Delhi 3-Day Itinerary: Old Delhi, Tombs and Qutub Minar

What is the best 3-day itinerary for Delhi?

Day 1: Old Delhi, with Jama Masjid at 7am, the Chandni Chowk lanes and the Red Fort. Day 2: Humayun’s Tomb at sunrise, Lodhi Garden, the National Museum and India Gate at dusk. Day 3: Qutub Minar and Mehrauli, then the Lotus Temple or Akshardham and an evening in Hauz Khas.

Delhi’s sights spread over three areas that the metro links well: Shah Jahan’s walled city in the north, the Mughal tombs and Lutyens’ avenues in the middle, and the much older Sultanate monuments in the south. This plan gives each area one day and saves most of the riding for the gaps between sights rather than across the city.

It is desk research, checked on 16 and 17 October 2026, using the Archaeological Survey of India, Incredible India, the museums’ and temples’ own pages and Delhi Metro’s journey planner and tour guide. We have not walked this route ourselves. Order matters because four of the stops close on Mondays.

Base yourself near Connaught Place or another station on the Yellow Line; where to stay in Delhi compares the areas. With a week, or to add Agra, see the Delhi 7-day itinerary.

What does the three-day plan look like at a glance?

The table shows each day’s morning, afternoon and evening, the metro stations to use and the closures that set the order. Outdoor monuments take the cool early hours, museums and temples the middle of the day, and evenings are for gardens, India Gate or Hauz Khas. Do not put day 1 on a Monday.

Stations and walking distances are from DMRC’s tour guide; ride times are from its journey planner as used in our Delhi neighbourhood guide. Closures are from Incredible India, the National Museum, the Bahá’í House of Worship and Akshardham.

If your trip includes a Monday, use it for day 2 without the National Museum, or for day 3 without the Lotus Temple and Akshardham; both still work.

Day 1: How should you spend a day in Old Delhi?

Arrive at Jama Masjid when it opens at 7am, before the lanes fill, then walk through Chandni Chowk to the Red Fort for its 9.30am opening. Rest through the hottest hours, and in the evening either stay for the Red Fort’s Jai Hind sound and light show or head back to Connaught Place.

Incredible India lists Jama Masjid’s hours as 7am to noon and 1.30pm to 6.30pm, and says Shah Jahan commissioned it between 1650 and 1656 (Incredible India). DMRC puts it 400 metres from Jama Masjid station on the Violet Line, and Chandni Chowk station on the Yellow Line is a 6-minute ride from Rajiv Chowk (DMRC; DMRC). Dress modestly; the FCDO asks visitors to respect dress codes at religious sites.

The Archaeological Survey of India says construction of the Red Fort began in 1639 and took nine years, and charges other foreign visitors ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online (ASI). Incredible India gives opening hours of 9.30am to 4.30pm, closed on Mondays, and says the Jai Hind sound and light show runs every evening except Monday. Lal Quila station is beside the fort (DMRC).

Old Delhi’s crowds are where pickpockets and touts work. The FCDO warns that scammers, pickpockets and ticket touts target foreign nationals in tourist areas; buy fort tickets online or at the official counter, and keep your bag in front of you in the lanes. Read our Red Fort verdict if you are short of time.

Day 2: How do you combine Humayun’s Tomb, Lodhi Garden and the National Museum?

Start at Humayun’s Tomb at sunrise, when the light is soft and the garden quiet. Walk or ride to Lodhi Garden in the late morning, spend the afternoon in the National Museum, which opens at 10am and closes on Mondays, and finish with India Gate as the light goes.

The ASI says Hamida Banu Begam began Humayun’s Tomb in 1569, fourteen years after the emperor’s death, to designs by the Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyath; it opens from sunrise and charges other foreign visitors ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online (ASI). DMRC puts it 1.5 km from Jangpura station, with the Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah 1.4 km from the same station (DMRC).

Lodhi Garden is about 900 metres from Jor Bagh station on the Yellow Line (DMRC), a good shady pause before lunch. The National Museum on Janpath opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, closes on Mondays and national holidays, and charges foreign nationals ₹500; a notice on its site says the Arms and Armour, Textiles and Jewellery galleries are closed for renovation until further notice. DMRC lists it 0.75 km from Seva Teerth station, formerly Udyog Bhawan.

India Gate is 1.8 km from Central Secretariat station (DMRC), so a short auto or app cab saves your legs at the end of the day. If you want a quieter evening, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is 300 metres from Shivaji Stadium station, near Connaught Place (DMRC).

Day 3: How should you spend your last day in South Delhi?

Begin at Qutub Minar at sunrise, then walk through Mehrauli Archaeological Park nearby. After lunch choose one temple: the Lotus Temple, open Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30am to 5pm, or the Akshardham complex, open from 10am. End with dinner in Hauz Khas, an interchange of the Yellow and Magenta lines.

The ASI describes Qutub Minar as 72.5 metres high, begun by Qutbu’d-Din Aibak in AD 1199, with three storeys added by Iltutmish, and lists the Iron Pillar’s fourth-century Sanskrit inscription in the same complex. It opens from sunrise; other foreign visitors pay ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online (ASI). The monument is 1.7 km from Qutab Minar station, itself about 27 minutes from Rajiv Chowk, and Mehrauli Archaeological Park is 1.2 km from the same station (DMRC; DMRC).

The Bahá’í House of Worship, the Lotus Temple, opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30am to 5pm, holds short prayer services at 10am, noon, 3pm and 5pm, and is a 5-minute walk from Kalkaji Mandir station; clothing should cover shoulders and knees. Akshardham is closed on Mondays; entry is from 10am with last entry at 6.30pm, the complex is free, the exhibitions cost ₹260 for adults and the evening water show ₹110, and phones and cameras must go in the free cloakroom.

Akshardham sits east of the river, 300 metres from its own station (DMRC), so it suits travellers staying in central or east Delhi; the Lotus Temple is quicker from Qutub Minar. Our Lotus Temple verdict helps decide between them.

Which closures and holidays should shape the order of your days?

Mondays matter most: the Red Fort, the National Museum, the Lotus Temple and Akshardham all close. The National Museum also shuts on national holidays such as Republic Day on 26 January 2027. If you add Agra, avoid Fridays, when the Taj Mahal is closed. Diwali on 8 November 2026 brings crowds.

Monday closures are listed by Incredible India for the Red Fort, by the National Museum, by the Bahá’í House of Worship and by Akshardham. The ASI pages for Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar list no closing day (ASI; ASI), which makes them the safe Monday choices.

The Government of India’s holiday calendar lists Diwali on 8 November 2026 and Republic Day on 26 January 2027. The FCDO advises particular care during periods of national or religious significance, naming Republic Day and Diwali, and notes that alcohol sales are often banned on major festivals and national holidays.

What will tickets cost, and what should you book ahead?

Three ASI monuments, the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar, cost ₹1,650 together for a foreign visitor paying online, or ₹1,800 in cash. Add ₹500 for the National Museum and, at Akshardham, ₹260 for the exhibitions. Book ASI tickets online, and your e-Visa at least four days before arrival.

The ASI charges other foreign visitors ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online at the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar, and children under 15 enter free. Foreign nationals pay ₹500 at the National Museum; Akshardham charges ₹260 for its exhibitions and ₹110 for the water show. The Lotus Temple’s visitor page lists no fee.

India’s e-Visa portal accepts e-Tourist applications from 120 days to at least four days before arrival and lists Delhi among its arrival airports; foreigners must also file an e-arrival card online within 72 hours before landing, which is not a visa (FCDO). Our India e-visa guide walks through both.

An Old Delhi food or heritage walk is worth booking if the lanes feel daunting. Compare the meeting point, group size and cancellation terms; our comparison of GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook explains the differences.

How do heat, fog, monsoon and air quality change the plan?

In May, when Safdarjung averages a 39.9°C high, keep outdoor monuments to sunrise and museums to midday. July and August are wet. From October to February, the FCDO warns of severe air pollution, and December and January average around 20 foggy days, which can delay flights and trains. Plan indoor swaps.

IMD’s 1991–2020 normals for New Delhi Safdarjung give a mean May high of 39.9°C, a mean January low of 7.5°C, and 195.8 mm of rain in July and 226.8 mm in August, with 21.6 foggy days on average in January and 19.2 in December (IMD). Winter mornings at Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar can be misty, so build slack into sunrise plans.

The FCDO says severe air pollution is a major health hazard in India, especially from October to February, with north Indian cities most affected; anyone with a heart or lung condition should take advice before travel. On bad days, swap the gardens for the National Museum or Akshardham’s exhibitions. The FCDO also advises avoiding road travel at night and in fog (FCDO).

For month-by-month detail, see best time to visit Delhi, and for clothing at temples in each season, what to wear in India.

How do you get around Delhi in three days?

Use the metro for every long hop: the Yellow Line links Chandni Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Hauz Khas and Qutab Minar, and the Violet Line serves the Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Jangpura. Take app cabs or autos for the last kilometre. From Terminals 2 and 3, the Airport Express reaches New Delhi in about 16 minutes.

DMRC’s planner gives 16 minutes and ₹64 from New Delhi to Terminal 3 on the Airport Express, with the last train from Terminal 3 at 11.21pm (DMRC); Terminal 1 is on the Magenta Line, and Delhi Airport says taxis and app cabs operate around the clock from all terminals (Delhi Airport; Delhi Airport).

The FCDO recommends app-based taxis or pre-paid services over street hails, especially at night, and warns of a risk of sexual assault against female visitors in tourist areas; women may want to read our solo female travel in India guide. Its advice against travel covers border areas, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, not Delhi (FCDO). For airport options in detail, see DEL to Delhi: metro vs transfer.

Can you add Agra, and what comes after three days?

You can swap day 3 for an Agra day trip by train, but not on a Friday, when the Taj Mahal is closed. Foreign visitors pay ₹1,100, plus ₹200 for the main mausoleum. If you have more time, the seven-day plan adds Agra without losing a Delhi day.

The official Taj Mahal site gives visiting hours from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset, says the monument is closed only on Fridays, and lists a ₹1,100 foreign ticket that includes ASI and Agra Development Authority fees, with ₹200 extra for the main mausoleum and ₹50 off when bought online. Food is not allowed inside.

Read Delhi to Agra: train vs flight for the rail options and is the Taj Mahal worth it for timing. For a slower week, switch to the Delhi 7-day itinerary; for more ideas, things to do in Delhi and the Delhi destination guide.