Delhi Hotels

Old Delhi is a labyrinthine medieval city, while New Delhi is full of broad tree-lined avenues. Contemporary Delhi is a vast and varied cluster of umpteen colonies.

Most attractions cluster in the centre, and the city's extensive public transport network makes getting around easy even for first-timers. Lose yourself in the bazaars in and around Old Delhi to the north, where many of the existing remnants of the glorious Mughal era are found. New Delhi was built by the British to the south of here, and stretches from Connaught Place down to Rajpath. The city's ‘Embassy Row', Chanakyapuri, is further south still.

Delhi's metro underground rail system makes getting around town quicker – and avoiding the often heavy traffic much easier. Line Two is especially useful for getting to the Old Delhi and New Delhi railway stations as well as the bus terminal.

Taxis – or hired cars, which usually come with a driver – are plentiful in Delhi. Hail them from a taxi stand or call the phone service (phone 1090) to book.

You can hail autorickshaws – also known as three-wheeled scooters or just three-wheelers – from the street, as opposed to taxis, so for groups of three people or less they are often the most convenient way of getting around. They are also cheaper than taxis. The inconvenience is that they are slower than taxis and only semi-closed, so you are open to the noise and grime of major Delhi thoroughfares.

Rickshaws are powered by human muscle. They are plentiful and the cheapest form of hired transport in town, but are only really useful for short trips. Haggle down the price. If you haven't a sense of prices, try to sound out how much your trip should cost from locals if you can, and agree to a price before getting in.

The Delhi Transport Corporation employs a fleet of more than 2,000 buses servicing 814 routes – 630 of which are in Delhi itself. Often crowded, they have the advantage of being ridiculously inexpensive.

Delhi is an immense, sprawling city. Exploring individual neighbourhoods on foot is certainly recommended, but it's not a great way of getting around town, especially when the heat begins to build up and during the monsoon.

Technically, autorickshaw fares are supposed to be metered, but often a driver will try to haggle a price at the beginning in the hope of negotiating a better deal. Metro fares vary according to zones travelled. The metro system is open from 6am to 10pm.

Of Delhi's 11 incarnations, you can still see reminders of the most recent eight. They are Qila Rai Pithora (some of Pithora's 10th-century fort ramparts remain around Qutab Minar), Mehrauli (of which Qutub Minar tower is a notable vestige), Siri, Tughlakabad, Firozabad, Shergarh, Shahjehabanad and New Delhi (best exemplified by Connaught Place and the India Gate).

Delhi Metro Rail website