Lucknow

About Lucknow

Lucknow still carries itself with the courtly grace of the Nawabs of Awadh, who made it their capital in the late 18th century and filled it with gateways, imambaras and gardens. The capital of Uttar Pradesh is famous across India for its refined Urdu manners, its slow-cooked Awadhi cuisine and the delicate white chikankari embroidery sold in its old bazaars.

The great monuments cluster in the old city: the vast Bara Imambara with its labyrinth, the soaring Rumi Darwaza and the glittering Chota Imambara, all within a short walk of the Husainabad Clock Tower. A little south, the shell-scarred ruins of the Residency recall the long siege of 1857.

Modern Lucknow is a mix of colonial avenues and new districts. Stroll Hazratganj for shops and cafes, bargain for chikan in Aminabad and Chowk, and eat galouti kebabs where they were perfected. Across the Gomti River, Gomti Nagar holds giant parks and memorials, best enjoyed in the cool of the evening.