Things to do in Delhi

Landmark · Nizamuddin

A 1570 Mughal garden tomb of red sandstone and white marble that was the architectural rehearsal for the Taj Mahal.

Local tip: Go at opening or in the last hour. The adjacent Sunder Nursery — 90 acres of restored Mughal gardens — is newer, less visited and arguably better, and the two share an entrance area.

Food · Shahjahanabad

The 17th-century walled city — Jama Masjid, the spice market, and lanes of food that predate almost everything around them.

Local tip: Go on foot or by cycle rickshaw; cars cannot manage it. Karim's near Jama Masjid and the parathas of Paranthe Wali Gali are the classics, but the best move is to follow whoever has the longest queue.

Nature · Lodhi Estate

90 acres of park containing 15th-century tombs, where Delhi's diplomatic and political class walks every morning.

Local tip: The best free thing in central Delhi. Come at 7am when the light is good and the air is at its least bad, and walk to the adjacent Lodhi Art District for the murals.

Neighborhood · South Delhi

A 13th-century water tank and madrasa complex with a deer park, ringed by a village turned bar and restaurant district.

Local tip: The ruins and lake at sunset are the reason to come; the bars are secondary and increasingly generic. Enter through the deer park from Green Park side to avoid the crowds.

Landmark · Mehrauli

A 73-metre 12th-century tower beside an iron pillar that has resisted rust for 1,600 years, with a sprawling ruin park next door.

Local tip: The Qutb complex is ticketed and busy. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park beside it is free, largely unvisited, and contains a thousand years of tombs, stepwells and palaces you can walk among alone.

Culture · Connaught Place

A 60-metre stepwell of 108 stone steps descending into the ground, hidden between office towers in central Delhi.

Local tip: Free, open daily, and a few minutes' walk from Connaught Place — yet most people who work above it have never gone down. Go at midday when the light reaches the bottom.