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| Connaught Place |
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History
Connaught Place is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centres located in Delhi. Popularly known as CP, it houses the headquarters of several Indian firms, and is counted as one of the top heritage structures of the city. Originally developed as a showpiece of Lutyens' Delhi featuring a Central Business District, it was named after the Duke of Connaught.
The construction of Connaught Place was started in 1929 and was completed in 1933. The area is characterised by a big circle in the middle with radial roads spreading out in all directions, like spokes on a wheel, and is easily recognisable on any map. Eight separate roads lead out from CP’s Inner Circle, their names being Parliament Street and Radial Roads 1 through 7. Planned with great precision and logic, Connaught Place houses one of India's first underground market – Palika Bazaar (Municipal Market), named after ‘nagarpalika’. The Outer Circle is known as the Connaught Circus or the Indira Chowk, and houses rows of restaurants, shops and hotels, while the Middle Circle has offices and a few eating outlets.
The Central Park of Connaught Place, for long a centre for cultural celebrations, was rebuilt in 2005-06 after the construction of the Delhi Metro Station below it. The station, Rajiv Chowk, is the interchange for the Yellow and Blue lines of the Metro and one of the largest and busiest stations in the network.
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Best time to visit
The best time to visit Connaught Place and Delhi itself is between the months of October and March.
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Trivia
Connaught Place was renamed as ‘Rajiv Chowk’ after the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
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Timing
There are no particular timings for visiting Connaught Place. However, the shops begin to open around 10:00 am and start closing by 8:30 pm.
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Travel Tools
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