I will be arriving in Delhi from Punjab as I have an appointment at the British Embassy for my visa which is in the morning hours. The process will be over and done with by 12 pm. I will have around 4-5 hours which I can spare to see a place or places in Delhi, although I think that I would only be able to see one place. I need some help in suggesting which is the best place to visit in Delhi, which would be worth visiting. Please consider the distance from the British Embassy.
Hello, @Pinda! Welcome to the forum! So one of the nearest attractions to the British Embassy in Delhi is the Nehru Planetarium. It's just 1.9 kms away from the British Embassy. If you have 4 to 5 hours to spare, you can have lunch at 12:00 pm and then visit the Nehru Planetarium. The planetarium is situated in the Teen Murti House, which was the former residence of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. A museum was then built after his death to commemorate his contributions to the country. The Nehru Planetarium conducts interactive programs for students and visitors alike. There are also regular shows with these timings: 11:30 am (English), 1:30 pm (Hindi), 3:00 pm (English) and 4:00 pm (Hindi). Since you're going after lunch, you can make it just in time for the 1:30 pm Hindi show which is about The New Solar System. The show is the same for 4:00 pm timing and 11:30 am. But the 3:00 pm show is different, the theme is Mars in Focus. Show duration is about 30 minutes, more or less. Aside from that, you can also visit the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. This is where the Nehru Planetarium is located. The museum houses the items used by Jawaharlal Nehru during his lifetime. The huge granite rock in front of the museum has inscriptions from his speech from the Tryst of Destiny. There's also a gifts gallery displaying the gifts Nehru received across his travels around the world and the country. The library has over 267,000 printed books in its possession. There's also about 200,000 photographs related to Jawaharlal Nehru here. Under a special section named "Indirana," collections of books about Mahatma Gandhi can be read. The topics of the other books in the library are varied and it keeps expanding every year through donations. Just in case you're visiting on a Monday, know that the Nehru Memorial Museum, Library and Planetarium are closed. So here are your other options: Nehru Park - This is about 1.2 kms from the British Embassy. The park is spread over 80 acres of land. You can squeeze in a visit to the park after visiting the museum and planetarium. Or you can make this your whole day's attraction as inside the park, there's a temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva. There's also a cafe inside the park so you can have your lunch or snack here. There's also a life-sized statue of Vladimir Lenin in the park. Concerts are also organised in the park, although they're usually at evening time. National Rail Museum - This is about 2.5 kms from the British Embassy. This museum opened on 1977 and it has over 10 acres of land. It has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. Here you can find various trains in the museum. There's also a toy train offering a ride so you can tour the entire museum. Be reminded though that the museum is closed during Mondays. Tomb of Safdarjung - This is about 3 kms from the British Embassy. This is a sandstone and a marble mausoleum dedicated to Safdarjung, built during the year of 1754. Safdarjung is also known as Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan. This tomb was the last monumental tomb garden of the Mughals. Inside, here are the structures: the garden with the mausoleum at the center, a ninefold floor plan, a five-part façade, a mosque, a courtyard and a large podium with a hidden stairway. Lodhi Gardens - This is about 4.3 kms from the British Embassy. The gardens are spread over 90 acres of land. You can visit the tombs of Mohammed Shah and Sikandar Lodi here. Structures like the Shisha Gumbad and Bara Gumbad are located here too. Architectural works of the Lodhis can also be found here. Just by that, the Lodhi Gardens are an important part of history as there aren't many structures preserved outside the gardens depicting their style. India Gate - This is about 6 kms from the British Embassy. This memorial is dedicated to the 82,000 soldiers who have died during the World War I from 1914 to 1921. There are inscriptions of the names of the soldiers, about 13,000 of them, in the gate. Although there's not much you can do here, it is an important part of history and very much worth it to visit. Gandhi Smriti - This is about 9 kms from the British Embassy. This is also known as the Birla Bhavan or Birla House. The last 144 days of Mahatma Gandhi's life was spent in here. The house was originally built by Ghanshyamdas Birla during 1928. But Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a letter to Birla requesting for him to convert a part of the house into a memorial. Ghanshyamdas was reluctant to sell the house though. It took several negotiations before the Birla House was bought by the government. On August 1973, the house was opened to the public and was renamed as the Gandhi Smriti. Here, you can find items personally used by Gandhi himself. In case you want to do some shopping, here are your options: Sarojini Nagar - This is about 3 kms from the British Embassy. This market has several areas for clothes, snacks and even fresh produce. It's a well-known market for international brands of clothes but are rejected from the factory. Connaught Place - This is about 6.5 kms from the British Embassy. You can find various international and local brands of apparels and shoes in here. It's also a major business and financial centre in the city. It's also a great place for tailor-made clothes like suits, kurtas and sherwanis. Palika Bazaar - This is about 6.5 kms from the British Embassy, just under the Connaught Place. It's an underground bazaar, which is famous for its electronic goods and apparels. There's an estimate of 15,000 people here in any given time here. It's close during Sundays though. Lajpat Nagar - This is about 9.3 kms from the British Embassy. You can find various traditional clothes here like sarees, salwar kameez, kurtas and kurtis. You can also find the beautiful Lucknowi Embroidered clothes here. This market is closed during Mondays though. Nehru Place - This is about 10 kms from the British Embassy. If you're searching for computer parts and accessories, this is the place to be. I hope this helps!
