Ahmedabad

Understand

thumb|400px|Panorama of Ahmedabad

Get around

thumb|right|Tourist Map of Ahmedabad The services of AMTS and BRTS run from 6AM to 11PM.

See

Ahmedabad has several floridly carved historic monuments including the Stepwell at Adalaj and the Rani Mosques (dedicated to Rani Sipri and Rani Rupmati). There are some museums and art galleries. Modern office buildings and malls dot the more recently developed areas.

Important places to see include: thumb|Gandhi Ashram The Gandhi Aashram or Sabarmati Aashram in West Zone was once the house of Mahatma Gandhi and he founded the ashram in 1915. Today, without doubt, it is the biggest visitor attraction in Ahmedabad. It lies on the tranquil stretch of the Sabarmati river and was referred to as the Satyagraha Ashram during the lifetime of the Mahatma. It was from here that the Mahatma began his famous 'Dandi March' in 1930 to protest against the Salt Tax imposed by the British. The ashram today continues the work started by the Mahatma and houses a handicrafts centre, a handmade paper factory and a spinning wheel factory. thumb|Bhadra Fort Gate (inside view) Bhadra Fort in Central Zone once housed royal palaces and well-laid gardens. It boasts the temple of Bhadrakali and was built in 1411 during the Maratha rule. The Calico Museum of Textiles, in Central Zone, has a magnificent collection of rare textiles dating back to the 17th century. The museum is widely regarded as one of the finest textile museums in the world. It has a fine collection of textiles, clothes, furniture, temple artefacts and crafts. Also has a collection of marble, sandstone and bronze icons. Dada Harir n…

Do

thumb|Watch Bollywood movie at Drive-In Theatre

Buy

thumbnail|Crowd at Himalaya Mall, Drive-In Road, Gurukul (Ahmedabad) Ahmedabad is known for its textile industries including traditional hand embroidered and tie-dyed clothes. If you buy from the roadside shops, be prepared to haggle. It would not be advisable to try these without a local guide. The city's main market area is situated at Teen Darwaja, Dhalgarwad, Ratan Pole, Manek Chowk (old areas) near Lal Darwaja and newer markets such as CG Road and Sarkhej - Gandhinagar highway near Vastrapur & Gurukul. It is generally a crowded area, and very crowded during festival seasons, although with a wide variety of clothes. The street side shops near Law Garden also offers good choices. Some shops such as Bandhej and Sanskruti offer these traditional items at fixed (and maybe overpriced) rates. But now the big shopping malls are offering almost everything at a very cheap rate. Local sweet shops, where traditional Gujarati sweets will catch your attention: some of the more famous are Bhogilal Mulchand Kandoi, Jai Hind and Ras Ranjan.

Eat

thumbnail|Lunch in Ahamedabad means roti, puri, vegetables, mango sweets, gulab jamun and butter milk. Ahmedabad is a gastronomic paradise, and there are many restaurants. Gujaratis are fond of eating and the food generally tends to be on the sweeter side. Gujaratis are mostly vegetarians hence most local dishes are vegetarian. However, with the recent advent of international and domestic food chains non-vegetarian food has become popular. Ahmedabad is famous for its ice-creams because of abundance of dairy products in the state and Gujaratis' penchant for sweets. Local specialities include Dhokla, Khandvi, Srikhand, Haandvo, Bhajiya amongst others.

A famous food from Ahmedabad and/or Gujarat is the 'cheese and pineapple jam sandwich' which is sold by most sandwich vendors in Gujarat, especially in Ahmedabad. Despite this dish being famous in Gujarat, the other parts of India find this dish to be disgusting, but wait till you actually try it!

There are lots of Gujarati dining halls where you can get unlimited "thali" meals for around ₹250. A thali consists of variety of concoctions including salads, appetizers, snacks, breads, pulses, vegetable curries and sweets.

If you have not stayed in India for long, select a food place which is famous and well organised (hotels, big restaurants). Otherwise, its fun to eat at one of the road side stalls, especially at the Khau Galli in Law Garden area and Khan Pan Bazaar in Manekchawk. Various stalls open in the evening until late at …

Drink

Gujarat is one of the few Indian states where alcohol is prohibited. But this applies only to Indians. If you have a non-Indian passport / green card holder/ PR status, you can get an alcohol permit valid for one month by going to an alcohol shop in a large hotel and purchasing one. Hotels that have alcohol shops include: Cama Hotel in Khanpur, Hotel Inder Residency, Opp. to Gujarat College, Comfort Inn President Hotel at CG Road among others open Monday to Saturday noon-8PM, ph no. +91 79 26467575. Many local people will be able to direct you because they can purchase alcohol on a 'health' licence. If you are non-resident of Gujarat, then one can get alcohol permits issued at alcohol shops on showing proof of travel to Ahmedabad like (1) Air/Train/Bus ticket,(2) any Identity proof by Govt. with Photo, Address & birthdate preferably driving licence and (3a) your Ahmedabad address proof such as Residence Address of Local friend/relatives electric/telephone bill/ driving licence or (3b) Proof of stay at hotel.

However, if you are staying longer you will need a non-resident permit. For that, you will need: a photocopy of passport including your entry stamps, a photocopy of visa, a photocopy of a local resident's ID card (drivers licence will probably be easiest). As of January 2009, ₹1000 (although the person may ask for ₹50 extra as a bribe but should not be given). If you can get a local person to go with you, the entire experience will be a lot easier.

Directions 1 Get your…

Sleep

Cheaper hotels are available on the eastern side of the Sabarmati in the old town area.

More expensive and newer hotels are available in the more affluent Navrangpura area.

In case you don't have an idea where to go when you arrive to the city, you could ask a rickshaw driver to take you to Relief Road which has plenty of budget accommodation available and is pretty close to the main train station.

Connect

International code for India is +91 The local area code is 79. Thus in total, +91 79 must be prefixed to a phone number.

Stay safe

People are friendly and the police will help you when you have an emergency. Ahmedabad is relatively safe because alcohol is not permitted: no late-night rowdyism as seen in other cities.