Sightseeing in Delhi

Delhi is a huge city with a population of 27 million people. A city with that many inhabitants automatically means that there are a lot of differences in the way of life and living standards. India is extreme when it comes to the contrasts between rich and poor and that was something I immediately noted in Delhi. The underprivileged people were in the best cases living in tents, the worst cases living right on the street. At the divider between the files there were people sleeping and it seemed like they had zero possessions other than what they were wearing. The more lucky ones stayed in home made tents and the ones who were a little bit better off were living in sheds looking like cabins I made together with friends in the forest when I grew up. Then there are the rich ones, living in huge fancy embassies in the middle of the city having every continent thing you can think of. Contrasts. I have seen many places in the world where the extreme poor meets the extreme rich part of the society but in Delhi the differences were so obvious and felt so contradictionary it is impossible to not be affected by it so if you travel to Delhi you will experience a lot more than must see sights.

But what sights should you visit if you go to Delhi? I will take you through the sightseeing tour we did in Delhi. There is not a lot to see so I would recommend one day, or at the max two depending if you want to do something else than just do sightseeing.

The Lotus temple – Baha’i house of worship

It is located centrally in Delhi in a huge green space. The architecture reminds me about the opera house in Sydney and as a big fan of buildings I would recommend a visit here to the marble worship building. You can enter the building but it is just a big hall where you can sit down in silence on marble benches but the outside is far mor beautiful.

India gate

The India gate is a monument for British and Indian soldiers that died in the world war I and those who fell in the battle in the North West Frontier Province and the Third Afghan war. It is a nice open space worth seeing reminding me about the arc the triumph in Paris. But beware of all people that want to take a picture with you if you look non-Indian. They are everywhere all the time but here it were extreme.

The presidential palace – Rashtrapati Bhavan

From the India gate upwards the big avenue lies the presidential palace and the government buildings. It is worth a visit and if you happen to be there the 26th of January there is a big parade with solders from one of the worlds largest armies taking part in the republic day parade.

Mahatma Gandhi – last steps

Mahatma Gandhi is well known for everyone who been to school as a fighter for civil rights freedom and in Delhi we stopped by the place where he took his last steps. Except from a big garden it was also a big photo and text exhibition if you are interested in that kind of things. Worth a 20 minute stop on a Delhi tour.

Connaught place

Then we went to a place called Connaught place which is a central shopping and eating place where international recognized brands are located in houses of British style. Worth driving through but nothing more if you not like me are collecting Starbucks city mugs then you can find a Starbucks selling them there so now I have 40 of them.

The red fort – old Delhi

Last and least stop of our Delhi tour we went to the Red fort in old Delhi. After seeing enough of forts from the inside we just checked the outside and it was red. Just outside the place were a bazar and there it was crazy. The difference between new and old Delhi was remarkable and I would advice you to see both parts. The red fort was our last stop before heading back to the airport in the hectic Delhi traffic that was moving with a pace of a snail.

I would say one day for sights in Delhi, two if you also want to chill a bit and enjoy Indian food but I was avoiding eating to not get sick and chilling we already had done so for this trip a one day sightseeing tour were just perfect. The best and most convenient way is to hire a driver that takes you around. Other options are of course the hop-on-hop-off bus and going with local busses and subway. Have you been to Delhi? did we missed out any places worth seeing?

/ Pernilla on a Delhi tour