Lucknow

The former capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, where the Bara Imambara labyrinth, Rumi Darwaza and the ruins of the British Residency tell of bygone days, and the kebabs and slow-cooked dishes are the finest in North India.

Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India, a city of about 4 million on the Gomti River in the Gangetic Plain, some 500 km from Delhi. In the 18th–19th centuries it was the capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, whose refined court culture brought Urdu poetry, Kathak dance, chikan embroidery and slow-cooked Awadhi cuisine to their peak, earning it the name 'City of Nawabs'. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the British Residency was besieged for months, making it one of the uprising's focal battlegrounds. The best season is October–March, with warm, comfortable days; in December–January dense morning fog often disrupts flights and trains; April–June is scorching, reaching 45°C, and July–September is the monsoon. Areas to explore: the old Husainabad quarter, home to the Bara and Chota Imambaras, Rumi Darwaza, the Clock Tower and Picture Gallery, the Jama Masjid and Chowk bazaar, needs a full day; the center has the Residency ruins, Chattar Manzil, the tomb of Saadat Ali Khan and the shopping boulevard of Hazratganj; the east bank of the Gomti has the Ambedkar Memorial Park, the riverfront park and large city parks. Getting there: Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport is about 15 km from the center, with flights to most major Indian cities; Charbagh station has express trains to Delhi (about 6.5 hours), Varanasi and Agra. The city has Metro Line 1, and ride-hailing cars or e-rickshaws are handy between sights. Plan to stay 2–3 days, and be sure to set aside time for an old-town food tour. Note: dress modestly and remove your shoes at mosques and imambaras; during Muharram there are many religious observances and some sights close.

Top sights

• Bara Imambara – A grand Shia prayer hall built in 1784 by a nawab as famine relief, famous for its pillarless vaulted hall and the upper Bhulbhulaiya labyr…
• Rumi Darwaza – An 18-metre-high Awadhi triumphal gate modeled on the gates of Istanbul, and a city symbol of Lucknow.
• Chota Imambara – Completed in 1838 as the “Palace of Lights,” hung with Belgian crystal chandeliers, with Arabic calligraphy decorating its exterior walls.
• The Residency, Lucknow – The British Residency, besieged for 87 days during the 1857 uprising. Bullet-scarred ruins and a graveyard stand quietly in the gardens.
• Husainabad Clock Tower & Picture Gallery – One of the tallest clock towers in India, with a gallery beside it displaying life-size portraits of the Nawabs of Awadh through the ages.
• Satkhanda – A moon-viewing tower that was planned to have seven stories but was only built to four after the Nawab died, standing alone beside the cloc…
• Jama Masjid, Lucknow – A 19th-century grand mosque in the old city, with white domes, tall minarets, and finely painted stucco decoration inside.
• Tunday Kababi – A century-old restaurant renowned across India for its melt-in-the-mouth Galouti kebabs, a byword for Lucknow's food.
• Chowk – The commercial heart of the old city from the Nawabi era, where narrow lanes are lined with Chikankari embroidery, perfumes, silver-leaf sw…
• Aminabad – A long-established mass market with clothing, Chikankari embroidery, jewelry, and snacks, where prices are lower than in Hazratganj.
• Hazratganj – Lucknow's most fashionable shopping avenue, where colonial-style façades restored in a uniform style house shops, cafés, and long-establish…
• Ambedkar Memorial Park – A vast memorial park built of pink sandstone, with elephant sculptures, a memorial tower, and a plaza that is especially striking when lit…
• La Martinière College (Constantia) – A Baroque palace left by French adventurer Major-General Claude Martin, now one of India's oldest prestigious schools.
• Dilkusha Kothi – A Nawabi hunting lodge modeled on an English Baroque country house, reduced to towering ruined walls after the fighting of 1857.
• Sikandar Bagh – A Nawabi pleasure garden where one of the bloodiest battles of the 1857 uprising took place, with bullet marks still visible on its gateway.
• Shah Najaf Imambara – A white-domed mausoleum on the banks of the Gomti, modeled after the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, with ornate chandeliers inside.
• Tombs of Saadat Ali Khan & Begum Khurshid Zadi – A pair of 19th-century Nawabi tombs for a husband and wife near Qaisar Bagh, with a black-and-white marble chessboard floor and domes that…
• Chattar Manzil – A Nawabi palace on the banks of the Gomti, named "Umbrella Palace" for its gilded umbrella-shaped domes, with a riverside chamber in its ba…
• Lucknow Zoo & State Museum – A century-old zoo in the city center, home to the State Museum, which displays Buddhist sculptures and an Egyptian mummy.
• Janeshwar Mishra Park – One of Asia's largest urban parks, with a big lake, lawns, cycling paths, and a decommissioned MiG fighter jet on display.
• Gomti Riverfront Park – A newly developed riverfront promenade and park along both banks of the Gomti, where lights and fountains in the evening draw large crowds…
• Chandrika Devi Temple – An ancient goddess temple on the Gomti about 28 km north of the city, and an important Durga pilgrimage site in North India.
• Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary – A lakeside wetland sanctuary beside the Lucknow–Kanpur highway, where more than a hundred species of migratory birds can be seen in winter.

Where to eat

• Tunday Kababi (Aminabad) – A Lucknow kebab institution founded in 1905, famous for its melt-in-the-mouth galouti kebabs.
• Idrees Biryani – A small shop in Chowk, the old city, open since 1968, famous citywide for its wood-fired, slow-cooked Awadhi mutton bir…
• Royal Cafe (Hazratganj) – A popular snack spot in Hazratganj, famous for basket chaat served in fried potato baskets.
• Dastarkhwan (Lalbagh Branch) – An Awadhi restaurant around Hazratganj where biryani, korma and nihari win over both locals and visitors.
• Prakash Famous Kulfi – A family kulfi shop in Aminabad since 1956, where kulfi with falooda is a must after dinner.

Itineraries

• Buddhist Circuit Pilgrimage (India & Nepal) – A pilgrimage loop covering Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Shravasti.