Red Fort
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Red Fort Complex (2007); Site Of India'S Independence Day Address · New Delhi, Delhi
The palace-fortress Shah Jahan built between 1639 and 1648 when he moved the Mughal capital from Agra to his new city of Shahjahanabad, now Old Delhi. Its red sandstone walls run for more than two kilometres, and it was the seat of the Mughal emperors for two centuries until the British deposed the last of them after 1857 and turned much of it into a garrison. That history is why the fort matters to India: on 15 August 1947 the Indian flag was raised here, and every Independence Day the Prime Minister speaks from the ramparts of the Lahori Gate. Inside, past the Chatta Chowk covered bazaar, are the Diwan-i-Am, the Diwan-i-Khas where the Peacock Throne once stood under the inscription 'if there is paradise on earth, it is here', and the marble pavilions along the old riverbank. Much was demolished by the British and replaced with barracks, so it can feel emptier than Agra Fort, but several museums fill in the story. It is a World Heritage Site, CLOSED ON MONDAYS, and closed to the public around Independence Day.
Netaji Subhash Marg, Lal Qila, New Delhi, Delhi, 110006, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern has been roughly 9:30 in the morning to about 4:30 in the afternoon, or sunrise to sunset under ASI rules, with ticket sales stopping about half an hour before closing. CLOSED EVERY MONDAY. Closed to the public for about a week around 15 August for Independence Day, and restricted around 26 January. The sound and light show runs in the evening, after the fort has closed for day visits, with separate Hindi and English sessions. The traps: Mondays, August, winter smog, and the long security queue at the Lahori Gate on weekends.