Updated: Jun 5, 2021
Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, lies in the middle of the Heritage Arc. This enchanting city, famed for its Nawabi era finesse and amazing food, is a unique mix of the ancient and the modern. It is home to extraordinary monuments depicting a fascinating blend of ancient, colonial and oriental architecture.
Lucknow has been listed as the 17th-fastest growing city in India and 74th in the world. Lucknow, Agra and Varanasi are part of the Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc, a chain of survey triangulations created by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to boost tourism in the state.
Architecture and places to visit:
A large number of the buildings and enticing architecture of Lucknow were built during the British and Mughal era. More than half of these buildings lie in the old part of the city. A Heritage Walk is organised for tourists by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism department for all the popular monuments and buildings. The extant architecture of Lucknow includes religious buildings such as Imambaras, mosques, and other Islamic shrines as well as secular structures such as enclosed gardens, baradaris, and palace complexes.
Originally built to provide assistance to people affected by the deadly famine, which struck the whole of Uttar Pradesh in 1784, Bara Imambara in Hussainabad is a colossal edifice, it is the largest hall in Asia without any external support from wood, iron or stone beams. The monument required approximately 22,000 labourers during construction
Rumi Darwaza built by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula (r. 1775–1797) in 1784 is a 60 feet door serving as the entrance to the city of Lucknow. Being erroneously similar to the gateway at Constantinople, it is also called as the Turkish Gateway and is the west entrance to the Grand Bada Imambara, embellished with beautiful and lavish decorations.
Many styles of architecture can be seen in the historical places of Lucknow. The University of Lucknow shows a huge inspiration from the European style while in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and Charbagh railway station the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture is prominently present. Dilkusha Kothi is the remains of a palace constructed by the British resident Major Gore Ouseley around 1800 and showcases English Baroque architecture.
The Chattar Manzil serving as the palace for the rulers of Awadh and their wives is topped by an umbrella-like dome leading to the name becoming Chattar (As in Umbrella – Chatri). Opposite to the Chattar Manzil stands the 'Lal Baradari' built by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan I between 1789 and 1814. It functioned as a throne room at coronations for the royal courts. The building is now used as a museum and contains delicately executed portraits of men who played major roles in the administration of the kingdom of Oudh.
Lucknow's Asafi Imambara exhibits vaulted halls as its architectural speciality. The Bara Imambara, Chhota Imambara and Rumi Darwaza stand in testament to the city's Nawabi mixture of Mughlai and Turkish style of architecture while La Martiniere college bears witness to the Indo-European style. Even the new buildings are fashioned using characteristic domes and pillars, and at night these illuminated monuments become the city's main attractions.
Around Hazratganj, the city's central shopping area, there is a fusion of old and modern architecture. It has a multi-level parking lot in place of an old and dilapidated police station making way for extending the corridors into pebbled pathways, adorned with piazzas, green areas and wrought-iron and cast-iron lamp-posts, reminiscent of the Victorian era, flank both sides of the street.
Two major Indian National Highways have their intersection at Lucknow's Hazratganj intersection: NH-24 to Delhi, NH-30 to Allahabad via Raebareli, NH-27 to Porbandar via Jhansi and Silchar via Gorakhpur. Multiple modes of public transport are available such as metro rail, taxis, city buses, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws and compressed natural gas (CNG) low-floor buses with and without air-conditioning.
2) City buses
Lucknow city's bus service is operated by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), a public sector passenger road transport corporation headquartered in Mahatma Gandhi road. It has 300 CNG buses operating in the city. There are around 35 routes in the city. Terminals for city buses are located in Gudamba, Viraj Khand, Alambagh, Scooter India, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Babu Banarasi Das University, Safedabad, Pasi qila, Charbagh, Andhe Ki Chowki, Jankipuram,Gomti Nagar Railway Station, Budheshwar Intersection,Faizabad Road and Qaiserbagh. There are four bus depots in Gomti Nagar, Charbagh, Amausi, and Dubagg.
Lucknow Metro is a rapid transit system which started its operations from 6 September 2017.
Along with this, Lucknow is also known as one of the most bicycle friendly city and has a cycle path on many of its roads. There are also many interstate buses running and Lucknow also has direct air to New Delhi, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Jaipur, Raipur and other major cities via Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport with famous and comfortable flights such as Air India, Air India Express, GoAir, IndiGo, Saudi Airlines, Flydubai, Oman Air, Vistara etc. operating.