---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in New Delhi, India (2026 Guide) | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in New Delhi, ranked and mapped. Three UNESCO sites, the Old Delhi kitchens, Lutyens avenues and where to eat."
url: https://wimup.com/city/new-delhi
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-24
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in New Delhi

New Delhi, India · Asia · By Wimup Editorial, 17 min read

Delhi is not one city and has never pretended to be. Seven capitals were built on this stretch of the Yamuna plain before the British laid an eighth, and all of them are still here. Three sites inside the city limits are on the UNESCO list, which almost no other capital manages.

## Quick answer

Four days, split by era. Day one is Old Delhi on foot: the Red Fort at opening, Jama Masjid, then the lanes of Chandni Chowk. Day two is the Mughal south, Humayun's Tomb and Nizamuddin, timed for Thursday if you can. Day three is Lutyens' capital and the museums. Day four goes to Mehrauli for Qutub Minar. Add a fifth for Agra if the Taj is why you came.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Oct · Nov · Feb · Mar
- **Ideal length:** 4 days, 5 with Agra
- **Budget per day:** $35–80
- **Language:** Hindi and English, both official in the territory, with Punjabi and Urdu widely spoken
- **Getting around:** The Delhi Metro for distance, autorickshaws and ride-hailing for the last mile, and your feet in Old Delhi
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://delhitourism.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in New Delhi

### 1. Humayun's Tomb

UNESCO site · Mathura Road, Nizamuddin East, New Delhi 110013

The building that made the Taj Mahal possible: the first garden-tomb on the subcontinent, finished around 1570 and commissioned by Humayun's chief consort, who chose the architects herself. A sunken site museum opened at the entrance in 2024 with more than 500 artefacts. Do not walk past it.

- **Time:** 2.5 hrs
- **Cost:** ₹35 for Indian visitors, ₹550 for foreign visitors
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** Start in the Isa Khan enclosure and save the main platform for the last hour of light, when the sandstone goes the colour the architects were after. The museum is underground at the gate and easy to miss on the way in.

Links: [Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/humayuns-tomb-taj-mahal-of?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Site museum](https://www.htmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Qutub Minar and its monuments

UNESCO site · Seth Sarai, Mehrauli, New Delhi 110030

Begun in 1199 and still the tallest masonry tower in India at 72.5 metres. The complex around it is the better half: a mosque raised from dismantled temple fabric, and an iron pillar roughly 1,600 years old that has barely corroded.

- **Time:** 2 hrs
- **Cost:** ASI ticket, sold online and at the gate
- **Best at:** Early morning
- **Tip:** Give the Mehrauli Archaeological Park behind the complex an extra hour. It is free, largely empty, and holds more than a hundred monuments including Balban's tomb and the Rajon ki Baoli stepwell of 1506.

Links: [Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/qutub-minar?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/233?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Red Fort (Lal Qila)

UNESCO site · Netaji Subhash Marg, Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, Delhi 110006

Shah Jahan's palace fort, whose red sandstone curtain still fixes the northern edge of Old Delhi. Behind the Lahori Gate are the marble pavilions, including the hall whose ceiling once held the Peacock Throne. Every 15 August the Prime Minister speaks from the ramparts.

- **Time:** 2.5 hrs
- **Cost:** ₹35 for Indian visitors, ₹500 for foreign visitors
- **Best at:** Opening time
- **Tip:** Book online before you go and use the queue for pre-booked tickets. Bags go through a security check at the gate, and the walk from the road to the Lahori Gate is longer than it looks on the map.

Links: [Archaeological Survey of India](https://asi.nic.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/231?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 4. Jama Masjid

Mosque · Meena Bazar, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi 110006

The last great work Shah Jahan commissioned and the largest mosque in India, with a courtyard that holds twenty-five thousand at prayer. A working mosque before it is a monument: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off at the top of the 121 steps.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free to enter, ₹100 to climb the southern minaret
- **Best at:** An hour before sunset
- **Tip:** The southern minaret is the best view of Old Delhi there is, over the Red Fort and down onto the Chandni Chowk roofline. The stair is narrow and single-file, so go up before the evening crowd arrives.

Links: [Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/jama-masjid?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Chandni Chowk and Paranthe Wali Gali

Market street · Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, Delhi 110006

Shah Jahan's avenue, planned by his daughter with a canal down the middle that reflected the moon. The canal is gone, but the single-trade lanes survive: silver on Dariba Kalan, wedding trim on Kinari Bazaar, spice at Khari Baoli. Walk it, do not drive it.

- **Time:** 3 hrs
- **Cost:** Free to walk, street food from a few rupees
- **Best at:** Mid-morning
- **Tip:** Get out at Chandni Chowk metro station and go in on foot or by cycle rickshaw. A car will cost you an hour and get you nowhere near the lanes.

### 6. Swaminarayan Akshardham

Temple · Noida Mor, Pandav Nagar, New Delhi 110092

Built in five years by eleven thousand artisans with no structural steel, and the largest Hindu temple in the world. Read it as a devotional theme park or as the most ambitious traditional stone carving of the last century; both hold. Security is airport-grade.

- **Time:** 3 hrs
- **Cost:** Temple free, exhibitions and water show ticketed
- **Best at:** Late afternoon into the evening
- **Tip:** Leave your phone in the car or the hotel. The cloakroom accepts it, but the form-filling and photographing at the counter can take the better part of an hour on a busy day. Closed Mondays, last entry 6.30pm.

Links: [Visitor information](https://akshardham.com/visitor-info/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/akshardham_temple.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. Lotus Temple

Temple · Lotus Temple Road, Bahapur, Shambhu Dayal Bagh, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019

Twenty-seven marble petals in clusters of three, finished in 1986 and one of the most visited buildings on earth. No sermon, no idol, no ritual and no fee: the hall is kept silent, and that silence in the middle of south Delhi is the point.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Early morning or the last hour
- **Tip:** Closed Mondays. Hours run roughly 9am to 7pm from April to October and 9am to 5.30pm from November to March, and the queue moves fastest in the first hour. Silence is enforced inside the hall, so leave the conversation on the path.

Links: [Official site](https://bahaihouseofworship.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/bahai_temple.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. Kartavya Path, India Gate and the National War Memorial

Monument · Kartavya Path, India Gate, New Delhi 110001

Lutyens drew this axis as the ceremonial spine of the capital, inaugurated in 1931 and renamed twice since. It runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan past the Secretariat blocks to the memorial arch. The Republic Day parade comes down it every 26 January.

- **Time:** 1.5 hrs
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Dusk
- **Tip:** Walk it from the Rashtrapati Bhavan end downhill towards the arch, which is the direction the architects composed it in. Delhi families arrive after dark with ice cream, and the lawns stay busy until late.

Links: [Central Vista](https://centralvista.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/aboutus/rashtrapathi_bhavan.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah

Sufi shrine · Nizamuddin West, New Delhi 110013

The shrine of a 14th-century Chishti saint, reached through a lane of rose sellers and kebab grills. On Thursday evenings, after Maghrib, qawwals sing in the open courtyard, and the families who do it have held the role for generations. Free, to anyone of any faith.

- **Time:** 1.5 hrs
- **Cost:** Free, donations at the shrine
- **Best at:** Thursday evening
- **Tip:** Come after evening prayer on a Thursday and sit at the back of the courtyard rather than pushing forward. Money handed to anyone who leads you in is a tip, not a fee; there is no entrance charge.

Links: [Official site](https://www.nizamuddinaulia.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

Gurdwara · Hanuman Road area, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

A gold dome and a still tank of water, five minutes from Connaught Place. The langar runs all day, feeds tens of thousands, is cooked by volunteers, and anyone may sit and eat. The most straightforwardly moving hour in central Delhi.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free, including the meal
- **Best at:** Any hour, it never really closes
- **Tip:** Cover your head (scarves are handed out at the entrance) and leave shoes and socks at the counter. Ask at the langar hall about the kitchen: volunteers usually welcome an extra pair of hands rolling rotis.

Links: [Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/gurudwara-bangla-sahib?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best monuments in New Delhi

Ten more forts, tombs and stepwells, most of them free and none of them crowded.

1. **Purana Qila** (16th century · Mathura Road): The 16th-century fort Sher Shah Suri completed after driving Humayun out of Delhi. The Sher Mandal inside is the tower Humayun fell down the steps of.
2. **Safdarjung's Tomb** (Built 1754 · Lodhi Road): Built in 1754 in marble and sandstone set in a charbagh garden. The last great garden-tomb of the Mughal line, and often called its final flourish.
3. **Jantar Mantar** (Built 1724 to 1730 · Connaught Place): Masonry astronomical instruments built between 1724 and 1730 to correct the tables then in use, in a park off Connaught Place.
4. **Agrasen ki Baoli** (Free · Hailey Road): A stepwell of 108 stone steps dropping into the ground between office towers off Hailey Road. Attributed by legend to a mythical king.
5. **Lodhi Garden** (Free · Lodhi Road): Ninety acres of lawn with the tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi sultans through it, and where Delhi runs, walks and argues at dawn.
6. **Mehrauli Archaeological Park** (Free · Mehrauli): More than a hundred monuments over scrub behind the Qutub complex, from Balban's tomb to a stepwell of 1506. Free, unfenced and usually empty.
7. **Rashtrapati Bhavan** (₹50, closed Mondays · Raisina Hill): Lutyens started the Viceroy's House in 1912 and it has been the President's residence since 1950. Three circuits are open, booked online up to a week ahead. [Booking](https://visit.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
8. **Tughlaqabad Fort** (14th century · Tughlakabad): The 14th-century fort of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, six kilometres of rampart on a rocky outcrop. Abandoned within a few years, and enormous.
9. **Hauz Khas Complex** (Free · Hauz Khas): A Tughlaq madrasa and tomb along a reservoir dug for the city of Siri, with a deer park behind. The best free sunset in south Delhi.
10. **Sunder Nursery** (Ticketed · Nizamuddin): A 16th-century Mughal garden restored alongside Humayun's Tomb, with six listed monuments among the lawns and a lake at the far end.

## Best temples and shrines in New Delhi

Eight working places of worship, across five religions, all of them open to visitors.

1. **Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Mandir)** (Opened 1939 · Mandir Marg): The Birla family opened this in 1939 on the condition that people of every caste could enter. A short walk from Connaught Place.
2. **Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib** (Free · Chandni Chowk): On Chandni Chowk, marking where the ninth Sikh Guru was executed in 1675 for defending Kashmiri Hindus. A working gurdwara in the market crowd.
3. **Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir** (Free · Chandni Chowk): Delhi's oldest Jain temple, facing the Red Fort, with a charitable bird hospital in the same compound. Leather is left at the door.
4. **Kalkaji Mandir** (Free · Kalkaji): A Shakti temple across the road from the Lotus Temple and its opposite in every way: loud, close and busy at every hour.
5. **ISKCON Temple, East of Kailash** (Free · East of Kailash): The Hare Krishna movement's Delhi temple, a stepped white complex on Hare Krishna Hill with a Vedic exhibition and a well-known vegetarian kitchen attached.
6. **Yogmaya Temple** (Free · Mehrauli): A small temple in Mehrauli on ground worshipped for centuries, and one of the two destinations of the Phool Walon Ki Sair procession.
7. **Cathedral Church of the Redemption** (Free · North Avenue): The Anglican cathedral of Lutyens' capital, behind Rashtrapati Bhavan in the same sandstone as the government blocks. Quiet on weekday mornings.
8. **Chhatarpur Temple** (Free · Chhatarpur): A vast south Delhi complex in marble and granite across several shrines. It fills for the nine nights of Navratri and is calm otherwise.

## Best museums in New Delhi

Six museums, from five thousand years of the subcontinent down to a single-subject collection nobody else has.

1. **National Museum** (Closed Mondays · Janpath): Around two hundred thousand objects across five thousand years. The Harappan gallery, the Buddhist relics and the miniature rooms justify half a day. [Visiting](https://nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/en/visiting?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **National Gallery of Modern Art** (Closed Mondays · India Gate): In Jaipur House on the India Gate circle: Amrita Sher-Gil, Raja Ravi Varma and the Bengal School, in a building worth the visit alone. [Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/entertainment/national_gallery_modern_art.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Gandhi Smriti** (Free · Tees January Marg): The Birla House where Gandhi spent his last 144 days and was shot in 1948. The rooms are kept as they were, and a column marks the spot. Free.
4. **National Rail Museum** (Ticketed · Chanakyapuri): Ten acres of locomotives in Chanakyapuri, including royal saloons and a working narrow-gauge train. The best museum here with children.
5. **National Crafts Museum** (Closed Mondays · Bhairon Marg): A village complex of regional building styles beside Pragati Maidan, with craftspeople working on site rather than behind glass.
6. **Sulabh International Museum of Toilets** (Free · Mahavir Enclave): A single-subject museum of sanitation run by the movement that built public toilets across India. Reads as public-health history, and is free.

## Best markets and bazaars in New Delhi

Eight markets, from wholesale spice to export surplus, each with its own trade and its own hours.

1. **Khari Baoli** (Wholesale · Old Delhi): The wholesale spice market at the western end of Chandni Chowk: chilli, turmeric and dried fruit stacked to the ceiling. Go early.
2. **Dilli Haat INA** (Ticketed · INA): A permanent open-air craft bazaar where stalls rotate between artisans from every state, alongside regional food counters. Small entry ticket. [Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/dilli_haat_INA.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Khan Market** (Books and delis · Khan Market): A small L of colonnaded shops that became the capital's most expensive retail address. Bookshops, delis and coffee, and easy to browse.
4. **Sarojini Nagar Market** (Bargain hard · Sarojini Nagar): Export-surplus clothing off pavement rails at a fraction of shop prices. Bargaining is expected and the weekend crowd is heavy.
5. **Dariba Kalan** (Silver · Old Delhi): The silver lane off Chandni Chowk, jewellers both sides, with Old Famous Jalebi Wala at the mouth. Buy by weight and ask for the hallmark.
6. **Kinari Bazaar** (Trim and zari · Old Delhi): Wedding trim, sold from lanes barely wide enough for two people to pass. The most photogenic corner of Old Delhi and the least practical.
7. **Janpath Market** (Street stalls · Janpath): A street of stalls south from Connaught Place, with the Tibetan Market at the top selling silver and textiles. Counter low.
8. **Connaught Place** (Central · Connaught Place): The white Georgian colonnade at the centre of Lutyens' city, laid out as concentric circles of shopfronts, with Palika Bazaar below it.

## Best restaurants in New Delhi

Ten kitchens, from a tasting menu on the Asia 50 Best list to a state canteen serving a thali at canteen prices.

1. **Indian Accent** (Asia's 50 Best · ₹₹₹ · Lodhi Road): Manish Mehrotra's dining room at The Lodhi, on Asia's 50 Best every year since 2015. Indian technique through European plating. Book weeks ahead. [Website](https://www.indianaccent.com/newdelhi?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Bukhara** (North West Frontier · ₹₹₹ · Chanakyapuri): Open since 1977 and still cooking everything in a clay tandoor, with a dal held over a slow fire for eighteen hours. No cutlery, by design. [Website](https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/dining/bukhara?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Karim's** (Mughlai · ₹ · Jama Masjid): Established 1913 in the lane behind Jama Masjid, and the Mughlai reference every other Old Delhi kitchen is measured against.
4. **Old Famous Jalebi Wala** (Sweets · ₹ · Chandni Chowk): At the Dariba Kalan corner of Chandni Chowk since 1884, frying thick jalebi in ghee and selling it by weight, hot. One order between two is plenty.
5. **Sita Ram Diwan Chand** (Chole bhature · ₹ · Paharganj): The Paharganj counter that Delhi treats as the standard for chole bhature. Two puffed bhature, a bowl of chana, pickle, and nothing else on the menu worth the argument.
6. **Al Jawahar** (Mughlai · ₹ · Jama Masjid): Beside Jama Masjid and the usual second stop on the Old Delhi meat circuit, with korma, biryani and nihari from breakfast during Ramadan.
7. **Dum Pukht** (Awadhi · ₹₹₹ · Chanakyapuri): The Awadhi room at the ITC Maurya, cooking sealed-pot dum biryani and kakori kebabs at a formal, slow pace. The counterweight to Bukhara down the corridor.
8. **Andhra Bhavan Canteen** (Andhra thali · ₹ · Ashoka Road): The state house canteen on Ashoka Road, serving an unlimited Andhra thali on a banana leaf. The best value meal in central Delhi.
9. **Gulati** (North Indian · ₹₹ · Pandara Road): A Pandara Road fixture, north Indian and open late, and where Delhi drives after a wedding or a flight. Butter chicken and dal makhani.
10. **Saravana Bhavan** (South Indian · ₹ · Connaught Place): The Connaught Place branch of the Tamil chain, for dosa, idli and filter coffee. Vegetarian throughout and quick at breakfast.

## Best neighborhoods in New Delhi

Eight neighbourhoods, each a different century of Delhi and a different way of living in it.

1. **Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)** (17th century · North of the centre): Shah Jahan's walled city of 1638, still trading behind the same street plan. Walk or take a cycle rickshaw, never a car.
2. **Lutyens' Delhi** (Inaugurated 1931 · Central): The imperial capital of wide avenues and bungalows, inaugurated in 1931. Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Secretariat, Kartavya Path and India Gate sit inside it.
3. **Nizamuddin** (Sufi quarter · South east): The basti around the 14th-century dargah on one side of Mathura Road, with Humayun's Tomb and Sunder Nursery at the far edge. Best on a Thursday.
4. **Hauz Khas** (Ruins and bars · South Delhi): A Tughlaq madrasa and reservoir with a deer park behind, and a village of bars and rooftops immediately outside. Two eras across one gate.
5. **Mehrauli** (Oldest quarter · South Delhi): The oldest continuously inhabited part of Delhi, around the Qutub complex, with a temple, a Sufi dargah and restored havelis in the lanes.
6. **Lodhi Colony** (Street art · Central south): The last housing the British built in Delhi, and now the open-air art district: government blocks carrying large-scale murals. Free, best in the morning.
7. **Majnu ka Tila** (Tibetan quarter · North Delhi): The Tibetan settlement on the west bank of the Yamuna: guesthouses, a monastery, momo counters and butter tea. A complete change of register.
8. **Paharganj** (Backpacker strip · Opposite New Delhi station): The budget strip facing New Delhi station: guesthouses, luggage shops and a permanent through-traffic of arriving travellers. Not restful.

## Best day trips in New Delhi

Six trips within reach of a single day, one of which is the reason many people fly to Delhi at all.

1. **Agra and the Taj Mahal** (100 min by train · Uttar Pradesh): The Gatimaan Express reaches Agra in about 100 minutes, daily except Friday, which is the day the Taj is closed. Agra Fort deserves a further two hours. [Tickets](https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ticketing.aspx?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Jaipur** (Golden Triangle · Rajasthan): The third corner of the Golden Triangle: Amber Fort, the City Palace, and Jai Singh II's larger Jantar Mantar, the original of Delhi's.
3. **Mathura and Vrindavan** (Temple towns · Uttar Pradesh): Krishna's birthplace and the temple town beside it. Busiest and best at Holi, when celebrations run for days longer than in Delhi.
4. **Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur** (UNESCO site · Rajasthan): A UNESCO wetland created as a duke's duck shoot, now one of the densest bird sites in Asia. Hire a cycle rickshaw guide at the gate. [UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/340?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Neemrana Fort-Palace** (Half day · Rajasthan): A 15th-century hill fort on the Jaipur highway, restored as a hotel that takes day visitors for lunch and the zip line. Two hours out.
6. **Sultanpur National Park** (Birding · Haryana): The closest serious birding to the city, with a marked circuit around a shallow lake. Winter is the season, from October.

## Festivals & annual events in New Delhi (2026)

- **New Delhi World Book Fair** (10 to 18 January 2026): The 53rd edition filled halls 2 to 6 of Bharat Mandapam, and entry was free for the first time.
- **Republic Day parade** (26 January): The parade comes down Kartavya Path to India Gate. Seating is ticketed and central Delhi closes for rehearsals as well as the day.
- **India Art Fair** (5 to 8 February 2026): The 17th edition ran at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Okhla, and remains the largest gathering of galleries in South Asia.
- **Holi** (3 March 2026): Colour in the streets from mid-morning. Most shops and many restaurants close, so plan the day around it rather than through it.
- **Independence Day** (15 August): The Prime Minister addresses the country from the Red Fort ramparts, unbroken since 1947. The fort and the roads around it close.
- **Phool Walon Ki Sair** (September or October): The flower sellers' procession through Mehrauli, carrying floral fans to a temple and a dargah. A survival of late Mughal Delhi.
- **Diwali** (8 November 2026): Lamps, sweets and a week of shopping beforehand in every market. Air quality is usually at its worst in the days that follow.
- **Qutub Festival** (November or December): Five evenings of classical music and dance staged in the Qutub complex by Delhi Tourism, with the minar lit behind the stage.

## Must-try dishes in New Delhi, India

- **Chole bhature**: Spiced chickpeas with two puffed, deep-fried bhature. Delhi eats it for breakfast and argues about where.
- **Butter chicken**: Tandoori chicken finished in a tomato and butter gravy, invented in this city and exported everywhere.
- **Nihari**: A slow-cooked stew, left overnight and eaten at dawn with khameeri roti. Winter food, best near Jama Masjid.
- **Seekh kebab**: Minced mutton pressed onto a skewer over coals. The Old Delhi grills sell them by the piece all evening.
- **Paranthe**: Stuffed flatbreads fried in ghee, with potato, radish or paneer. Paranthe Wali Gali does nothing else.
- **Golgappe**: Hollow crisp shells filled with spiced water, potato and chickpea, eaten one at a time and standing up.
- **Daulat ki chaat**: A milk foam whipped in the cold night air, dusted with sugar and pistachio. November to February only.
- **Jalebi**: Coils of batter fried and steeped in syrup, served hot and by weight. The Dariba corner has fried since 1884.

## New Delhi transport & airports

- **Indira Gandhi International Airport** (DEL): India's busiest, at Palam southwest of the centre. The Airport Express reaches Terminal 3 from New Delhi station in about nineteen minutes. Prepaid taxi counters sit in every arrivals hall. [Website](https://www.newdelhiairport.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Delhi Metro** (Metro): The fastest way across the city by a wide margin, and air-conditioned, which matters from April onwards. The first coach of every train is reserved for women. Buy a stored-value card. [Website](https://www.delhimetrorail.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations** (Rail): The departure points for most of north India, and the Gatimaan Express leaves Nizamuddin for Agra daily except Friday. Book through IRCTC, and ignore anyone outside claiming your train is cancelled. [Website](https://www.irctc.co.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Autorickshaws and ride-hailing** (Auto): Autos are metered by law and often not in practice, so agree the fare first. Ride-hailing prices the same trips transparently. Cycle rickshaws are the only sensible transport in the Old Delhi lanes.

## New Delhi at a glance

- **Country:** India
- **Region:** National Capital Territory of Delhi, on the Yamuna in the north Indian plain
- **Population:** 16,787,941 across the National Capital Territory at the 2011 census, in an area of 1,483 km²
- **Founded:** New Delhi was announced at the Delhi Durbar of 12 December 1911 and inaugurated on 13 February 1931, the eighth capital built on this ground
- **Nickname:** The city of seven cities, for the successive capitals raised and abandoned here
- **Language:** Hindi and English, both official in the territory, with Punjabi and Urdu widely spoken
- **Currency:** Indian rupee (₹, INR)
- **Time zone:** UTC+5:30, no daylight saving
- **Calling code:** +91 11
- **Airports:** Indira Gandhi International (DEL) at Palam, southwest of the centre, on the metro Airport Express
- **Power:** 230V, 50Hz, plug types C, D and M
- **Emergency:** 112

## Interesting facts

- Delhi is usually counted as seven cities in one, from Qila Rai Pithora through Tughlaqabad to Shahjahanabad. Lutyens' New Delhi makes eight.
- Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites stand inside the city limits: Qutb Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort. Very few capitals carry three.
- The iron pillar in the Qutub complex is roughly 1,600 years old, predates the mosque around it by 800 years, and has barely corroded.
- Akshardham was raised in five years by eleven thousand artisans with no structural steel, and is the largest Hindu temple in the world.
- The langar at Bangla Sahib feeds tens of thousands free every day of the year, entirely with volunteer labour, and asks nobody who they are.

## Watch

[New Delhi Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/new-delhi.md), 30:00

## New Delhi travel FAQ

### When is the best time to visit New Delhi?

October, November, February and March, the only stretch when a full day outdoors is comfortable. Late November to January brings dense smog and fog, April to June clears 40°C, and the monsoon runs from July into mid-September.

### How many days do you need in New Delhi?

Four is the working minimum: one for Old Delhi, one for the Mughal south around Humayun's Tomb and Nizamuddin, one for the Lutyens capital and the museums, and one for Mehrauli and Qutub Minar. Add a fifth day if you want Agra and the Taj Mahal, which is a full day out on the Gatimaan Express.

### Is the Delhi Metro the best way to get around?

For any distance, yes. Air-conditioned, fast and cheap, and it reaches Old Delhi, Qutub Minar and the Lotus Temple, with a separate Airport Express. Use autos for the last kilometre, and walk inside Old Delhi, where nothing on wheels moves quickly.

### Which sights are closed on Mondays?

Akshardham, the Lotus Temple, the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art all close on Mondays. The Red Fort no longer does: an Archaeological Survey of India order dated 13 February 2026 opened it every day of the week. If you are heading to Agra, note that the Taj Mahal closes on Fridays instead.

### Is New Delhi safe for visitors?

Broadly yes, with ordinary caution and a few local specifics. Use a ride-hailing app after dark and agree an autorickshaw fare first. Ignore anyone near New Delhi station offering a government tourist office or claiming your hotel has closed. Air quality is the real health issue rather than crime.

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Part of the [India guide](https://wimup.com/country/india.md) · [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md)

## Sources

- [New Delhi tourism board](https://delhitourism.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Humayun's Tomb: Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/humayuns-tomb-taj-mahal-of?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Humayun's Tomb: Site museum](https://www.htmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Qutub Minar and its monuments: Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/qutub-minar?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Qutub Minar and its monuments: UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/233?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Red Fort (Lal Qila): Archaeological Survey of India](https://asi.nic.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Red Fort (Lal Qila): UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/231?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Jama Masjid: Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/jama-masjid?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Swaminarayan Akshardham: Visitor information](https://akshardham.com/visitor-info/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Swaminarayan Akshardham: Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/akshardham_temple.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Lotus Temple (official site)](https://bahaihouseofworship.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Lotus Temple: Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/bahai_temple.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kartavya Path, India Gate and the National War Memorial: Central Vista](https://centralvista.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kartavya Path, India Gate and the National War Memorial: Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/aboutus/rashtrapathi_bhavan.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah (official site)](https://www.nizamuddinaulia.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Gurudwara Bangla Sahib: Incredible India](https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/delhi/delhi/gurudwara-bangla-sahib?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Rashtrapati Bhavan: Booking](https://visit.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [National Museum: Visiting](https://nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/en/visiting?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [National Gallery of Modern Art: Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/entertainment/national_gallery_modern_art.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Dilli Haat INA: Delhi Tourism](https://delhitourism.gov.in/tourist_place/dilli_haat_INA.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Indian Accent (official site)](https://www.indianaccent.com/newdelhi?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Bukhara (official site)](https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/dining/bukhara?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Agra and the Taj Mahal: Tickets](https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ticketing.aspx?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur: UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/340?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Indira Gandhi International Airport (official site)](https://www.newdelhiairport.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Delhi Metro (official site)](https://www.delhimetrorail.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations (official site)](https://www.irctc.co.in/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.