---
type: Place
title: Old Delhi
description: The old quarter of Delhi around Chandni Chowk — car-free main street, paratha shops trading since the 1800s, sweet stalls, fixed-price markets and persistent touts.
tags: [old-delhi, delhi, india, street-food, markets]
coordinates: {lat: 28.6653, lng: 77.2043}
timestamp: 2026-08-04T12:00:00Z
---

# Old Delhi

The old quarter of [Delhi](/places/delhi.md) in [India](/countries/india.md),
reached via Chandni Chowk. Its main street is closed to cars, so movement is
on foot or by cycle rickshaw, and it packs in markets, temples, mosques, sweet
shops, street vendors and a dedicated food street named for paratha. Harry
notes that people often advise visitors to skip it in favour of newer areas,
and he disagrees firmly: he goes precisely because it's unlike home, calling
it a bit like going back in time and the place to find the real characters and
real people of India.

## What Harry did

Spent most of a day here with [Ali](/people/ali.md) on a $10 budget. Ate cheese
paratha at Paratha World, a shop trading since 1889, watching it made from
scratch — dough rolled and floured, stuffed with cheese, vegetables and spice,
then deep-fried, all in about ninety seconds and served with a metal tray of
chutneys. Worked through a mixed plate of sweets from a family shop at the
entrance to the quarter, and tried and failed to haggle a sports shirt down
from a fixed-price stall.

## Practical facts

- Cheese paratha at Paratha World: 120 rupees, roughly two dollars, with all
  chutneys included in the price.
- A mixed plate of sweets: 100 rupees.
- A "designer" sports shirt: 250 rupees, just over three dollars — the stalls
  here hold fixed prices and Harry could not get a discount from any of them.
- Tuk-tuk across to Chandni Chowk: 130 rupees after haggling five drivers down
  from opening quotes of 200–500.
- Touts line the entrance and open with friendly questions such as where
  you're from.
- The chutneys served with paratha are considerably spicier eaten on their own.
- The main street is closed to cars; cycle rickshaws work it instead.

## Harry's tips

- Come here rather than a modern mall — it's the part of the city that isn't
  like home, whatever people tell you about nicer areas.
- Don't expect to haggle in the shops. Market stalls here run fixed prices,
  unlike the tuk-tuks outside.
- Order the cheese paratha, and use the banana chutney with it — the sweetness
  against the savoury cheese was his favourite combination of the day.

## Source

- [Crazy $10 Challenge in Delhi, India 🇮🇳](/videos/abnAQ26UKlY.md) —
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abnAQ26UKlY