Kerman concentrates around a single long axis — the Vakil Bazaar — running across the old city for two kilometres of brick-vaulted passages. Almost everything worth seeing in town is on or just off this line: the Ganjali Khan complex, the Jameh Mosque, the Malek Mosque, the smaller monuments tucked into the bazaar itself. You can do the city core in a long day on foot, then use Kerman as a base for the famous desert and garden trips outside it.
Save energy for the day trips. The Shazdeh Garden at Mahan, the Shah Nematollah Vali shrine, and a sunset trip into the Kaluts of the Lut Desert are what most travellers remember from Kerman.