Saturday

4. Green Respite, 9 A.M.

When Delhi’s madly honking drivers get to be too much — and they will — head for the (relative) quietude of a park. Purana Qila, which means Old Fort, is a lovely place to escape, as much for the ruins as for the palm-shaded lawns (entrance, 100 rupees). The 65-foot red sandstone entrance and now-crumbling walls were built in the 16th century, but archaeologists have found evidence of habitation dating back more than 2,000 years. Not that anyone is paying much attention to the history — the young couples are too busy canoodling on the grass to notice.

5. Crafts and Curry, 11 A.M.

Across busy Bhairon Marg is the venerable National Crafts Museum (entrance, 150 rupees). It feels like a lively village, with hand-carved sculptures and replicas of huts from India’s various states set along winding paths, an outdoor craft market and a courtyard where you might catch folk dancers festooned with red turbans and plumes of black feathers. The incense-filled Café Lota serves a mix of traditional dishes like Assamese black chicken (395 rupees) and a hearty Gujarati lentil stew with spinach and cottage cheese dumplings (315 rupees).

A woman praying at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi. Credit Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

6. Made in India, 1 P.M.

Hold back on your shopping impulse at the Crafts Museum — the selection is even better at the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, run by the government to support the country’s traditional artisans. There are exquisite silk carpets and papier mâché vases from Kashmir, block-printed cushion covers and quilts from Rajasthan, and splendid silk saris from Varanasi. With fixed prices and a no-hassle sales staff, this is about as stress-free as shopping gets in India.

7. Designer Digs, 3 P.M.

It’s not all about the traditional in Delhi — there’s a vibrant design and fashion scene, as well, centered in two gentrifying neighborhoods in the leafy southern part of the city, Shahpur Jat and Hauz Khas. In Shahpur Jat, the less-polished of the two, seek out Second Floor Studio for homegrown fashion labels like Antar-Agni and Péro; GreenR for artisanal chocolate bars; and the designer Ayush Kasliwal’s brass thali sets and incense holders. In Hauz Khas, the Ogaan boutique has designs like Pratima Pandey’s simple silk dresses with embroidered flowers and Kiran Uttam Ghosh’s billowy pleated creations inreds and golds. Nearby, Nappa Dori sells the designer-owner Gautam Sinha’s leather messenger bags and totes printed with India street scenes from vintage photographs.

Handmade toys at the shops in the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi. Credit Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

8. Social Space, 6 P.M.

Hauz Khas is a creative and progressive enclave that throbs with fashionable young people on weekends in search of release in a conservative city. Their hub is Social — a multilevel, exposed-brick-and-recycled-furniture venue that doubles as a bar and work space for entrepreneurs and freelancers (the hanging power sockets are a nice touch). It’s the perfect spot for a sundowner on the roof where old-fashioned dormitory beds have been converted into lounges overlooking a 14th-century reservoir and madrasa ruins. For a Delhi-inspired cocktail, try the Aacharoska (260 rupees), a take on the Caipiroska made with a lime pickle and served in a stoneware jar.

9. Upmarket Street Food, 8 P.M.

Old Delhi, the centuries-old, labyrinthine heart of the city, is crowded beyond belief — a gritty tangle of bleating tuktuks and rickshaws, jostling shoppers, and merchants dashing to and fro with sacks of spices on their heads. It’s not where you’d expect to find the Haveli Dharampura, a 19th-century former nobleman’s mansion that’s been restored and reopened in March as a boutique hotel and a restaurant, Lakhori. The menu, inspired by the cuisine of Old Delhi, is an eclectic mix of vegetarian Jain dishes and meat-centric Mughlai specialties, as well as street food classics like dahi bhalle, lentil dumplings in yogurt (350 rupees). The atmosphere is all the more magical thanks to the traditional Kathak dancers. In winter, there’s rooftop dining, with splendid views of the Jama Masjid mosque.