New Delhi, India

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

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Overview

Delhi has been destroyed and rebuilt seven times. The current version layers Mughal grandeur, British imperial geometry, and 21st-century ambition into a city that never resolves its contradictions — and is better for it.

Mughal Architecture & Medieval Ruins

Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb (the Taj prototype), Qutub Minar, Jama Masjid, and dozens of lesser-known tombs scattered across south Delhi — seven cities' worth of monuments in one.

North Indian Food Capital

Butter chicken was invented here. Old Delhi's Mughlai cuisine, Chandni Chowk's street food, Punjabi dhabas, and India's best fine dining — Delhi is ground zero for North Indian food.

Imperial & Political Capital

Lutyens' grand avenues, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Parliament — the architecture of power from British Raj to modern republic, concentrated along Kartavya Path.

Spiritual Crossroads

The langar at Bangla Sahib, Sufi qawwali at Nizamuddin, Hindu temples, Jain shrines, and the Bahai Lotus Temple — Delhi's religious diversity is visible on every block.

Markets & Crafts

Chandni Chowk's Mughal-era bazaars, Khan Market's designer boutiques, Dilli Haat's pan-Indian crafts, and Connaught Place — from wholesale spice markets to luxury retail.

Green Spaces & Hidden History

Lodhi Gardens' medieval tombs among joggers, Mehrauli's unmarked ruins, Hauz Khas Complex, and Agrasen ki Baoli — Delhi's quieter side rewards explorers who look between the buildings.
Travel Overview

Delhi is not one city but several stacked on top of each other. The Mughals built Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) with the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. The British built New Delhi with Lutyens' sweeping avenues, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and India Gate. Modern India added the Metro, Connaught Place's commercial buzz, and satellite cities like Gurugram. And underneath all of it, ruins of five earlier Delhis scatter across the landscape — medieval tombs appear between apartment blocks, Sultanate-era mosques sit in public parks, and Qutub Minar's 12th-century minaret presides over south Delhi's suburbs. This layering is what makes Delhi extraordinary and exhausting in equal measure. Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk is sensory overload: rickshaws, spice markets, Mughal-era havelis, and paranthas served since 1872. Humayun's Tomb (the Taj Mahal's prototype) sits in manicured gardens 15 minutes south. The Lodhi Gardens contain 15th-century royal tombs where Delhiites jog each morning. And Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the main Sikh temple, feeds 10,000 people free meals daily in the world's largest community kitchen. Delhi demands at least 3-4 days and a strong tolerance for traffic, air quality discussions, and temperature extremes — but rewards with a concentration of Mughal architecture, food traditions, and cultural institutions unmatched anywhere in India.

Discover New Delhi

Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) is where the city's Mughal DNA is most concentrated. Chandni Chowk, the 1.3-kilometer main avenue laid out by Shah Jahan's daughter in 1650, remains one of Asia's densest commercial streets — a cacophony of cycle rickshaws, wholesale markets, silver shops, spice traders, and food stalls operating in buildings that haven't changed structurally since the Mughal era. The Red Fort (Lal Qila, ₹600 for foreigners) anchors the eastern end: Shah Jahan's sandstone-and-marble palace complex, with the Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall), Diwan-i-Khas (private audience hall where the Peacock Throne once sat), and the delicate marble pavilions of the Rang Mahal. Opposite the Red Fort, Jama Masjid (India's largest mosque, free entry, ₹300 for minaret climb) offers panoramic Old Delhi views from its 40-meter southern tower. Inside Chandni Chowk's lanes: Paranthe Wali Gali has served stuffed parathas since 1872 (try rabri parantha), Khari Baoli is Asia's largest wholesale spice market (the turmeric aisle alone is worth the detour), and Dariba Kalan is the silver and jewelry bazaar. Navigate by cycle rickshaw — they know the lanes; you don't.

Diplomatic missions in New Delhi

11 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.