Delhi’s best kept secret is ….

It’s hardly a secret to locals, but Delhi’s well kept gardens and the spacious grounds at its many historical monuments are well worth enjoying, especially after a couple of busy days of sightseeing. Sneak in a picnic and risk the wrath of the groundkeepers by eating on the lawn. Try Lodi and Nehru Gardens.

I would never waste a visitor’s time with….

Shopping, or at least a visit to a handicraft shop, aka ‘emporium’. There is no bigger frustration as a tour operator than the shopping situation in Delhi (and Agra and Jaipur for that matter). While there’s amazing shopping in Delhi, more often than not guides receive hefty commissions for taking tourists to the privately-run, hideously overpriced emporiums. Firmly tell your guide you don’t want to go shopping, ditch him/her once you are finished with sightseeing for the day, and then visit the government-owned handicraft shops and shopping precincts, such as . . .