Connaught Place has a long and distinguished history behind it. Named after the Duke of Connaught, a member of the British royal family, this market was designed by Designed by Robert Tor Russell in collaboration with WH Nicholls. A sprawling circular market, it was the largest of its kind in India at that time.

The British believed that a market in the shape of a horseshoe would prove lucky for both shoppers and shopkeepers. There may be something in that as CP continues to be delhi’s premier shopping destination even after sixty-five years of its birth.

Apart from being the commercial and business hub of Delhi, CP has countless restaurants, watering holes, shops and emporia and cinema halls too.

Shops, shops and more shops. Outlets of almost all international brands available in India are along the inner circle: Benetton, Allen Solly, Reebok, Nike, Levi’s, Lee Cooper - you name it. Some of the finest restaurants, eateries and bars pop up here too. (Check our Restaurant Guide for further details.) There are some excellent bookshops which you can check out for material on India.

Janpath

No big shops here, just small kiosks selling all kinds of cotton clothes and curios that you may like to take home. Most of the clothes are export surplus garments and are sold dirt-cheap (you just need the patience to bargain). There’s lots of silver and artificial jewellery studded with semi-precious stones in the small Tibetan shops that abound here. But then you need to know your silver from the fake stuff. Refugees who came after the Partition and Tibetans who came when China invaded Tibet settled here as traders and put up this market. Another must while you are at Janpath is the Central Cottage Industries Emporium. Across the reoad from Janpath, in Jawahar Vyapar Bhavan, this is the place to go for Indian handicrafts.

Palika Bazaar

An underground bazaar where cheap electronic goods and clothes are there for the picking. There are around 400 shops in this market and bargaining is the mantra for shopping here, or anywhere in Delhi for that matter.