Experience the best of Indore

Indore grew under the Holkar dynasty of the Marathas, and its centrepiece is the Rajwada, a seven-storey palace of stone and wood overlooking an old market square. Lal Bagh Palace, a grand building with formal gardens, and the Chhatri Bagh cenotaphs beside the river show the Holkars' taste, and the Kanch Mandir, a Jain temple covered inside in mirror and glass mosaic, is a local curiosity.

Ujjain, one of Hinduism's seven sacred cities and home to the Mahakaleshwar temple, lies about 55 kilometres north, while Maheshwar, with its fort and handwoven saris, and Omkareshwar stand on the Narmada river to the south. The ruined hill city of Mandu, with the Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal, lies to the south-west.

Indore has a name across central India for its street food: poha with jalebi for breakfast, bhutte ka kees, spiced grated corn cooked in milk, dahi vada, kachori and crisp sev from the snack shops. At the Sarafa Bazaar, jewellers' shops give way after dark to food stalls. Winters, from November to February, are pleasant, and the monsoon rains arrive in late June.