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New Delhi day tour – Places to visit in one day within budget

New Delhi day tour – We all know that Delhi has been the chosen Capital of India for centuries by different rulers. With its long history of kingdom and empires from the Delhi Sultanate to Mughals and then the British, the city at present stands as one of the fastest developing metropolitan cities in the world.

Delhi houses lot of interesting places for visitors to see around. Lot of times people combine Agra with Delhi and creates a comprehensive itinerary considering 4 to 5 days in hand. On other times Delhi is used as the junction point for lot of tourists coming from the eastern, southern and western part of India to move to other tourist places like Shimla, Manali, Ladakh, Nainital, Rajasthan etc.

In this blog we will talk about how to travel to Delhi if you have a connecting flight, or train or bus to any region in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Rajasthan and you have only 1 day in your hand. In our blog, we will also discuss what places to visit and talk a little about shopping and delicious Mughlai food available in the city.

How to move around

Delhi being such a big city it is very difficult for tourists to cover in one day. You would at least need 3-4 days to explore the entire city properly. But if you are on a tight schedule you can definitely plan for a day tour and rather than trying to visit all the places you can just choose specific important tourist places to visit so that it does not become hectic for you as well. And for that planning is very important.

Delhi being the capital of India the place has all kind of communications like train, bus, auto, taxi, Metro, Uber, Ola etc. But the best mode to travel around Delhi is via the Delhi metro.

Now before we begin we would like to tell you that Delhi metro can be very confusing for someone who has just landed in the city because there are so many routes and junctions to follow and move around. Unlike other metropolitan cities it is the busiest as well. The good thing is that you would get metro at regular intervals starting from 5:00 AM in the morning till 11:30 PM at night

If you are a tourist and you want to move around Delhi and want to travel via metro multiple times, opt for their Tourist metro travel cards. Once you land in the city, go to any metro station and walk straight towards the customer care desk. Every metro has a customer care desk. You don’t need to stand in the queue for any token or walk up to any kiosk to collect any kind of card or anything separately.

The validity of tourist metro cards are 1 day and 3 days depending on your requirement.

Types of cards and charges

One day card

Rs. 200/- (Rs. 150/- plus Rs. 50 refundable security)

Three day card

Rs. 500/- (Rs. 450/- plus Rs. 50 refundable security)

The rides are unlimited. Don’t forget to submit the card to get back the security deposit money before going back to your hotel for a one day trip.

Few Things to know before arriving to Delhi

Being upfront and providing honest reviews has always been the mantra of our blogs at NeonBrothers. So before visiting Delhi, few things you definitely need to know about the place from the research we did and from the experiences we had.

  • Delhi NCR is not a proper state, it is a provincial Union territory combining of places of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & Rajasthan. Thus you would get people of all cast & creed residing at this region. This is actually a boon for foodies and for people who like to explore a wide variety of cuisine in one place. The food here is of wide varieties and every delicacy and cuisine tastes differently and has its own charm.
  • Unlike other metropolitan cities in India, Delhi is probably not one of the safest tourist spots for people arriving from outside. So if you are new to the city, would suggest you to not to roam around the city at night i.e. after 9pm or before 7 am alone.
  • If you are visiting Delhi carry light clothes with you, as the temperature gets very warm during day time. It is humid as well unlike earlier times when the temperature used to be dry. Drink plenty of water, carry an umbrella and a sunglass if you are visiting during summers and monsoon. During winters the temperature drops quite low, thus making an ideal time to visit for tourists as it stays quite pleasant compared to the hot summer months
  • Always book an Ola, Uber, Indriver or take a metro if you want to move around the city even if it is only 1 or 2 kms, that’s the best way to do it. Do not hire any local cab or auto, or rickshaw, or cab from prepaid counters near railway , bus or airport, they would probably charge higher amount and would try to squeeze money from you wherever possible.
  • The city is quite densely populated, hence there are frequent traffic jams and congestions which takes place. The city is one of the most polluted city in India, so if you are roaming around try to wear a mask and move around most of the times.

How to plan your New Delhi day tour & things to see

There are two ways you can plan your day tour in Delhi:

Via Hop on Hop Of Bus

The Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus service provides sightseeing options to tourists who are willing to explore Delhi with a more flexible schedule. The HOHO buses run every 30 minutes and provide tourists a flexible option for sightseeing. You just get down at any place you want and after visiting the place go to the nearest pickup point to board the other bus for the next spot.

Price

Rs 600/ Person

Pick up point

  • Saket Metro Station, Gate No.1 – 7:25 am (recommended for Gurgaon/South Delhi passengers)
  • INA, Dilli-Haat Metro Station, Gate No.5 – 7:35 am (recommended for South Delhi/West Delhi passengers)
  • Shivaji Airport Express Metro Station, Gate No.1 – 7:55 am (recommended for Airport/Aerocity/Dwarka passengers)
  • Rama Krishna Ashram Metro Station, Gate No.3 – 8:05 am (recommended for Paharganj/Karolbagh/New Delhi Railway Station/Blueline-Metro/Rohini passengers)

Drop point

Akshardham Temple drop or Connaught Place

Places to be covered

  • Jantar Mantar
  • Birla Mandir
  • Connaught Place Circle Drive Pass
  • Red Fort
  • Jama Masjid (Drive Pass)
  • Raj Ghat
  • India Gate (Drive Pass)
  • National war memorial (Drive pass)
  • Rashtrapati Bhawan (Drive pass)
  • Parliament House (Drive pass)
  • Lotus Temple
  • Qutub Minar
  • Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
  • Indira Gandhi Museum
  • Humayun’s Tomb
  • Akshardham Temple Drop

Via Customized itinerary by metro

A Ho Ho bus journey can be quite fun but it can also turn out to be quite hectic for someone trying to cover all places in one day. Thus we chose to customize our own itinerary and planned to visit selected places rather than covering every spot in one day.

The Delhi Metro purple & yellow line has the most number of tourist places to visit (download a pdf copy of the map and also the metro app).

Take any metro and follow the violet line or change the line to connect to the violet line to start from the famous Lal Quila/Red fort.

Lal Quila/ Red Fort – In 1638, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan moved the capital of his empire from Agra to a newly constructed city in Delhi that he called Shahjahanabad. He also laid the foundation stone of his palace called the Red Fort or Lal Qila. Unfortunately we could not go inside the fort due to heavy army deployment as it was the eve of the Independence day.

Just opposite to the Red Fort, you will find the famous Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir. It is one of the oldest Jain temple in the country.

Walk straight following the main road, at a distance of around 800 meters and then take a right turn following the Meena Bazar to arrive to the Jama Masjid. The metro station is just close to the place.

The Jama Masjid, is the largest mosque in India. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan when Delhi was known as Shahjahanabad. The original name of Jama Masjid was “Masjid-e-Jahanuma”

Take a metro from Jama Masjid and get down near Mandi House, take the Blue line and get down the next station towards Dwarka Sector 21 to Barakhamba Road to visit the famous Agrasen Ki Baoli.

Once done return back to Mandi house in the blue line to catch the metro towards the purple line again towards Raja Nahar Singh and get down near Central Secretariat metro station. Notable places near this metro station are the India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan & Parliament of India.

From Central Secretariat metro station follow the purple line to get down at Kalkaji Mandir to visit the famous Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple is a monument dedicated to the Baha’i faith.

From Kalkaji, take the Magenta Line and get down in Hauz Khas Metro station towards Janakpuri West. Change to yellow line in Hauz Khas metro and head towards HUDA City centre to get down near the famous Qutub Minar.

Qutub Minar – Built in the 13th century, the red sandstone tower of Qutub Minar is almost 72.5 m high and is an UNESCO World heritage site. The construction was started by Qitub-ud-Din Aibak the then sultan of Delhi, but he only constructed the basement. The construction of the tower was later taken over by his successor Iltutmish who constructed three more stories. The last two storeys of the Minar were completed Firoz Shah Tuglak.

The entry fee to the site for Indians is Rs 35. We got a free entry due to the Independence day carnival. You have to submit your bag at the luggage counter.

Note : There is a restaurant called Qutub Restaurant near the place, don’t eat from here as the prices are exorbitantly high compared to other places in Delhi and the proportion is also quite less.

From Qutub Minar, take the yellow line towards Samaypur Badli and get down near Rajiv Chawk to visit the famous Connaught Place. It is one of the most important business and commercial center and also known as the party hub of the city. You would get all the luxurious foreign brand shops here starting from GUCCI, Prada and so on.

Shopping at Delhi

If you are a budget traveler like us, you can take the metro through the yellow line from Rajiv Chawk and get down in Dilli Haat INA and change towards pink line and get down after one station in Sarojini Nagar metro station. Come out from gate no 1 to enter the market. This market is a paradise for people willing to buy clothes and merchandise at cheap price.

From Rajiv Chawk you can also take the blue line towards Dwarka Sector 21 to get down near Karol Bagh Metro Station. The Karol Bagh market is known for its shopping streets like the Ajmal Khan Road and the Gaffar Market (very popular for its electronic goods).

Tip – Go to the Karol Bagh market after 8 pm you would get clothes and apparels at a much cheaper price. Dont forget to try the local kulfi there which comes with a long stick.

We covered these places with in the short time that we had. Other places to visit are :

  • Akshardham temple
  • Humayun’s Tomb
  • National Gallery Of Modern Art
  • Lodhi Garden
  • Chadni Chawk
  • Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
  • Rail Museum
  • Jantar Mantar
  • Safdarjung Tomb
  • Tughlaqabad Fort

What to eat

If you are a foodie you can definitely visit Chadni chawk market and the Paranthe wali gali close to it. For chaats visit Karol Bagh, UPSC building in Shahjahan Road or Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala in Chandni Chowk. For special butter chicken visit the famous Moti Mahal in Daryaganj. For mutton based dishes, kebabs visit Karims near Jama Masjid. And for great momos and thukpas visit Majnu Ka Tila area.

Conclusion

Try to plan Delhi trip during the winters as the weather will be lot cooler. Also in order to visit the entire city properly you would need a minimum 3-4 days. But if you have a tight schedule and on budget you can definitely follow our itinerary. If you have more number of days, you can Visit Nainital from New Delhi. Do read our blog to know more about the itinerary.

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Neontraveller

As our name suggests, we operate as brothers in arms when exploring our passion for traveling, designing, and writing. At NeonBrothers, we are looking to infect a larger audience with our passions.  Check our blogs to learn about the best ways of quenching your thirst for discovering new places.

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