Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhavan)

The heart of New Delhi -- and one of its top attractions -- is the palatial Presidential Palace known as Rashtrapati Bhavan. British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens helped design the grand estate as part of a larger plan for Delhi’s new city after it was decided to move the capital from Kolkata to Delhi in 1911. Lutyens designed the palace as a symbol of British colonial power, and it remains one of the most impressive colonial-era monuments in Delhi today.

The former viceroy’s residence, now the home of the president of India, contains 340 rooms, well over twice as many as the White House. The entire estate covers an area of  320 acres (130 hectares), including the sizable Mughal Gardens, open to the public on only a few select days each year.

Practical Info

While visitors can’t enter the palace itself, it is possible to enter the forecourt of the estate to watch the 30-minute Changing of Guard ceremony, a display involving the President’s body guard and an equestrian display to the sounds of a live military brass band.