Ghaziabad

Uttar Pradesh city on Delhi's east edge: cheap rooms, Blue and Red line metro, Anand Vihar trains and the Namo Bharat rapid rail.

Ghaziabad is a large industrial city in Uttar Pradesh that presses right up against east Delhi, and its selling point is entirely about movement. Kaushambi and Vaishali sit at the end of a Blue Line branch, minutes from Anand Vihar terminal and ISBT. Mohan Nagar is on the Red Line, which runs to Shaheed Sthal at the New Bus Adda. And Sahibabad is now a Namo Bharat station on the Delhi-Meerut regional rapid rail, which is the fastest train most visitors to India will ever board.

The practical shape of the place: Kaushambi and Vaishali are the clean, hotel-heavy border pockets with Pacific Mall and a well-known Radisson; Indirapuram is the big residential township with Shipra Mall and Aditya Mall; Mohan Nagar and the old city around Ghanta Ghar are dense, cheap and entirely local. Rooms run ₹1,200 to ₹2,200 for a plain double and ₹4,000 to ₹6,500 at the Kaushambi four-stars. For proximity to a major rail terminal, that is very good value.

At nine at night Kaushambi is busy with bus passengers and mall crowds, and Indirapuram's market blocks and restaurants trade until half ten or eleven. The old city is shuttered by nine except for the sweet shops. There is essentially no bar scene worth crossing the city for. What there is instead is a permanent churn of people with bags — overnight buses to Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar leave from the Kaushambi and Anand Vihar stands all evening, and the Anand Vihar terminal handles trains east to Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.

Base yourself here if you are travelling on to Uttarakhand or eastern Uttar Pradesh, if you want the cheapest clean bed with a metro station attached, or if you are curious about the new rapid rail. Skip it if you want Delhi sightseeing on foot — Connaught Place is 45 minutes and the Red Fort an hour. Skip the old city hotels too, unless you know exactly what you are booking; the border pockets are a better bet at almost the same price.

Where to stay in Ghaziabad

Kaushambi is the clear first choice: it is a small, tidy pocket a few hundred metres from Anand Vihar ISBT and Kaushambi metro, with the district's best hotels, Pacific Mall, and a straight Blue Line run into Delhi. Vaishali is similar and marginally quieter. Indirapuram, around Shipra Mall and Ahinsa Khand, gives you more restaurants and cheaper flats at ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, but it is 2 to 3 km from the nearest station and depends on e-rickshaws. Expect ₹4,000 to ₹6,500 at the Kaushambi four-stars and ₹1,200 to ₹2,200 for budget doubles. Avoid hotels advertised as Ghaziabad that sit on the Meerut Road beyond Mohan Nagar — they are far from every metro line. Avoid rooms facing the ISBT approach road; buses reverse and honk all night.

Getting around & the essentials

Metro

Blue and Red lines

On foot

Start at Kaushambi metro, walk down past Pacific Mall and the hotel row into the Kaushambi bus stand forecourt, where the Uttarakhand coaches load in the evening. Cross the footbridge to Anand Vihar ISBT and continue to the railway terminal concourse. Loop back on the far side through the Vaishali approach road and finish at Vaishali metro, or turn back into Kaushambi for dinner at the mall.

By road

Not needed, parking cheap

Transport

From IGI, take the Orange Line to New Delhi, the Blue Line from Rajiv Chowk to Yamuna Bank and change to the Vaishali branch for Kaushambi — about 90 minutes for under ₹200, or ₹1,000 to ₹1,400 by cab in an hour. From New Delhi railway station, Blue Line via Rajiv Chowk takes about 40 minutes. Locally, the Blue Line branch serves Kaushambi and Vaishali, the Red Line covers Mohan Nagar and Shaheed Sthal, and Namo Bharat runs from Sahibabad east towards Meerut. E-rickshaws are everywhere at ₹10 to ₹30, and autos into Indirapuram ask ₹60 to ₹120.

Evenings

Bus stands, mall food

Nightlife

Mall crowds until eleven

Best season

October to March