Lucknow

Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and the historic seat of the Nawabs of Awadh, whose eighteenth and nineteenth century Mughal-Baroque hybrid architecture gives the city a distinctive layered aesthetic. The Bara Imambara and Chota Imambara are the city's most imposing monuments — vast assembly halls used during the Shia Muslim observance of Muharram — while the British Residency ruins and the Rumi Darwaza gateway round out the principal historical sites. Lucknow is also noted for its Awadhi cuisine, particularly its slow-cooked dum biryani and kebabs.