Along the banks of Gomti river is the charming city of Lucknow and the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Also referred to as the 'The Nawab City', Lucknow has been a historically important city for many centuries and is at the heart of North India's art, cuisine, dance, culture and music.

The Hindi spoken in Lucknow is considered to be the most beautiful and gentle in the country and the city is recognised as the home of the Urdu language. Lucknow is known for its elaborate Awadhi and Nawabi style cuisine consisting of luscious Biryanis and Kebabs, exquisite dance forms such as the Kathak, and intricate 'Chikankaari' or exquisite shadow-work embroidery on fine muslin cloth. Today it continues to be an important centre of government, education, commerce, aerospace, finance, technology, design, tourism and poetry.

Best time to visit:

Lucknow has a hot subtropical climate with warm summers and cool dry winters. The best time to visit the place is from October to March.

Top five places to see:

Bada Imambara and Bhool Bhulaiya – The Bada Imambara is said to be the world's largest arched room without any pillars and a major attraction and part of the huge structure of Bara Imambara is a labyrinth of hundreds of narrow lanes, stairways and passages, some of which have dead-ends, some end at precipitous drops while others lead to entrance or exit points. The Bhool Bhulaiya was constructed to confuse any enemy intruder and only the King and a few other trusted men knew the way out.

Rumi Darwaza – Built during the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Duala, this 60 feet high lofty entrance is an example of Awadhi architecture and shows no other supplementary fittings of wood or iron to support it from outside. The entire pathway of the Rumi Darwaza (also referred to as the Turkish Gate) is brightening by a huge lantern placed on the top of the darwaza.

Hussainabad Clock Tower – A British landmark, the Husainabad Clock Tower stands high in the sky and is one of the appealing facets of Lucknow. It reflects Victorian-Gothic style architecture and its gigantic pendulum has a length of 14-feet and the dial of the clock is designed in the shape of a 12-petalled flower with bells around it.

Chota Imambara – This magnificent structure displays a curious mixture of Charbagh, Persian and Indo-Islamic architectural design and looks astonishingly awesome with its golden dome, gold-edged mirrors and silver throne. Interiors are ornamented with Arabic calligraphy, intricate glass works and it is often referred to as the palace of lights.

Kaiserbagh Palace – Remarkable for its architectural excellence, the Kaiserbagh Palace displays iconic columns, Moorish minarets, lanterns, banisters and splendid pediments. Elegant look of this Palace is largely complimented by the Mughal style pavilions, gilt crowns and European style statues.