Chandigarh

Chandigarh is the only Indian city that thinks it can out‑design New Delhi, a modernist grid slapped together by Le Le Corbusier in the 1950s, and mostly succeeds only when you ignore the souvenir‑shop veneer. Start early at the Secretariat’s open lawns for a sunrise over the Capitol Complex, then wander the austere yet oddly livable Rock Garden – Nanakram Gurdwara’s concrete waterfalls are a bizarre, must‑see, but the hall of mirrors is a tourist trap that feels contrived. Eat breakfast at the old-school dhaba on Sector 24’s Amritsar Road; the chole bhature at ‘Pind Balluchi’ is surprisingly decent, while the posh cafés of Sector 9 serve overpriced coffee that tastes like watered‑down chic. For a genuine slice of Punjab, cross into Mohali after lunch and hit the 21‑Road market – the street‑food stall selling ‘butter chicken tikka’ fresh from a tandoor beats any mall eatery. Stay in a heritage bungalow on Sector 5 for quiet, but avoid the over‑hyped luxury hotels on the Dalhousie Road unless you relish inflated rates. November to February is the only time the temperature stays bearable; summer hits 45 °C and makes the concrete feel like a furnace. Two days lets you soak the architecture, the gardens, and a decent dinner at the Government Museum café; anything longer drifts into endless government‑building tours.

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