Falaknuma Palace

Built in the 1890s on a hill some 2,000 feet above the Old City and laid out in the shape of a scorpion, the palace is now run by the Taj group as a hotel, which is the only reason anyone gets inside at all. Venetian chandeliers hang over a dining table set for 101, and the library is counted among the finest private collections in India. Non-guests need a reservation: the heritage walk with high tea, daily around 15:00 from roughly Rs 3,500 a head, or a table at one of the restaurants. Book by phone in advance, dress smartly: the gate turns away walk-ins.

A dining table set for 101 and one of India's finest private libraries