Find places in India

Must-Haves

• Humayun's Tomb (Nizamuddin)
  The red sandstone garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal, glowing in late afternoon light.
• Red Fort (Old Delhi)
  The Mughal emperors' palace fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the head of Chandni Chowk.
• Jama Masjid (Old Delhi)
  One of India's largest mosques, with a minaret climb over the rooftops of the old city.
• Qutub Minar (Mehrauli)
  A soaring thirteenth century tower surrounded by ruins and an ancient iron pillar.

Off the Beaten Path

• Nizamuddin Dargah (Nizamuddin)
  A Sufi shrine where qawwali singers perform in the courtyard on Thursday evenings.

Fun for Everyone

• Gurudwara Bangla Sahib (Connaught Place)
  A serene Sikh temple whose community kitchen serves free meals to everyone, every day.
• Delhi Metro Airport Express (New Delhi station)
  The fastest way between the airport and the city centre.

Great for Date Night

• Lodhi Garden (Lodhi Road)
  Shady lawns and fifteenth century tombs where Delhi comes to walk, jog and picnic.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sanjay Van (Mehrauli)
  A wild urban forest hiding ruined walls of an old Delhi city, perfect for a quiet walk.

Must-Haves

• Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi)
  The historic bazaar street for spices, silver, wedding wear and endless snacks.

Off the Beaten Path

• Khari Baoli spice market (Old Delhi)
  Asia's great wholesale spice market, where the air itself makes you sneeze.

Fun for Everyone

• Dilli Haat (INA)
  An open air craft market with stalls from every state and regional food counters.

Great for Date Night

• Khan Market (Khan Market)
  A compact upmarket enclave of bookshops, boutiques, cafés and restaurants.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Karim's (Jama Masjid, Old Delhi)
  A legendary Mughlai kitchen near the great mosque, serving kebabs and mutton curries since 1913.
• Paranthe Wali Gali (Chandni Chowk)
  A lane of old shops frying stuffed parathas with every filling imaginable.
• Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala (Chandni Chowk)
  A tiny stall famous for its lentil dumplings in yoghurt and chutney.

Great for Date Night

• Indian Accent (The Lodhi, Lodhi Road)
  Inventive modern Indian cooking that put Delhi on the global dining map.

Must-Haves

• Bukhara (ITC Maurya, Chanakyapuri)
  Famous for its slow cooked dal and tandoori dishes, eaten with your hands.

Great for Date Night

• Hauz Khas Village (Hauz Khas)
  Bars and cafés overlooking a medieval lake and the ruins of a madrasa.

Fun for Everyone

• Indian Coffee House (Mohan Singh Place, Connaught Place)
  A faded rooftop cooperative café, loved for cheap coffee and old Delhi character.

Fun for Everyone

• Republic Day Parade (Kartavya Path)
  The national parade each January, with marching bands, tableaux and flypasts.

Must-Haves

• The Imperial (Janpath)
  A grand 1930s hotel filled with colonial era art, in the heart of New Delhi.

Must-Haves

• Taj Mahal (Taj Ganj)
  The white marble mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal, best seen at sunrise.
• Agra Fort (Rakabganj)
  The great red sandstone Mughal fort with views of the Taj from its marble pavilions.
• Fatehpur Sikri (Fatehpur Sikri)
  Akbar's short lived red sandstone capital, beautifully preserved outside Agra.

Off the Beaten Path

• Itimad ud Daulah (Moti Bagh)
  The jewel box Baby Taj, with exquisite stone inlay and few crowds.

Fun for Everyone

• Akbar's Tomb (Sikandra)
  A peaceful mausoleum in parkland where deer and monkeys roam.

Great for Date Night

• Mehtab Bagh (Nagla Devjit)
  A riverside garden for a calm sunset view of the Taj from across the Yamuna.

Off the Beaten Path

• Keetham Lake and Soor Sarovar (Keetham)
  A bird sanctuary lake just outside the city, good in winter.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Kinari Bazaar (Old Agra)
  A busy old market lane of fabrics, spices, silver and wedding trimmings.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Panchhi Petha (Hari Parwat)
  The best known name for Agra's translucent ash gourd sweet, petha.

Great for Date Night

• Pinch of Spice (Fatehabad Road)
  A popular choice for rich North Indian curries and tandoori dishes.

Must-Haves

• Peshawri (ITC Mughal, Taj Ganj)
  Northwest frontier style kebabs and dal in a grand hotel setting.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Sheroes Hangout (Fatehabad Road)
  A café run by survivors of acid attacks, with a moving story and a warm welcome.

Great for Date Night

• The Oberoi Amarvilas (Taj East Gate Road)
  A palace style hotel where every room looks toward the Taj Mahal.

Fun for Everyone

• Taj Mahotsav (Shilpgram)
  A February festival of crafts, music and food near the Taj Mahal.

Off the Beaten Path

• Taj night viewing (Taj Ganj)
  Limited moonlit visits around the full moon, booked separately through official counters.

Must-Haves

• Amber Fort (Amer)
  A hilltop palace fortress with a dazzling mirror hall above Maota Lake.
• Hawa Mahal (Badi Choupad)
  The pink honeycomb facade built so royal women could watch street life unseen.
• City Palace (Old City)
  A working royal palace with museums, courtyards and painted gateways.
• Jantar Mantar (Old City)
  A UNESCO listed collection of giant eighteenth century astronomical instruments.

Off the Beaten Path

• Panna Meena ka Kund (Amer)
  A geometric stepwell near Amber Fort with criss crossing staircases.

Great for Date Night

• Nahargarh Fort (Aravalli Hills)
  A fort on the ridge with the city's best sunset view.

Off the Beaten Path

• Jhalana Leopard Reserve (Jhalana)
  Safaris in a forest on the city edge with resident leopards.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar (Johari Bazaar)
  A classic sweet shop and restaurant for Rajasthani thalis and ghevar.
• Rawat Mishthan Bhandar (Station Road)
  Famous for its onion kachori, a Jaipur breakfast staple.

Great for Date Night

• Bar Palladio (Narain Niwas Palace)
  An elegant blue painted bar and Italian restaurant in palace gardens.

Must-Haves

• Tapri Central (C Scheme)
  A rooftop tea house with city views and inventive chai.

Must-Haves

• Johari Bazaar (Old City)
  The jewellery and textile bazaar of the Pink City.

Off the Beaten Path

• Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing (Amer)
  A restored haveli showing the art of block printing, with live demonstrations.

Must-Haves

• Jaipur Literature Festival (Jaipur)
  One of the world's largest free literary festivals, held each January.

Must-Haves

• Rambagh Palace (Bhawani Singh Road)
  A former royal residence turned palace hotel, with peacocks on the lawns.

Must-Haves

• Sunrise boat ride on the Ganges (Dashashwamedh Ghat)
  Drift past temples and bathing pilgrims as the sun rises.

Fun for Everyone

• Assi Ghat (Assi)
  A relaxed ghat with a morning aarti, music and yoga.

Must-Haves

• Ganga Aarti (Dashashwamedh Ghat)
  The nightly ceremony of fire, bells and chanting on the river steps.
• Dev Deepawali (Ghats)
  The November night when every ghat glows with oil lamps.

Must-Haves

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Vishwanath Gali)
  The great Shiva temple, now reached by a wide corridor from the river.
• Sarnath (Sarnath)
  Where the Buddha gave his first sermon, with a stupa and fine museum.

Off the Beaten Path

• Manikarnika Ghat (Old City)
  The main cremation ghat, to be watched quietly and without cameras.
• Bharat Kala Bhavan (Banaras Hindu University)
  A university museum of miniatures, textiles and sculpture.
• Tulsi Manas Temple (Durgakund)
  A marble temple carved with verses of the Ramcharitmanas.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Blue Lassi (Kachori Gali)
  A tiny shop serving thick lassi in clay cups for generations.
• Kashi Chat Bhandar (Godowlia)
  Famous for its spicy tamatar chaat and golgappe.

Fun for Everyone

• Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe (Assi Ghat)
  A river view café beloved by travellers for apple pie and pizza.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Vishwanath Gali (Old City)
  A lane of religious souvenirs, bangles and brassware near the temple.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ramnagar Fort (Ramnagar)
  An eighteenth century fort and museum on the far bank of the Ganges.

Great for Date Night

• BrijRama Palace (Darbhanga Ghat)
  A heritage palace hotel right on the ghats.

Must-Haves

• Chinese fishing nets (Fort Kochi)
  Giant cantilevered nets lowered by teams of fishermen, best at sunset.
• Paradesi Synagogue (Jew Town, Mattancherry)
  A sixteenth century synagogue with hand painted Chinese floor tiles.
• Mattancherry Palace (Mattancherry)
  The Dutch Palace, home to some of Kerala's finest temple murals.

Fun for Everyone

• Kerala Kathakali Centre (Fort Kochi)
  Watch dancers apply their elaborate make up, then perform Kathakali.
• St Francis Church (Fort Kochi)
  India's oldest European church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Kashi Art Cafe (Burgher Street, Fort Kochi)
  A gallery café that sparked Fort Kochi's art scene.

Off the Beaten Path

• Jew Town spice and antique shops (Mattancherry)
  Old warehouses selling spices, carvings and curios.

Must-Haves

• Kochi Muziris Biennale (Fort Kochi)
  India's biggest contemporary art festival in heritage warehouses.

Great for Date Night

• Brunton Boatyard (Fort Kochi)
  A heritage hotel on the harbour built in colonial style.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Fort Kochi to Ernakulam ferry (Fort Kochi)
  A public ferry across the harbour for local life on the water.

Must-Haves

• Basilica of Bom Jesus (Old Goa)
  The UNESCO listed baroque church holding St Francis Xavier's remains.
• Se Cathedral (Old Goa)
  One of Asia's largest churches, built by the Portuguese.

Fun for Everyone

• Fontainhas (Panaji)
  A colourful Latin quarter of Portuguese era houses and lanes.

Off the Beaten Path

• Chapora Fort (Vagator)
  Ruined fort walls with views over the river and sea.
• Braganza House (Chandor)
  A grand Portuguese era mansion still owned by its family.

Great for Date Night

• Palolem Beach (Canacona)
  A crescent bay of palms and huts in South Goa.

Off the Beaten Path

• Butterfly Beach (Canacona)
  A small cove reached by boat or a forest walk.
• Cabo de Rama Fort (Canacona)
  A clifftop fort with dramatic sea views.

Fun for Everyone

• Dudhsagar Falls (Sonaulim)
  A towering waterfall on the Karnataka border, best after the monsoon.

Fun for Everyone

• Anjuna Flea Market (Anjuna)
  The famous Wednesday market of clothes, crafts and music.

Great for Date Night

• Saturday Night Market Arpora (Arpora)
  A lively evening market with food stalls and live music.

Must-Haves

• Gunpowder (Assagao)
  South Indian home cooking in a garden setting.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ritz Classic (Panaji)
  A local favourite for Goan fish curry thalis.

Fun for Everyone

• Cafe Mambo (Baga)
  A beachfront club at the heart of Baga's nightlife.

Fun for Everyone

• Spice plantation tour (Ponda)
  Walk through spice gardens and enjoy a Goan lunch.

Must-Haves

• Goa Carnival (Panaji)
  Floats, music and dancing in the days before Lent.