Why two days is the right amount
We have watched hundreds of guests arrive in Delhi. The ones who give it two calm days start Rajasthan rested. The ones who rush it start Rajasthan exhausted.
Day one is recovery: a long-haul flight costs you a day whatever you do. Spend it on gardens and one great tomb, not on a fort at nine in the morning.
Day two is the old city: the heart of Mughal Delhi, seen on foot and by cycle rickshaw before the crowds.
Facts to know
- Ideal stay
- Two full days, three nights
- Most flights land
- Late at night or before dawn
- Daily rhythm
- Out early, rest at midday, out at dusk
- UNESCO sites
- Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar
- The third morning is a bonus: the Qutub Minar sits on the road south, so you see it on your way to Rajasthan.
- Sights by neighbourhood: Old Delhi in the north, Humayun's Tomb and Lodhi Garden in the middle, the Qutub in the south. Never cross the city twice in one day.
- The midday rest is the secret: from about one to four, go back to the hotel. It is what makes the evenings possible.
- One night only? If you land late and must leave the next day, read our Delhi itinerary for the one-night plan.
Local tip
Ask the hotel to hold your room from the night before if you land in the early hours. Sleeping the moment you arrive is worth more than any sight on the first day.
Day one, gardens, a great tomb and Sufi song
The first day is about letting your body catch up with your watch. Delhi's gardens and tombs are the gentlest possible introduction.
Morning, sleep and a slow breakfast
- Sleep until you wake: no alarm on the first morning.
- A swim or a walk in the hotel garden: daylight helps the body reset.
Late morning, Lodhi Garden
What it is: Delhi's favourite morning walk, among fifteenth-century tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi sultans.
- What you will see: old trees, bougainvillea, birdsong, and Delhi families walking, stretching and gossiping.
- How long: an hour, at your own pace.
Lunch and rest
- Lunch: light, at the hotel or nearby.
- Rest: two or three hours. This is part of the plan, not a break from it.
Late afternoon, Humayun's Tomb
Arrive at about four: the last two hours of light turn the sandstone rose and gold.
- The story: the second Mughal emperor died in 1556 after a fall on his library stairs. His widow commissioned the tomb, finished around 1570.
- Why it matters: the first great garden tomb in India. You can trace a line of ideas from here to the Taj Mahal.
- Read more: our Humayun's Tomb guide.
Dusk, Sunder Nursery
- Next door: a sixteenth-century garden landscape restored into one of Delhi's loveliest parks, with tombs, lotus pools and families under the trees.
- The hour: the last light, as the parakeets come home.
Evening, qawwali at Nizamuddin
Across the road: the shrine of the Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, who died in 1325.
- The music: qawwals sing on many evenings, and especially on Thursdays.
- How to go: with a guide who knows the shrine, head covered, shoes left with the keepers.
- Then: dinner at the hotel and an early night.
Local tip
If your first day is a Thursday, keep it free for Nizamuddin. Humayun's Tomb in the late light followed by qawwali in the courtyard is the finest first evening Delhi can give you.
Day two, Old Delhi from seven in the morning
Shah Jahan's walled city wakes early, and so should you. By ten it belongs to the traffic. At seven it belongs to tea sellers, pigeons and prayer.
Facts to know
- Leave the hotel
- About seven in the morning
- Jama Masjid built
- 1650 to 1656
- Chandni Chowk laid out
- Around 1650
- Red Fort built
- 1639 to 1648
- Getting around
- On foot and by cycle rickshaw
Seven o'clock, the Jama Masjid
Begin on the steps: as the old city wakes, with woodsmoke and cardamom tea in the lanes.
- Inside: leave your shoes, cover up, and visit outside the times of prayer.
- The view: from the courtyard you look down the old city towards the Red Fort.
Eight o'clock, breakfast in the lanes
- What to eat: jalebis, stuffed parathas and sweet tea in clay cups, or nihari, the slow-cooked morning stew, for the adventurous.
- How: let your guide choose every stop. Our Old Delhi food walk has the full route.
Nine o'clock, Chandni Chowk
The avenue: laid out by Shah Jahan's daughter Jahanara around 1650, now closed to motor traffic during the day.
- Faiths side by side: the Jain Lal Mandir with its bird hospital, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib and the Fatehpuri Masjid.
- The lanes: silver in Dariba Kalan, wedding trimmings in Kinari Bazaar.
- Read more: our Chandni Chowk guide.
Ten o'clock, the spice market
- Khari Baoli: one of the largest wholesale spice markets in Asia. The air makes everyone sneeze.
- The roof: with a guide, climb to the top of Gadodia Market for a startling view over the old city.
Late morning, the Red Fort
- Two hours: from the Lahori Gate through the covered bazaar to the halls of audience and the marble Diwan-i-Khas.
- Remember: it is closed on Mondays. Read our Red Fort guide.
Afternoon, rest
- Back to the hotel: lunch, a swim and a sleep. Three hours in Old Delhi is a full day anywhere else.
Dusk, Lutyens' Delhi
The avenue: Kartavya Path from India Gate up Raisina Hill to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former Viceroy's House.
- India Gate: a war memorial by Lutyens, completed in 1931. Families walk the lawns and eat ice cream as the lights come on.
- Then: a celebratory dinner at one of the city's great restaurants.
The third morning, the Qutub on the road south
The Qutub Minar sits in the south of the city, close to the expressway to Jaipur. It is the perfect last sight on your way out.
Be there at opening time: before the crowds and the heat.
The tower: begun in the 1190s by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, finished by Iltutmish, about 73 metres in five fluted storeys.
- The mosque at its foot: built with pillars taken from earlier Hindu and Jain temples. You can still see their carvings.
- The Iron Pillar: more than fifteen centuries old, and barely rusted.
- Mehrauli Archaeological Park: tombs, step tanks and mosques around the Qutub, often without another visitor.
- Then south: drive to Jaipur by the expressway, or take the train, and arrive in the Pink City in time for tea. Read our Qutub Minar guide.
Swaps for Mondays, Fridays, smog and fog
Delhi has a few fixed rules and a few seasonal moods. A good plan knows them all in advance.
If day two is a Monday
- The Red Fort is closed: walk the old city longer instead, or add Raj Ghat, Gandhi's memorial by the old river, or swap the days around.
If day two is a Friday
- Midday prayers: the Jama Masjid is busiest at Friday prayers. Visit early and leave well before midday.
If the air is poor
- November and December: smoke and the winter inversion can give Delhi some of the worst air in the world for days at a time.
- What we do: shorten the outdoor walks, add museums such as the National Crafts Museum, and keep a mask in your bag.
If the morning is foggy
- December and January: fog can delay flights and trains. We keep the onward day flexible and start Old Delhi a little later.
If it is very hot
- April to June: often above 40°C. Old Delhi from dawn until nine, then indoors until five.
If it rains
- The monsoon: from about the end of June into September. The gardens are green and the tombs glow after rain, but the old city's lanes can flood briefly.
If you land in the afternoon
- Skip the garden: go straight to Humayun's Tomb for the last light if you feel well, or simply rest and start the plan the next morning.
What most visitors miss
Most two-day plans race from the Red Fort to the Qutub and back. These are the small things that make Delhi memorable instead.
The Lal Mandir's bird hospital: behind the Jain temple at the end of Chandni Chowk, injured pigeons and parrots are cared for. Children are always moved by it.
The Naughara: a tiny lane of nine painted Jain havelis off Kinari Bazaar, with a white marble temple at the end.
- Ghalib's house: in a side lane of Ballimaran, the haveli where the great Urdu poet spent his last years.
- The langar at Sis Ganj: a simple meal served free to everyone, whatever their faith.
- Isa Khan's tomb: inside the Humayun's Tomb complex, an octagonal tomb older than Humayun's own and often empty.
- India Gate at dusk: not the monument but the families on the lawns, the one place where the whole city seems to share the same space.
- Sunder Nursery's lotus pools: most visitors leave Humayun's Tomb by the front gate and never walk next door.
Where to stay for these two days
Your hotel matters more in Delhi than almost anywhere. It is your retreat from the city between the morning and the evening.
Facts to know
- Closest to Old Delhi
- The Imperial, Janpath
- Near the gardens
- The Oberoi, beside the golf course
- Most palatial
- The Leela Palace, Chanakyapuri
- Very late arrivals
- Aerocity, beside the airport
The Imperial
- Why: opened in the 1930s as New Delhi was built, central, historic and closest to the old city.
- Read more: The Imperial, New Delhi.
The Oberoi, New Delhi
- Why: calm and polished, overlooking the Delhi Golf Club, close to Humayun's Tomb and Lodhi Garden. Ask for the golf course side.
- Read more: The Oberoi, New Delhi.
The Leela Palace, New Delhi
- Why: marble, chandeliers and a rooftop pool in the diplomatic quarter, with easy access to the airport.
- Read more: The Leela Palace, New Delhi.
Local tip
If you land after midnight and leave the next afternoon, skip the city hotels and sleep in Aerocity. You gain an hour of sleep each way.
Where to eat across the two days
Delhi eats in two registers: the lanes of the old city and the grand dining rooms of the new. Two days lets you try both.
Old Delhi breakfast: jalebis at the corner of Dariba Kalan, parathas in Paranthe Wali Gali and dahi bhalla on Chandni Chowk.
Old Delhi lunch: Karim's near the Jama Masjid, serving Mughlai kebabs and korma since 1913.
- Frontier food: Bukhara at ITC Maurya, tandoor kebabs and black dal eaten with your hands.
- Courtly Lucknow cooking: Dum Pukht, also at ITC Maurya.
- Modern Indian: Indian Accent at The Lodhi.
- A winter treat: daulat ki chaat, whipped milk foam sold in the old city in the early morning, only from about November to February.
- The full picture: our food of Delhi guide.
Shopping in two days, and what to save for Rajasthan
Delhi is a fine place to buy a few things, and a poor place to buy others. Save your suitcase space wisely.
Buy in Old Delhi: silver from Dariba Kalan, spices and dried fruit from Khari Baoli, wedding trimmings from Kinari Bazaar and attar, traditional perfumed oils.
Buy in the new city: contemporary Indian design in Khan Market, Meherchand Market and Mehrauli, where Delhi's own families shop.
- See before you buy: the National Crafts Museum is the best introduction to India's crafts we know.
- Save for Jaipur: block prints, blue pottery, gemstones and tie-dye are better bought from the families who make them. Read our shopping guide.
- Never follow a stranger to a shop: commission shopping is Delhi's other oldest trick.
Finding Rajasthan in Delhi
For a Jaipur family, Delhi is full of home. Look for these, and the drive to Rajasthan feels like a homecoming.
Prithviraj Chauhan's walls: in the twelfth century Delhi was held by the Chauhan king who also ruled from Ajmer. Remains of Qila Rai Pithora still run through south Delhi.
Jai Singh's observatory: the Jantar Mantar near Connaught Place, built in 1724 by Sawai Jai Singh II, who later founded Jaipur. Our own Jantar Mantar is larger.
- The Jaipur Column: a gift of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II, in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- Jaipur House: now the National Gallery of Modern Art.
- Bikaner House: a cultural centre, and where state buses leave for Jaipur.
- Marwari sweets: Bikaner's bhujia and sweets are sold all over the city by shops founded by families from our state.
The same two days, shaped for you
Every family travels differently. These are the changes we make most often.
For families with children
- Day one: add the National Rail Museum or more time in Sunder Nursery's lawns.
- Day two: the cycle rickshaw is the highlight. Keep the Red Fort short and the snacks frequent.
For couples
- Day one: a private picnic at Sunder Nursery and qawwali under the stars.
- Day two: a long, celebratory dinner after India Gate.
For repeat visitors
- Swap in: Mehrauli's tombs and stepwell, Hauz Khas at dusk, and the stepwell of Agrasen ki Baoli among the office blocks.
For travellers with limited mobility
- The good news: the main avenue of Chandni Chowk is now flat and wide, and a cycle rickshaw carries you through the lanes. Read accessible travel.
Getting around, and staying well
Delhi is huge and its traffic heavy at rush hour. A few habits make it easy.
A private car and driver: essential in a city this size. Use a hotel car or one we arrange, never a stranger's taxi at night.
A guide on foot in Old Delhi: cars stop at the edge of the walled city.
- Beat the rush: be on the road before eight or after ten in the morning.
- Water: bottled or filtered only, and no ice on the street.
- Street food: with a guide, freshly cooked and hot. Leave it until you have rested after the flight.
- Valuables: phone and wallet worn in front in the old city, jewellery left at the hotel.
- Delhi's oldest trick: ignore anyone who says a monument is closed and offers to take you somewhere better.
Dress and respect at the sacred places
In two days you will enter a mosque, a gurdwara, a Jain temple and a Sufi shrine. Each asks for the same simple courtesy.
Cover shoulders and knees: at all of them, for men and women.
Carry a scarf: to cover your head at the gurdwara, the mosque and the Nizamuddin shrine.
- Slip-on shoes: you will take them off many times.
- Avoid prayer times: at the Jama Masjid, especially on Fridays.
- Leave leather outside the Jain temple: belts and bags if asked.
- Photographs: ask first, especially of women and in places of worship. Our temple etiquette guide has more.
Onward from Delhi
Two days in Delhi is the beginning, not the journey. Here is how it leads on.
To Jaipur by road: about four to five hours, often less on the expressway. Our note on the Delhi to Jaipur expressway has the stops.
To Jaipur by train: fast trains take a little over four hours.
- To Agra: under two hours on the Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin.
- South by air: about an hour to Udaipur or Jodhpur.
- Ready-made journeys: Delhi, Jaipur and Agra in luxury and Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur both begin with this rhythm.
- Or end here: many guests save Delhi for the end of the journey instead, when they are rested and curious. The same two days work just as well in reverse.
- A last day before your flight: keep the room or a day room, and spend the morning at a favourite garden, a long lunch and a last cup of masala tea.