>> What to see

The Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhavan)
It is a building built in 1929 according to Sir Edward Lutyens’ design on the top of a low hill. Before the independence of India it was the residence of the British viceroys. The building is surrounded by large and well cultivated gardens of Moghul style. A special attraction is represented by the rose-beds opened to the public in the month of February. Rashtrapati Bhavan is the biggest presidential palace in the worl; it consists of over 350 rooms and no steel has been used for its construction.

Secretariat
Two huge buildings are indicated with this name, they were built according to a design of the British architect Herbert Baker who got inspiration from Moghul art, as its cupolas and the decoration elements on its façade show. The buildings are situated along Vijay Chowk, the name which indicates the final section of Avenue of Kings or Rajapath. They form two wings preceding the large square on which there is the presidential Palace. Today these buildings are the seat of the Prime Minister and of many Ministries of the indian Union (Defence, Finance, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs).

Parliament
The Parliament palace (Sanskrit: Sansad Bhavan) is a circular plan building built in 1912 by architect Herbert Baker. It is behind the Secretariat buildings and it is closed within a peristilium made up with 257 columns. Within the porch there other buildings meant for housing the sessions of the "Lok Sabha" or Low Chamber and of the "Rajya Sabha" or High Chamber, corresponding to our Senate.
National Museum - [1]. This nuseum, the largest museum in India, is situated at the corner between Janpath and Maulana Azad Road. It presents a large number of collections arranged in chronological order, from prehistory to date.The minitures of Moghul style are really interesting because they mix Persian and local influences.

Birla House (Birla Bhavan)
The house where Mahatma Gandhi spent his last days, before being murdered on January 30th 1948. This name is due to the fact that this house belonged to Birlas, a rich and famous family of businessmen. In 1971 the indian government bought it to transform it into a museum devoted to the memory of that great statesman. In the garden around the villa a column called of the martyrdom marks the exact place where the staesman died under the shots of a fanatic Indù while he was having his usual evening walk. Gandhi Smriti is at nr. 5 of Tees January Marg, more or less between the national museum and Khan market.

Nehru Memorial Museum (Teen Murti Bhavan)
The residence of the prime Minister at the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, today it is a museum devoted to his memory. The building which houses it dates back to the Colonial age and it was built according to a design by Robert Tor Russel, the same architect who planned Connaught Place. This building was originally known as "Flagstaff House" and it was used as residence of Commander in Chief of the British army in India. The modern name "Teen Murti Bhavan", means house of the three statues.This museum houses a large library. It is closed to the public on Mondays and on holidays.

India Gate
Situated on the opposite side of Rajpath, the India Gate is a monument built by architect Edwin Lutyens for commemorating the indian soldiers died during the First World War. The inauguration stone was posed on February 10th 1921 by the Duke of Connaught. It is triumph arch shaped with an only barrel-vault and is 42 metres high. Under the arch there is the tomb of the Unknown Warrior made from black marble surmounted by a gun on the barrel of which there is a helmet. On each side of the tomb the words in golden letters “amar Jawan” (The immortal warrior) are reported. On the external surfaces of the arch the names of the fallen are engraved.

Khooni Darwaza (Literally: the door of blood)
Also called Lal Darwaza (The red door), it is one of the 13 doors survived, which opened within the old boundary wall in Delhi. It is 15 mt.high and through it you could enter the Old Fort described below.

Old Fort
Also called Purana Qil'ah in Hindi, it is a citadel dating back to the 16th century, the construction of which was started by Humayun. It extends beyond the India Gate, towards the river Yamuna. Within its boundary wall Kohna Mashid is situated, it is a mosque dating back to 1541, and built in a sober and elegant style. Sher Manjl is an octagonal tower once used as personal library by Humayun. In this tower the second exponent of the Moghul dynasty died on February 22nd 1556. On hearing the call to prayer of the Muezzin and being anxious to participate into the prayer, the sovereign stumbled into his dressing gown, so tumbled down the stairs of the tower and violently banged his head against a stair. He died three days after. After this mishap Humayun’s successors preferred to start the construction of a new citadel further northwards for luck: it was the Red Fort and then they abandoned Purana Qil'ah for ever, because they believed it to have a jinx on it. Archaeological excavations have shown that the Old Fort was built on the place of a much older town which someone would identify with the famous Indraprastha mentioned in the epic poem of Mahabharata. Today the old Fort houses the zoological garden of Delhi and a nautical club.

Humayn’s Mausoleum
Humayun’s Mausoleum is included in the list of the Monuments protected by UNESCO as World Heritage of Mankind. Its construction was started in 1562 on commission by the widow of the late emperor, the begum Hamida Banu Begum. In 8 years this building was completed. The result was a monument which from a closer perspective reminds to the famous Taj Mahal in Agra. The restoration works were started in March 2003, under the aegida of Aga Khan and his association AKTC (Aga Khan Trust for Culture). In the same year AKTC commissioned the restoration of the tomb of Babur, Humayun’s father in Kabul.

Pragati Maidan
A wide space created in 1982 and devoted to fairs of every kind. Among the buildings of this complex the Nehru pavilion stands out as well as that of the atomic Energy and the National Defense which houses permanent exhibitions. Many events taking place at Pragati Maidan are organized by the India International Trade Fair and the World Book Fair.

Craft Museum
Along Bhairon avenue, at the southern corner of Pragati Maidan, there is a little museum devoted to Indian handicraft. Collections include about 20,000 pieces, among them there are old wooden, ivory, clay, cloth handmade items. There are also ritual objects and utensils for daily life. The complex housing the museum was designed by architect Charles Correa. They are short buildings with wooden doors and windows, typical of Rajasthan. Free entrance. Open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Closed on Mondays.

Safdarjung Mausoleum
Safdarjung’s tomb was one of the last solemn mausoleums erected at Moghul times. It was completed in 1754 according to the nabab Shia ud Daulah’s commission, for honouring his father who had been minister at the time of emperor Mohammed Scia. The main attraction of this monument are its wonderful gardens which surround it and its ornamental basins.
Lodhi gardens – A park on the southern side of New Delhi, between the Khan Market and Safdarjung’s Mausoleum. These gardens were created in 1936 on the site of a poor village the inhabitants of which were forced to move elsewhere. Inside there are monuments dating back to the times of Lodhis, an Afghan dynasty of Muslim creed which governed the most part of northern India during the 16th century. Mohammed Shah’s tomb is an octagonal building with stone cupolas. Bara Gumbad (literally the big dome) is instead a mosque dating back to 1494.

Laxminarayan Temple
This temple, also known as Birla Mandir, is dedicated to the Indù goddess of Laxmi and to Visnù, her husband. This temple was built in 1622 but was completely restored in 1938 thanks to the Birlas’ donations. They were one of the richest and oldest families, coming from Rajasthan whose descendants still today successfully devote themselves to a variety of businesses, from the textile one to telecommunications.The style of Birla Mandir follows the style of the temples of Bhubaneswar in the state of Orissa and, like them, it has got an imposing aspect. Every year, on the occasion of Janmashtami’s festivity, commemorating the birth of Krishna, thousands of pilgrims come there. This temple is situated on Mandir marg, in the north-western area of New Delhi and it is not far from Connaught Circle.

Yantra Mandir (Jantar Mantar)
This name means Temple of instruments, and comes from the words "yantra" = instrument and "mandir" = temple. It is an astronomical observatory built in 1719 on the Moghul emperor’s, Mohammed Scia, commission. It was used to scan the sky in order to recognize prophetic signs or propiptious periods for fixing important religious celebrations or for regulating people’s private life. The astrology was greatly considered in India in the 18th century and it is still so today.The temple was managed by "pandits", Indù wise men belonging to the brahmani caste. Among the instruments the Samrat Yantra is worth mentioning, it is a huge gnomon (the gnomon is the part of the sundial which projects its own shadow on the dial) it is triangular and placed in a vertical position. This complex is situated between the avenues Sansad and Tolstoy, a little further the southern side of Connaught Circle.

Jayanti Park
Lying at the back of the presidential palace, it bounds New Delhi to the west and the north-west.