in the Spellplague; after the Second Sundering, the returned people of Unther began rebuilding it. That makes Unthalass a particularly evocative stop in a setting where old stories, lost places, and renewal so often travel together.

Along the Sea of Fallen Stars, Cimbar is another great port, a reminder that the eastern coast has its own routes, histories, and horizons beyond the familiar cities of the west.

A detour beneath the surface—and into the Dalelands

Not every memorable destination lies under open sky. Deep in the Upper Northdark, Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders and birthplace of Drizzt Do’Urden, is a destination for the exceptionally brave or exceptionally ill-advised. It lies beneath the Surbrin Valley, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. Should a traveler somehow find themselves in need of refreshment there, the Oozing Myconid makes “dive bar” feel less like a figure of speech.

For a gentler change of pace, turn toward the Dalelands, west of the Sea of Fallen Stars. In Shadowdale, the Old Skull Inn has the right sort of reputation for a town tied to Elminster. Before leaving, visit Elminster’s Pipeweed & Oddments for provisions with a little local flavor. And if the road has been particularly unkind to your gear, Ironoak Repairs & Salvage is a sensible place to set things right.

Pack light; come home with stories

That is the pleasure of touring the Forgotten Realms. A trip can begin as a straightforward route from Icewind Dale to Baldur’s Gate and become, without warning, a hunt for oddities in Calimport, a late supper in Shadowdale, or a much-too-ambitious descent toward Menzoberranzan. The cities, inns, pubs, and shops are not scenery around the adventure. They are where the adventure catches its breath, spends its coin, and decides where to go next.

Where would your first stop be? Browse the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired designs, our fantasy pubs, or return to the full Cities of the Forgotten Realms collection.