DLF Cyber Hub, Gurugram

Cyber Hub is an open-air plaza rather than a mall: terraces and restaurants side by side, from vegetarian Burmese to craft-beer patios, with an amphitheatre that hosts gigs. The crowd after office hours is the point: people from the towers around, spilling out onto the terraces.

It is a world away from the lanes of Chandni Chowk. If your days in Delhi are few, the city's own districts give more; if you have already seen the Mughal capital, this is the other half of the picture.

The metro does most of the work; the late return is the part to plan.

• Hauz Khas Village: Delhi's own young night out, with bars pressed against medieval ruins.
• Connaught Place: central pubs under colonial colonnades, no change of state required.
• Saket: malls and cinemas inside Delhi, on the same Yellow Line.
• Aerocity: the airport district between Delhi and Gurugram, with late restaurants of its own.

The city's bars compared, including the few across the border in Gurugram: Delhi nightlife.

Come in the evening, when the towers empty into the plaza. October and February to March are the months for the open terraces; in May and June the heat lasts well into the night, so pick a place with an indoor room. From November to January smog can hang over the whole capital region. Business travellers stay here; tourists do better sleeping in Delhi and coming for one evening.