7 Days in Delhi: The First-Timer Itinerary
A full week in Delhi covers the entire city at a pace that doesn’t burn you out: Old Delhi, New Delhi, Qutub Minar’s side of town, the Lotus Temple and Akshardham, a market-and-food day, a South Delhi day, and a genuinely flexible seventh day at the end. Coming for less time? The 6-day itinerary drops the flex day; the 5-day drops South Delhi too.
Book these before you go
- A full week of hotel dates on Booking.com , long enough that neighborhood matters more than star rating
- The Old Delhi walking tour with rickshaw and street food for day one
- A guided Delhi Mughal monuments tour for India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Old Delhi: Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk |
| Day 2 | New Delhi: India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, Lodhi Garden |
| Day 3 | Qutub Minar, Mehrauli, Hauz Khas Village |
| Day 4 | Lotus Temple and Akshardham |
| Day 5 | Markets and food: Khari Baoli, Dilli Haat, Nizamuddin |
| Day 6 | South Delhi: Greater Kailash, Select Citywalk, Agrasen ki Baoli |
| Day 7 | Flexible: Raj Ghat, last-minute shopping, or Agra |
Day 1: Old Delhi
Red Fort at 9:30am opening, foreigner ticket roughly ₹500-600, closed Mondays; Jama Masjid’s free courtyard next, ₹300 for a camera permit. Chandni Chowk for the rest of the day: a cycle rickshaw through the lanes, Paranthe Wali Gali lunch, Karim’s kebabs since 1913 for dinner, ₹350-500 a head.
Day 2: New Delhi and Humayun’s Tomb
India Gate and Kartavya Path, a short Delhi Metro ride from most hotels, then Humayun’s Tomb (₹550 foreigner), the mausoleum that shaped the Taj Mahal’s design 60 years before it existed. Lodhi Garden’s tombs fill the afternoon; Connaught Place for dinner.
Day 3: Qutub Minar and Hauz Khas Village
Qutub Minar (₹550 foreigner) and Mehrauli Archaeological Park in the morning, ground-level viewing only since the minaret’s interior closed after a 1981 stampede. Afternoon and evening in Hauz Khas Village.
Day 4: Lotus Temple and Akshardham
The Lotus Temple , free, closed Mondays, is a Baháʼí House of Worship, not a Hindu temple. Akshardham is free for darshan, though the exhibitions and evening water show run roughly ₹100-250 and online booking isn’t currently available; leave phones and bags in the entrance lockers.
Day 5: Khari Baoli, Dilli Haat and Nizamuddin
Morning in Khari Baoli’s wholesale spice market, afternoon at Dilli Haat’s craft and food stalls, evening at Nizamuddin Dargah’s Sufi shrine and its food lanes.
Day 6: South Delhi and Agrasen ki Baoli
Greater Kailash and South Extension for calmer, more local shopping, Select Citywalk for an air-conditioned mall afternoon, and Agrasen ki Baoli, the free 14th-century stepwell near Connaught Place, in the late afternoon light.
Day 7: Flexible day
Start at Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, a quiet, free stop most six-day itineraries skip. Spend the rest of the morning back in Chandni Chowk for last-minute souvenir shopping, haggling included, it’s expected. If you’d rather use this day differently, it’s exactly the length a day trip to Agra’s Taj Mahal needs, roughly 230km away by the Gatimaan or Vande Bharat Express (about 1hr40min-2hrs each way); the Taj is closed every Friday, so check the calendar first. Full logistics for that leg are in our Delhi as a gateway guide , not repeated here since this itinerary stays in-city.
Is a full week in Delhi overkill?
Not if you actually use the flex day rather than defaulting to a rest day at the hotel. Seven days is enough to add a South Delhi contrast day and either a proper Old Delhi souvenir run or an Agra day trip, either of which a 4-5 day trip has to skip entirely.
Should the flex day be Agra or a rest day?
Agra, if you haven’t done the Taj Mahal before and don’t mind an early start; a rest day, if six straight days of monuments and markets have caught up with you. Both are legitimate uses of day seven, and neither wastes the trip.
Buy your Agra express train ticket through IRCTC or a major aggregator at least a few days ahead if you’re using the flex day for it; the popular morning departures sell out first.