Where to stay in Delhi: The best places and districts
Delhi is extensive and very large, which often makes it unmanageable. Because of this it is essential to know where to stay in Delhi. The city is made up of nine districts, each with subzones with very different profiles and with their own attractions and points of interest that are worth knowing.
Where to stay in Delhi
Most of the western-friendly accommodation is in the center of Delhi, which is the soul of this great metropolis and where many tourist attractions are located.
It is good to know that as in most Indian cities, prices are quite compatible with the more discreet pockets, especially if compared with the hotel offer of other very touristy countries in Europe. Not for nothing, the average price of accommodation is around 40 – 50 euros.
The cheapest districts to sleep in Delhi are Paharganj, Old Delhi and Karol Bagh.In fact, it is possible to find everything from guest houses, especially in Paharganj, and hostels to hotels with more amenities and other luxury hotels that are not lacking in detail.
By contrast, the most expensive accommodations are concentrated in the districts of Connaught Place and Chanakyapuri.Not surprisingly, these are highly developed areas where the main institutions, financial and commercial centres are located, which ultimately make them more expensive.
Each district of Delhi is a true city in itself, with its own particularities, advantages and disadvantages.This is why we provide you with information on the most important ones, as well as the data you need to know to say \’choose hotel\’ in one or the other.
1.Connaught Place
This district, whose name is usually abbreviated to \’CP\’, is one of the most modern and dynamic in the city.
It is the home of major companies, modern shopping centres, fast food restaurants, many of them western, or luxury brand shops.
Here you can also find Central Park, the great green lung of the city where locals and travellers come to enjoy a bit of relaxation in a natural environment and the many activities it provides.It also has a beautiful amphitheatre, whose agenda is usually full of cultural activities.
Among its streets you will find some interesting places, such as The Imperial, the first luxury hotel that opened its doors in the city, which exhibits the largest collection of colonial and postcolonial art in Delhi.You can also visit the archaeological site of Agrasen Ki Baoli or the National Museum of Philately.Not far away, is Chandni Chowk, which brings together some of the oldest and most traditional markets of the Indian capital.
It is the best area to stay in Delhi, especially for those seeking to sleep in the heart of the city and do not want to be far from the main tourist attractions.As expected, staying here is more expensive than in other areas. Average prices are around 90
– Connaught Place Accommodation
2.Paharganj
This district is located in the center of the city, a little north of the central Connaught Place.It is lively, bustling and very busy, as its streets are filled with shops of all kinds, where you can buy all kinds of products and items for a few rupees.
Here the multiculturalism is very present, as the Hindu refugee communities live in perfect harmony with the hippies and the locals.It is, therefore, one of the most authentic that you will find in the Indian capital.
Although it cannot boast of being one of the most interesting neighborhoods, it does have some interesting ones, for example, Qadam Sharif, a complex that includes a system of tombs, a shrine, a mosque and a madrasa dedicated to the prophet Mohammed, or the tomb Zauq, a Mongolian prophet.
It is also very well connected to the city centre, as well as to other Indian cities, as it is close to the train station. Nearby you will also find the New Delhi subway stop.
This neighbourhood is the epicentre of backpacker accommodation.So, as you can imagine, the prices are quite low and very compatible for small budgets.
In the streets there is a good selection of hostels, guest houses and very cheap hotels, which are a real magnet for those looking for cheap accommodation in Delhi.For about £15 you can stay in a discreet little hotel.
– Accommodation in Paharganj
3.Karol Bagh
This district is in the north of the city, about twenty minutes from the center, and has a lot of activity and a huge hustle, as it is one of the commercial epicenters of Delhi.’, Its streets are full of shops and some very traditional markets, such as Ghaffar Market or Tank Road Market.
You can also find shops of western brands, as in recent years many have opened their doors in this neighborhood.
It is very well connected to the centre through the Tank Road Market train station and the Karol Bagh metro, which connects to the blue line, and is less than 5 km from the train station and about 20 km from Indira Gandhi airport.
This district is one of the most recommended areas to stay in Delhi, especially for those who are looking to get into the local culture.In fact, you can book a three-star hotel for about 25 Euro per night.
– Accommodation in Karol Bagh
4.Old Delhi (Chandni Chowk)
On the banks of the Yamuna River lies Old Delhi, the ancient part of Delhi. Founded in 1639 as an independent city under the name of Shahjahanabad, it was protected by a very long wall of which only some remains remain today.
Today it is one of the areas with the most character, as it is made up of a labyrinth of rickety streets overflowing with people and where the hustle and bustle of an endless number of different types of vehicles is very common.If you want to experience the real chaos, take a walk through the busiest streets, an experience you will not forget.
Old Delhi is home to the city’s most valuable and therefore most visited sights.For example, the Red Fort, which is the former palace of the emperor and declared a World Heritage Site; the largest mosque in the country, which was built by the same emperor who ordered the Taj Mahal; the Gandhi Memorial; Lal Mandir, the oldest Jain temple in the city, and Khari Baoli, the largest spice market in Asia.
The Chandni Chowk street vertebrates this neighborhood and is the most important of all those that integrate the city.The reason is that it is crossed by an endless number of streets organized by guilds and composed of numerous stalls, shops and traditional stores.
Among them, there is a long list of rickety houses from the seventeenth century and a kind of Hindu, Jain and Muslim examples.
This area is also well known for its numerous restaurants specialising in Mughlai cuisine, which differs from the rest of the continent in that it combines the trends of South Asian cuisine with those of central Asia.
It is a highly recommended area for sleeping in Delhi, especially for those travelers who want to go into the past of this city and sleep near some of the architectural gems of the city.However, is not the most expensive . In fact, you will not have too much trouble booking a 3 star hotel for about 30South Delhi
This district, as its name invites you to think, is located in the south of the city.It is bounded by the Yamuna River and the modern districts of New Delhi to the north.For us another excellent option to stay in Delhi.
It is one of the most elite and richest districts of India, where the upper classes of the Indian society live.
Most of this offer is grouped in the Nehru Place, which is one of the main financial, commercial and business centers in the capital of India.
In this space you can also find the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, the Indian Institute of Fashion Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology, which are leaders in the country.
Also, in its streets are some interesting places for the traveler, as Qutub Minar, a complex that houses ancient buildings from the time of the Slave Dynasty and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, as the Iron Pillar, the tomb of Imam Zamin or the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the largest in the city.
Mehrauli Archaeological Park with Balban’s tomb, Kiran Nadar Art Museum and Sanskriti Art Museum are also located in this area.
South Delhi is farther away from the heart of the city, but is perfectly connected to it by the yellow metro line, which runs from north to south.
– Accommodation in South Delhi
In addition to this article on the best places to sleep in Delhi you may also be interested in this one: Where to stay in Goa, where to stay in Jaipur
6.Chanakyapuri
This district extends around the urban center of the city.It is one of the most developed and sybaritic areas of the capital of India and is home to most of the foreign embassies in the city as well as the official residences of senior officials and other government officials of India.
In addition, this area has a number of points of interest.Besides being very close to the popular, busy and centrally located Connaught Place, it has the National Rose Garden, which, as its name suggests, contains a huge rose garden with countless species.
In this district of Delhi is also the National Rail Museum, which allows to enter the railway history of the country, or the Nehru Park, one of the most important green lungs of the city, among others.
Also, it is well connected with the rest of the areas, because here are the metro stations Lok Kalyan Marg and Jor Bagh. Also the suburban train Delhi Ring
has a stop in this neighborhood.
If you want to stay in one of the most European neighborhoods this is undoubtedly one of the most recommended to sleep in Delhi.
The offer is not as generous as the one in other areas and the luxury hotels predominate and therefore have higher prices. In fact, it will be difficult to book a 4 star hotel for less than 60 Euros per night.
– Accommodation in Chanakyapuri
7.Hauz Khas
It is located in the southern part of the city and is one of the most bohemian and creative places in Delhi.It has gone from being a traditional village to one of the most renovated in the city.
No wonder, because among its streets you can see a wide range of antique shops , art galleries, suggestive cafes and places where they sound jazz or where you can see Bollywood shows.
This large offer is mixed with the constant hustle and bustle of trucks, tuk tuk, motorcycles and carts, which avoid the pedestrians who flood the streets and snake their way through the many street stalls.
It is built around the medieval complex of the same name, which includes a mosque, a tomb, several pavilions and an Islamic seminary, all of which were built during the reign of the Khilji dynasty.
Although it is a bit distant from the center, it is quite well connected by the yellow metro line, which has here the stop that gives its name to the neighborhood, and is about eight kilometers from the Hazrat Nizamuddin train station and about eleven kilometers from the Indira Gandhi airport.
Those who want to see the most creative, different and bohemian side of the city can choose this district to stay in Delhi.It also has a generous offer of hotels, whose prices are lower than in other areas closer to the heart of the city. Here you will have no problem sleeping in a 3-star hotel for about $25.
