Delhi, the capital of India, sees a huge flow of traffic all round the year. With a deep historical background as well as being a modern metropolitan city, Delhi offers several tourist attractions to the visitors. From historical monuments to modern buildings and museums to shopping places, Delhi has something or the other for all types of tourists whether they are young kinds, teenagers, adults or old ones. Spend a good time in Delhi seeing all the tourist attractions in Delhi for a memorable tour.

Historical Tourist Attractions in Delhi

The journey of exploration of Delhi should ideally begin with the visit to the Qutub Minar. Besides being one of the important tourist attractions in Delhi, it is a major landmarks not only of Delhi but also of India. The construction of the minar was started during the Slave Dynasty by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in 1199 AD and concluded by Iltutmish. The 72.5 m high tapering minar with 379 steps is also famous as the highest stone tower ever raised in India. Qutub Minar is surrounded by several other structures such as Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Iron Pillar, Tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Darwaza and Alai Minar.

Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq in the ruined city of Tughlaqabad is among important historical tourist attractions in Delhi. The tomb was originally positioned in the middle of a reservoir and was approached only by a fortified land bridge from the fort. The simple mausoleum is pentagon in shape and cyclopean walls of red sandstone. All the four walls of the tomb have arched gateways decorated with delicate latticework and the dome is made entirely of white marble.

Humayun's Tomb should not be missed on tour to Delhi as it is a specimen of one of the earliest Mughal buildings and is enlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Built at the orders of Bega Begum or Haji Begum, the Persian wife of Humayun, the construction was started in1562 AD and completed in 1572 AD and designed by the famous Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyuath. The Humayun's Tomb occupies the central stage surrounded by 36 gardens divided equally by a crisscross of water channels and pathways. The octagonal mausoleum rests over a square plinth with arcades. The cenotaph of the Mughal Emperor, Humayun and his Queen Bega Begum lies in the central room. The crowning glory of the tomb is a 42.5 m high stupendous double dome.

The another major landmark as well as tourist attractions of Delhi is the Red Fort. Initiated in 1618 AD at the orders of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, the Red Fort completed in 1647 AD. The fort is largely built of red sandstone with the cover of shell plaster polish that gives the impression of being the ivory. The important buildings with the fort are the Chatta Chowk, Nawab Khana, Diwan-I-Aam, Diwan-I-Khas, Rang Mahal, Pearl Mosque, Musamman Burj, Khwabgah and Hammans.

Colonial Tourist Attractions

Rashtrapati Bhawan is an eternal reminder of British supremacy in India. The erstwhile residence of the Viceroy of India, the palatial building is now the residence the ruling President of India. Designed by Lutyens as the part of British New Delhi over Raisina Hill, the Rashtrapati Bhawan is larger than the Palace of Versailles. Another tourist attraction within the Rashtrapati Bhawan is the Mughal Gardens. Lutyens planned the gardens at the request of Lady Harding who was highly impressed by the Mughal gardens of Kashmir. Lutyens was successful in recreating the Kashmiri gardens with all the ornamental fountains, waterfalls, paved pathways, ornamental plants, fruit-bearing trees, flowers and shrubs. The Mughal Gardens are open for public during the spring season when the garden is at its best beauty.

India Gate was built as the War Memorial by the British to honor the sacrifice of 90,000 India soldiers in the North West Province during the First World War and the Afghan Fiasco of 1919 AD. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the work on this memorial began with the foundation stone being laid by the Duke of on 10th February 1921 and the was complete in 1931 AD. Built of sandstone, the names of all the soldiers are inscribed on the walls of India Gate. Amar Jawan Jyoti, an eternal flame is always burning in the memory of the soldiers killed in the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Modern Tourist Attractions

The National Museum is the most apt place if you are inquisitive about history, culture and heritage of Delhi. The biggest museum in India, it possesses 2,00,000 antiquities from worldwide spanning over 5000 years of history displayed at both permanent and temporary galleries. The antiquities of the museum includes art objects, costumes, fallen or broken pieces of historical monuments, gems and jewelry, manuscripts, paintings of different schools of art, pottery, rare coins, religious scriptures and sculptures. One of the most popular and well-presented permanent galleries is the Harappan Gallery.

The Rail Transport Museum is among popular tourist attractions in Delhi particularly for children. Visit the place to trace the history of 150 years of railways in India. The museum is spread over 10 acres of land and displays a large collection of locomotives and carriages in open. You will enjoy watching the vintage trains such as the Viceregal Dining Car (1889 AD), Prince of Wales Saloon (1875 AD), Maharaja of Mysore's Saloon (1899 AD) and Maharaja of Baroda's Saloon (1886 AD) as much as the kids. The replica of the first steam engine in India that covered the distance from Mumbai to Thane in 1853 AD is also on display.

The Garden of Five Senses is among the latest tourist attractions in Delhi inaugurated only in 2003. Located at Said-ul-Azaib near Mehrauli, the garden is spread over an area of 20 acres of changing scenery. As is suggestive from the name, the garden is designed to awaken each of the five human senses of vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The sight of the flowers in myriad hues, the sound of gentle music, the sweet and pleasant fragrance, the feel of the beautiful objects and test of your taste buds at exclusively allocated spaces in the garden to arouse a particular sense.

Religious Tourist Attractions in Delhi

The Lakshmi Narayan Temple was built by the renowned business family of the Birlas, particularly Raja Baldev Das Birla. That is why, it is better known as the Birla Temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Lakshmi Narayan or Vishnu and was completed in 6 years from 1933 AD to 1939 AD.

The Lotus Temple is one of the modern tourist attractions in Delhi. The temple is built of marble, cement, dolomite and sand in the shape of a lotus. Fariborz Sahba, an Canada-based Iranian took ten years to design and construct this temple with the help of almost 800 engineers, technicians, artisans and laborers. The Lotus Temple comprises of three ranks of nine petals and nine reflecting pools that surround the building.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is built on the site of the bungalow of Mirza Raja Jai Singh and was originally called Jaisinghpura Palace. Because of its construction over an erstwhile palace, it is called Bangla Sahib. This gurudwara sees thousands of devotees every day not only of Sikh faith but also from other religious beliefs and faiths.