Give the first day to the old city: the Andarkilla and Chandanpura mosques, Shah Amanat's dargah and the Ethnological Museum in Agrabad. Spend the second on the hills, from the turtles at Bayazid Bostami to Batali Hill and Foy's Lake, and end it at Patenga for sunset. Use a third for the Chandranath climb at Sitakunda or Kaptai Lake at Rangamati.
Bangladesh's second city and main seaport sits where the Karnaphuli meets the Bay of Bengal, on low green hills the Mughals and the British both built on. It is a working town first, with Sufi shrines, mezbani beef and ships at anchor offshore, and the gateway to the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
A hilltop shrine to the Persian mystic Bayazid Bostami, though no record shows he ever came here. The pond below holds black softshell turtles, a species the IUCN once listed as extinct in the wild. Come in the morning, when they surface to be fed.
A lake the Assam-Bengal Railway made by damming streams in the Pahartali hills in 1924, named for its engineer, Mr Foy. Concord runs it as an amusement park with rides and boats. Take a boat to the far arms of the lake, away from the rides.
The city's beach, a narrow strip on the Bay of Bengal by the mouth of the Karnaphuli, with ships waiting offshore for the port. It is for sunset and street food, not swimming. Walk north toward the tamarisks for the view up the estuary.
Built in 1667 on the hill of the old Arakanese fort, to mark the Mughal capture of Chittagong the year before. The British later used it as an arms store before it returned to worship. Visit between prayers and dress for a mosque.
Galleries on the peoples of Bangladesh, with the Chakma, Marma, Tripura and other hill communities shown through dress, tools and dioramas. Set up in the 1960s, it opened to the public in 1974. See it before a trip into the hill tracts.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's cemetery for the Burma campaign, with 715 identified casualties of the Second World War, many moved here from graves across the region. Lawned terraces on a quiet slope, open daily with a midday break.
The city's most photographed mosque, a crown of coloured domes and minarets first built in 1870 and recast in concrete around 1950 to the same design. Its first name, Hamidia Taj Masjid, honours the builder, Abdul Hamid. Shoot it from the street in late light.
Sampans, the high-prowed wooden boats of the Karnaphuli, still carry commuters across the river from the city ghats to Charpatharghata. The short crossing is the best view of the working river. Ghats close for dredging at times, so ask locally.
At about 280 feet, the highest hill in the city, a short climb from Tiger Pass to a summit terrace called Shatayu Angan. The view runs over the rooftops toward the port. Go late in the day, when the heat eases.
The 1913 Circuit House on its hill, where President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated on 30 May 1981, opened as a museum in 1993. The galleries trace his life and end with the night of his death. The building needs repair, so check it is open.
Red-brick colonial courts of 1892 to 1898 on Parir Pahar, the fairy hill.
Flowers at the Central Shaheed Minar from midnight, for the 1952 martyrs.
Pilgrims climb to the Chandranath temple at Sitakunda for the Falgun fair.
Bengali New Year opens with dawn music on DC Hill and at CRB Shirishtala.
Wrestling at Laldighi since 1909, with a three-day fair around it.
The city's Buddhist viharas mark the Buddha's birth with lamps and prayers.
Chawkbazar's street of kebabs, parathas and lassi fills before each sunset.
Pandals across the city, ending with immersions in the Karnaphuli.
Parades and flags for the end of the 1971 Liberation War.
In Patenga by the Karnaphuli mouth, about 20 km from GEC Circle, with domestic flights from Dhaka and direct services to the Gulf. CNGs, Uber and Pathao serve the terminal.
The nonstop Sonar Bangla Express covers the 321 km in just under five hours, and other intercity trains, the Subarna Express among them, run daily. Book on Bangladesh Railway's e-ticket site.
The road tunnel under the river, opened in October 2023, links Patenga with Anwara on the south bank. It is the quick way to Parki Beach by car.
Green CNG three-wheelers, rickshaws and the Uber and Pathao apps cover the city. For Sitakunda, Rangamati or Bandarban, hire a car with a driver for the day.
Chittagong's feast beef curry, cooked in huge pots over firewood.
Beef fried slowly with spices until it turns almost black.
Spiced Bengal gram, the side that comes with mezbani beef.
A bone marrow stew often served alongside the mezban.
A whole chicken in a rich spiced gravy, sometimes with eggs.
Dried Bombay duck cooked with onion, garlic and chilli.
Dried fish mashed with chilli and onion, eaten with rice.
A dry, round biscuit from Gani Bakery, dunked in tea.
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