"Lahoree's Lahore" Top 5 Page for this destination Lahore by lahoree

Lahore Travel Guide: 538 reviews and 976 photos

I was born and raised in Lahore and naturally I have developed affection and love for the city. On this travel guide I will provide unbiased information about Lahore for fellow VT members and friends. If you still need me to answer your questions and concerns, please feel free to drop an email.

Brief history:

Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi and located in the province of Punjab. City played significant role in the creation of Pakistan and therefore known as "Heart of Pakistan". Declaration for creation of Pakistan was passed on March 23, 1940 in Iqbal Park Lahore and at that place "Minare (Tower) Pakistan" was constructed.

There is no reference about when the city was established, however it is known that Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni occupied during 11th century. After fall of his Empire, Lahore was ruled by several Muslim dynasties until 1524 when the city became part of Mughal Empire. During Mughal Empire Lahore touched architectural glory; several buildings including forts, gardens, tombs and mosques still speak of the glorious Mughal Empire. During 1750's Mughal power dwindled and consequently Ranjit Singh formed Sikh State here. His death brought Lahore under the rule of British until 1947 when Pakistan was created.

Ancient walled city of Lahore:
Lahore has been expanding rapidly for decades but massive surge in growth has been noticed during current decade. On the East, City has grown to Wagah on Indian boarder while towards South there are towns as far as 40 km from the center. However ancient Lahore is inside walled city covering 260 hectars. Entrance to the city was through 13 gates, however only 6 are left.

More information on "Travelogues".

Must visit places

Badshahi Mosque - 1673

Historical Places:

Ancient walled City of Lahore
Lahore Fort - rebuilt 1566 (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Badshahi Mosque - built 1673
Wazir Khan Mosque - built 1635
Tomb of Emperor Jahangir - built 1637
Tomb of Queen Noor Jehan - built 1657
Shalamar Garden - built 1641 (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Hazoori Bagh (garden) - built1813
Kamran Bara Dari
Data Durbar Complex
Chowburgi
Saint Anthony Church
Cathedral Church

Gardens:
Iqbal Park
Lawrence Garden - established 1862
Race Course Park
National Park
Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park

Other Places:
Lahore Zoo - built 1872
Jalo Park
Sozoo Water Park
Lahore Safari Park
Lahore Museum - established 1864

There are two other historical places "Hiran Minar" (Hunting Resort of Emperor Jahangir) and Fort Sheikhupura. These places can easily be assessed on a 40km expressway connecting Sheikhupura to Lahore. More information and photos on my "Sheikhupura” pages.

Best time to visit:
September to April.

Transportation:
If you have ample time, you can easily visit these places by using public transport from the central transport hub located right in front of Lahore Railway Station from where almost all vans and buses start their routes for destinations all over the city.

Detailed information on my "Travelogues" and on "Tips" section.

Eating out

Rice with boneless chicken handi, tikka and nan

Lahore is famous in Pakistan for delicious varieties of food. You can have a full meal for as low as 50 cents to as high as $30.

If you want to explore eating places then head towards:

McLeod Road/Abbott Road/Lakshami Chowk
These roads are interlinked with each other and you can walk around on foot. This area caters to people with low to medium budget. Food offered here is typical Pakistani and quality is great. You can reach there by hopping on van (# 9, 14 and 34) from Lahore Railway Station.

MM Alam Road Gulberg
Over the last ten years, several restaurants mushroomed this road offering Pakistani, Chinese, Continental and fast food making it a must visit dining place in Lahore. Prices range from mid to high level. One can reach MM Alam Road from Lahore Railway station via van # 43.

Lahore Food Streets (near Lakshami Chowk)
Concept of Food Streets was introduced in Lahore during early 2000 offering authentic Pakistani cuisine at night. First Street was opened in Gawalmandi and it quickly sucked customers from Lakshami Chowk. Now Lakshami Chowk is back to groove. Reason is simple; quality of food is really down. You should visit this place once just to see what's going on there, but I will not recommend for dinner.

Latest update - Food street is closed.

Street Food
There are several other places almost on every road where one can find restaurants and eating places. Street food is available for as low as half dollar a meal.

Detailed information on my "Travelogues" and on "Tips" section.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Rich in history, culture, food and festivals
Cons:Out of control traffic. Overwhelming noise and dust pollution on the roads
In a nutshell:It is said "A person is not born who has not visited Lahore"

Intro Updated Dec 17, 2009
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (128)

Joy Land Things to Do (27)

Joy Land is located in the vicinity of Fortress Stadium on the Mall Road. It is the best kids play land in the city. If... more travel advice

Best garden in town Things to Do (27)

If you would like to visit “garden of the gardens” or want to enjoy the most pleasant walk in Lahore, then go to... more travel advice

Model Town Park Things to Do (27)

Another spacious park of Lahore city is Model Town Park. The park has a beautiful pond with fountains in the middle.... more travel advice

Hazoori Bagh (Garden) Things to Do (27)

It is located between Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque. Built by Ruler Ranjit Singh in 1813 to celebrate capture of... more travel advice

Restaurants (38)
See All Nice and inexpensive
Hotels (4)
See All Budget accommodations in Lahore
What to Pack (1)
Must have
Local Customs (9)
See All Basant (Kite flying festival)
Warnings and Dangers (11)
See All Conversion of foreign currencies
Sports & Outdoors (4)
See All Kabooter Bazi

Tourist Traps (2)
See All Over billing in restaurants
Nightlife (7)
See All But there is still fun!
Shopping (11)
See All Abid Market
Transportation (10)
See All Vans
Off The Beaten Path (4)
See All Fort Sheikhupura
Been to Lahore?
Share your travels with the world!

Travelogues (9)

1 - 4 of 9

Comments (12)

Reply
- Report abuse
SLLiew Dec 15, 2010 at 5:00 AM

Wow...great tips of Lahore. Cheers, SL :)
Reply
- Report abuse
mvtouring Jul 31, 2010 at 12:42 PM

Very good tips, loved reading them. Hope you do not mind me asking, but if you want to return ratings, please visit my Prague page? The link is Hlavni Mesto Praha Things to Do Tips by mvtouring. Thanks ;-)
Reply
- Report abuse
goutammitra Jul 23, 2010 at 8:10 PM

I too was under the impression that Food Street a great place Indians go there freak out by it's name. You have an excellent page with lots of info. One of our friend visited Heera Mandi, wrote his experience in a local paper. Shall be back for more.
Reply
- Report abuse
marvelous_girl May 12, 2010 at 6:25 AM

re-visiting lahore page was a pleasure for me.
Reply
- Report abuse
hopang Jan 3, 2010 at 5:48 AM

Revisiting your great Lahore travel page. Lahore certainly has lots of interesting tourist attractions. We certainly hope to visit Lahore one day. ~ho & pang
Reply
- Report abuse
jcarolj Apr 24, 2009 at 11:45 PM

Nice guide. Time when is better to come is especially valuable
Reply
- Report abuse
sikandar10 Mar 11, 2009 at 1:59 AM

In my point of veiw its a very good guide for lahore trip.
Reply
- Report abuse
Bokhari76 Mar 2, 2009 at 12:33 AM

A true Lahoree can write such fine informative tips. Nice effort brother. Wah Direct jump to top5. Grrrreat!
Reply
- Report abuse
junecorlett Feb 19, 2009 at 7:27 AM

You have great tips, thank you.
Reply
- Report abuse
i-s-a Feb 3, 2009 at 12:39 AM

great love story...i hope the youtube video did justice to it ;0) will watch the video soon. thanks for sharing.