Ahmedabad in 3 days: what to see, in what order

The first temple of the Swaminarayan faith, opened in 1822. It is painted in bright colours and covered in carved wood, with painted figures on its columns and brackets.

Two minarets of the Sidi Bashir mosque, opposite the railway station. When one is shaken, the other shakes too. The mosque itself was lost long ago; only the minarets and the arched gateway between them remain.

A five-storey stepwell from 1499, built by Bai Harir, a woman of the Sultan's household. Steps lead down past carved pillars and balconies to the water, where it stays cool even in May.

A white marble Jain temple from 1848, built by the merchant Hutheesing and finished by his widow Harkunvar. It has 52 small shrines round a courtyard and a carved tower, the Manastambha, beside it.

The city's great mosque, built in 1424 by Ahmed Shah, who founded Ahmedabad. A wide courtyard leads to a prayer hall of 260 carved pillars. The founder's tomb, Badshah no Hajiro, is just outside the east gate, with the queens' tombs (Rani no Hajiro) in the bazaar beyond.

The fort Ahmed Shah built in 1411, the first building of the new city. You can climb to the roof for a view over the old city, see the Bhadrakali temple by its gate, and walk along the open plaza to Teen Darwaja, the triple gateway.

A small mosque from 1573, famous for its stone jali: windows carved like lace, with a tree whose branches wind round each other. The design is the symbol of Ahmedabad and of IIM Ahmedabad.

Gandhi's home from 1917 to 1930, on the bank of the Sabarmati. You can see Hriday Kunj, the simple cottage where he and Kasturba lived, his spinning wheel and writing desk, and a museum of photos and letters. He set out from here on the Salt March to Dandi in 1930.

A round lake from 1451 with a walkway all the way round it, about 2.3 km. Inside the gates are a toy train, the zoo, a balloon ride, boats and food stalls, so it is busiest with families in the evening.

A group of tombs, a mosque and palaces round a large stepped tank, built from 1445 for the Sufi saint Ahmed Khattu Ganj Bakhsh and the sultans who followed him. It is calm, plain and very big, on the west edge of the city.

A five-storey stepwell from 1498, built by Queen Rudabai. Every floor is carved with flowers, elephants and small shrines, and the steps go down to a well that stays cool in summer. It is about 18 km north of the city, on the way to Gandhinagar.

A museum of Gandhi's life inside a white dome shaped like a heap of salt, for the Salt March of 1930. It tells the story with films, 3D projection and sound, room by room.

A large Swaminarayan temple from 1992, carved from pink sandstone and set in big gardens in Gandhinagar. The main hall has a 7 ft gold-leaf idol of Swaminarayan; exhibition halls tell his life story.

A Sun temple from 1026, built by the Solanki kings, about 100 km north-west of Ahmedabad. In front of it is the Surya Kund, a deep stepped tank lined with more than 100 small shrines. Every surface is carved with gods, dancers and scenes from the epics.

A stepwell built in the 1060s by Queen Udayamati and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It goes seven storeys down, with more than 500 carved figures of gods and goddesses, and is the picture on the back of the ₹100 note.

The ruins of a huge man-made lake from the 12th century, built by King Siddhraj Jaisinh. What remains are stone channels, steps and the bases of small shrines, in a quiet park a few minutes from Rani ki Vav.