Also Known As · CP · Rajiv Chowk · कनॉट प्लेस
New Delhi, Delhi · market
A near-century-old Georgian shopping circle of white colonnades, flagship stores, and Delhi's most-loved vegetarian restaurants, wrapped around a central park.
Connaught Place — officially Rajiv Chowk, but universally called CP — is the commercial and social heart of New Delhi. Built between 1929 and 1933 and named after the Duke of Connaught, it was designed as a vast Georgian-style market arranged in concentric circles, its white colonnaded arcades sweeping around a central park. Nearly a century on, CP remains one of India's most important business and shopping districts, blending heritage architecture with flagship brand stores, cinemas, banks, cafés, and some of the capital's most beloved restaurants.
Ghee roast dosa and filter coffee — reliable pure-veg South Indian
Vegetarian patties, pastries, and savouries from a 1920s bakery
Chaat, raj kachori, and thalis — vegetarian and dependable
Connaught Place — officially Rajiv Chowk, but universally called CP — is the commercial and social heart of New Delhi. Built between 1929 and 1933 and named after the Duke of Connaught, it was designed as a vast Georgian-style market arranged in concentric circles, its white colonnaded arcades sweeping around a central park.
CP is busiest in the evenings and on weekends, when the cafés and shops fill up; many shops close on Sundays. Come by metro to avoid the notoriously difficult parking, wear comfortable shoes for the circular walk, and set aside an evening for dinner and people-watching under the floodlit colonnades. It is a place to shop, eat well, and feel the pulse of modern Delhi.
Visiting Hours
Entry Fee: Free — it is a public shopping district. Carry cash and card for the markets and restaurants.
Verified: June 2026
Address
Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk), New Delhi, Delhi, 110001
Central New Delhi, above Rajiv Chowk metro
🚇 Nearest Metro: Rajiv Chowk (Yellow & Blue Lines) — directly beneath the circle, the network's busiest interchange
🚶 Walking from Metro: Rajiv Chowk metro exits open directly into the Inner and Middle Circles of CP — no walk required.
Distance from
Parking
nearby · ₹20–₹50 (paid)
CP parking is notoriously difficult and fills fast. Come by metro to Rajiv Chowk instead.
🚕 Ride Hailing Tip: Uber and Ola drop at the radial roads. The Rajiv Chowk metro station has exits into the Inner Circle — far easier than driving.
How to Reach: Connaught Place is in the centre of New Delhi. Nearest metro: Rajiv Chowk (Yellow & Blue Lines), directly beneath the circle — the busiest interchange in the network. From New Delhi Railway Station it is a 10-minute taxi. Uber, Ola, and auto-rickshaws serve it, but the metro avoids CP's difficult parking.
History
Connaught Place was designed by the British architect Robert Tor Russell and built between 1929 and 1933 as the central business district of Edwin Lutyens' New Delhi.
🏛️ Architect: The colonnaded Georgian architecture — uniform white two-storey arcades arranged in three concentric circles around a central park — is credited to Robert Tor Russell, modelled in part on the crescents of Georgian Bath. It remains one of the largest and best-preserved colonial-era commercial ensembles in India.
Significance
Connaught Place is the commercial and social centre of New Delhi and one of the most recognisable urban landmarks of the colonial city.
An 18th-century open-air astronomical observatory of giant masonry instruments.
A dramatic 103-step ancient stepwell hidden near CP — a social-media favourite.
The 42-metre war-memorial arch and evening lawns at the heart of New Delhi.
Family Highlights
💰 Equipment Fees: Free for personal photography of the public colonnades and park.
📍 The Golden Spot: The white Georgian colonnades of the Inner Circle, especially floodlit in the evening, and the giant flag at Central Park.
🌅 Best Light Time: Blue hour just after sunset, when the colonnades light up.
Street-market sellers quote a high "fixed" price, then offer a big "discount" to make you feel you got a deal on overpriced goods.
Official AdviceBargain hard, compare across stalls, and walk away to test the real price. Use the government Cottage Emporium on Janpath for fixed, fair prices.
🌅 Secret View: Central Park's raised lawn gives a clean line of sight across the Inner Circle colonnades — quietest on weekday afternoons.
🎯 Crowd Hack: Shop and eat on a weekday; weekend evenings are shoulder-to-shoulder.
💎 Secret Fact: CP's three concentric circles were laid out in the early 1930s in a Georgian style modelled partly on the Royal Crescent at Bath, England.
⚡ Express Tour
60 minutes — a loop of the Inner Circle, a dosa at Saravana Bhavan, and a pastry at Wenger's.
🔭 Deep Dive Tour
Half day — CP shopping and lunch, Jantar Mantar, and Agrasen ki Baoli.
👕 Dress Code: No dress code; smart-casual and comfortable shoes for the circular walk.
📷 Photography Rules: Street photography is free across the public colonnades and park. Ask before photographing inside shops and restaurants.
🏧 Nearest ATM: ATMs throughout all three circles of CP.
Connaught Place (CP, officially Rajiv Chowk) is New Delhi's central shopping and dining district — Georgian colonnades, flagship brand stores, the Janpath and Palika Bazaar markets, and famous vegetarian restaurants like Saravana Bhavan and Wenger's.
Rajiv Chowk station (Yellow & Blue Lines) sits directly beneath CP and is the busiest interchange in the Delhi Metro — the easiest way to arrive and avoid the difficult parking.
Saravana Bhavan on Janpath for South Indian, Wenger's for bakery snacks, and Haldiram's or Nathu's for chaat, sweets, and thalis — all vegetarian and well-loved.
Most shops and restaurants open about 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and many shops are closed on Sundays. The public colonnades and Central Park are always accessible.
No — it is a public shopping district, free to walk around. You only pay for what you buy or eat.
Jantar Mantar, Agrasen ki Baoli, and the Hanuman temple are all a short walk away, and India Gate is a 10-minute drive.
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