New Delhi is famously overwhelming — and genuinely two cities. Old Delhi is narrow, loud, historic and spectacular; New Delhi is wide, colonial and tree-lined. The first-timer's whole challenge is keeping the two apart in your head, and in your calendar, instead of letting Uber and adrenaline blur them together.
Old Delhi deserves daylight and patience
Spend a full morning in Old Delhi around the Red Fort, Jama Masjid and the street eats near Chawri Bazaar. Eat the parathas, ride a cycle rickshaw once for the experience, and accept that this is a walk, not a drive-through. The energy is the attraction.
New Delhi is for the monuments and the breathing room
India Gate, the Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb sit in the green, wide-skied half of the city. These reward a calmer pace — and the markets of Khan Market and Connaught Place are the perfect afternoon bridges between sightseeing and people-watching.
Eat your way across both halves
Delhi's food is its great equaliser: Karim's in old city for kebab history, and the modern cafés of Hauz Khas in the new city for a completely different evening. Do both, and let the gap between them tell you how big — and how good — Delhi really is.