Friday Mosque
Delhi, India[0.3 miles]
Completed in 1656 by Emperor Shah Jahan, this is one of India’s largest and most beautiful mosques.
Best for ages: 18+ | £3
Best places to stay:
Painstakingly restored from dereliction, this 19th-century haveli, or merchant’s mansion, is tucked away in the narrow atmospheric lanes and alleys of Old Delhi near Chandni Chowk.
Distinguished by its central courtyard overlooked by balconies and galleries, fluted archways and colonnades lead off into heritage-style rooms and suites. Many of these have their own decorative pillars and arches, and all are equipped with solid vintage-style furniture.
The roof terrace offers views across the Old Delhi skyline to the Jami Masjid, while in-house experiences range from classical dance and music performances to kite-flying and neighbourhood walks.
Staying in the old town offers the chance to really immerse yourself in an authentic part of the city, but most of the main sights are a taxi ride away.
In some ways Old Delhi is not for the faint hearted. Many of the streets around Dharampura are narrow, houses and buildings are packed cheek-by-jowl, while the space and greenery of New Delhi seem almost of another country.
Yet Old Delhi is extraordinarily atmospheric and vibrant, its overall feel several notches closer to the medieval world of its Mughal founders when it was known as Shajahanabad. In the midst of all this, Dharampura is a veritable oasis.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Delhi, India[0.3 miles]
Completed in 1656 by Emperor Shah Jahan, this is one of India’s largest and most beautiful mosques.
Best for ages: 18+ | £3
Delhi, India[0.9 miles]
Vast sandstone-walled fort with gardens, audience halls and royal apartments – a high point of Mughal military architecture.
Best for ages: 13+ | £5
Delhi, India[4.8 miles]
The National Museum houses five millennia’s worth of Indian culture alongside an eclectic collection of its celebrated art forms.
Best for ages: 13+ | £7
Delhi, India[6.3 miles]
An extraordinary modern temple complex, drawing on traditional religious architecture and design.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Delhi, India[4.8 miles]
Formerly a palace belonging to the Maharaja of Jaipur, the gallery is now a superb repository of Indian paintings, sculpture and even photography.
Best for ages: 18+ | £5
Delhi, India[6.5 miles]
The former bungalow residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is now a slightly macabre museum. Assassinated here in 1984 by her bodyguards, even that very spot remains spotted with blood.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Delhi, India[6.8 miles]
Among Delhi’s quietest and leafiest parks, Lodi Gardens contain several 15th- and 16th-century tombs and monuments, most relating to the Afghan Lodi dynasty, which was eventually replaced by the Mughals.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Delhi, India[7 miles]
A unique opportunity to experience traditional devotional music, performed in the courtyard of an ancient Sufi tomb-shrine in south Delhi.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 1 hour
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
India
India’s intense sight- and monument-filled capital is a compelling blend of the modern Raj-influenced New Delhi, and the sights, sounds and smells of Old Delhi’s heaving and exotic lanes and bazaars.
India
India’s cultural essence combined with its most iconic sights and greatest bucket list experiences, all distilled into one compact, diverse and vibrant region.