Touring New Delhi

In 1911, Delhi became the capital of British India, and the viceroys were in need of a new city center to reflect this time. Edwin Lutyens, the designated architect, wanted the contemporary style to be unlike that of the Hindu or Muslim cultures, or in fact anything seen before, so he created a new look—a conglomeration of multiple architectural types. The city of wide boulevards and grand government buildings offers varying perspectives on Lutyens’s architecture. It is known for its formal parks, magnificent Parliament Buildings, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the residence of the president of India) and India Gate, a memorial to the soldiers who fought in World War I. Don’t miss Qutb Minar, New Delhi’s earliest surviving Islamic monument, with a 236-foot tower, and Humayun’s Tomb, whose design elements influenced the Taj Mahal.