Main Bazaar

Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)

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Backpacker Central, this crazy-busy bazaar that runs through Paharganj sells almost everything you want, and a whole lot more. It's great for buying presents, clothes, inexpensive jewellery bits and bobs, and luggage to put everything in as you're leaving India, or for hippy-dippy clothes to wear on your trip. Haggle with purpose.

Beware the street-side henna scam, where mehndi-wallahs will quote a price for a beautiful henna tattoo only later to reveal that the price was per inch.

Just south of Main Bazaar is a street-side fruit market, around the corner from which the Vegetable & Spice Market is the best place to shop for spices in Paharganj – you should be able to get 100g bags of cumin or coriander powder for just ₹25.

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Nearby Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) attractions

1. Ramakrishna Mission

0.34 MILES

Amid the chaos of Paharganj, the temple that gives the metro station here its name is a wonderfully calming escape, with a landscaped garden leading to a…

2. Ajmeri Gate

0.61 MILES

Over 300 years old, this is one of Shahjahanabad's four remaining gates; opposite is Ghazi-ud-Din's Tomb and Mosque, built by a nobleman at the time of…

3. Connaught Place

0.66 MILES

This confusing circular shopping district was named after George V’s uncle, the Duke of Connaught, and fashioned after the Palladian colonnades of Bath…

4. Charkha Museum

0.7 MILES

This tiny new museum in the heart of the city is unmistakable for its large, stainless steel spinning wheel, an iconic symbol of Mahatma Gandhi and his…

5. Madame Tussauds

0.73 MILES

A first for the subcontinent, Madame Tussauds 23rd waxwork museum is housed in the erstwhile Regal Theatre, now refurbished to provide a stage for more…

6. Hanuman Temple

0.78 MILES

This popular Hindu temple is dedicated to the much-revered god Hanuman, sometimes referred to as the Monkey God. It throngs with devotees on Tuesdays and…

7. Videocon Tower

0.84 MILES

This distinctive curved tower-block houses several local TV companies and is easy to spot if you're looking for Jhandewalan Cycle Market.

8. Jantar Mantar

1.01 MILES

This is one of five observatories built by Maharaja Jai Singh II, ruler of Jaipur. Constructed in 1725, Jantar Mantar (derived from the Sanskrit word for …