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Last Updated On: 10 Oct 2026
ā± 10 Min Read
Things to Do in Agra Beyond the Taj Mahal
N
Nand Singh Rathore
Travel & Tourism Expert specializing in India
Most visitors treat Agra as a one-monument city. They arrive at dawn, see the Taj Mahal, take their photos, and leave for Jaipur or Delhi before lunch. That is a real loss, because Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire at its height. The emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan filled the city and its surroundings with forts, palaces, garden tombs and an entire abandoned capital, any one of which would be a headline attraction elsewhere. There is also a practical reason to look further: the Taj Mahal is closed every Friday, which catches many travellers by surprise. This guide covers the best things to do in Agra beyond the Taj Mahal, with opening hours, ticket prices for foreign tourists, and honest advice on shopping, food and how much time each place really needs.
Agra Fort: Timings, Tickets and What to See Inside
If you see only one other monument in Agra, make it Agra Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right. It stands about two and a half kilometres upstream from the Taj Mahal on the bend of the Yamuna River. The emperor Akbar rebuilt it in red sandstone in the 16th century as both a military stronghold and a royal residence, and his grandson Shah Jahan later added graceful white marble palaces inside. Its massive double walls run for about two and a half kilometres and rise more than 20 metres high, encircled by a moat that once held crocodiles.
Visitors enter through the Amar Singh Gate, a steep, angled entrance designed to slow down attacking elephants. Inside, the first major building is the Jahangiri Mahal, a palace built by Akbar for the women of the court. Its carved sandstone facades blend Persian and Central Asian styles with Rajput and Gujarati elements. Further in, the Hall of Public Audience, with its long rows of elegant scalloped arches, is where Shah Jahan sat on a raised marble throne to hear his subjects. Beyond it lie the private white marble apartments, the Khas Mahal, decorated with gilded ceilings and inlaid stone, and the Sheesh Mahal, a mirrored bathing hall whose walls and ceiling are covered with tiny pieces of glass.
The most poignant spot in the fort is the Musamman Burj, an octagonal marble tower with a delicate balcony overlooking the river. After his son Aurangzeb seized power, Shah Jahan spent the last eight years of his life imprisoned in the fort. According to tradition, he spent his days looking across the river at the Taj Mahal, the tomb he had built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. On a clear day, the view of the Taj from this balcony, framed by marble arches, is one of the most moving sights in India.
The Agra Fort timings are from sunrise to sunset every day, including Fridays, when the Taj Mahal is closed. The ticket price for foreign tourists is around INR 650, with a small discount for online booking. Children under 15 enter free. Allow at least one and a half to two hours to see the main palaces without rushing. Late afternoon offers beautiful warm light on the red sandstone and good views of the Taj Mahal from the river-facing terraces. Carry water, as there is little shade in the open courtyards, and wear comfortable shoes for the uneven stone floors and ramps.
A licensed guide makes Agra Fort far more rewarding, since the stories of rebellion, intrigue and imprisonment behind each building are not obvious from signboards alone. Top Indian Holidays guides usually combine the fort with the Taj Mahal on the same morning, or schedule it on a Friday as the centrepiece of a day spent away from the Taj.
Baby Taj, Mehtab Bagh and Akbar's Tomb
On the opposite bank of the Yamuna lies one of Agra's most beautiful and least crowded monuments, the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, affectionately known as the Baby Taj. It was built in the early 17th century by Empress Nur Jahan for her father, a Persian noble who became the chief minister of the Mughal court. It was the first Mughal tomb built entirely of white marble, and the first to use pietra dura, the technique of inlaying semi-precious stones into marble to form delicate flower and geometric patterns. That technique was later perfected on the Taj Mahal. The tomb is small and intimate, and every surface is covered with carvings, inlay, latticed marble screens and painted ceilings. Many visitors find it more satisfying to study up close than its famous successor. It is open from sunrise to sunset, and the foreign tourist ticket is around INR 310. Allow about 45 minutes.
A short drive north along the same bank brings you to Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden, which lies directly opposite the Taj Mahal across the river. It was laid out by the emperor Babur and later aligned with the Taj as part of its overall garden design. Today, it is a simple garden of lawns, paths and the remains of old fountains and pavilions. Its value lies in the view of the Taj Mahal at sunset, reflected in the river with no crowds, no security queues and no hawkers. It is the best spot in Agra to photograph the Taj from the north, and it is especially useful on a Friday, when you cannot enter the Taj itself. Mehtab Bagh is open from sunrise to sunset, and the foreign tourist ticket is around INR 300. Arrive about an hour before sunset to watch the marble change colour from white to gold and pink.
On the northwestern edge of the city, in the suburb of Sikandra, stands Akbar's Tomb, the mausoleum of the greatest Mughal emperor. Akbar began it himself, and his son Jahangir completed it. The tomb combines red sandstone with white marble and a distinctive mix of Islamic, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist decorative motifs, reflecting Akbar's famous religious tolerance. The grand southern gateway is decorated with bold geometric inlay and topped by four white marble minarets, the first of their kind in India. The surrounding garden is home to blackbuck antelope, langur monkeys and peacocks that wander freely across the lawns. Akbar's Tomb is open from sunrise to sunset, and the foreign tourist ticket is around INR 310. Allow about one hour.
Together, these three sites make an excellent half-day away from the main tourist circuit. A good sequence is Akbar's Tomb in the morning, the Baby Taj around midday, and Mehtab Bagh at sunset. Your Top Indian Holidays driver can link all three easily, since they are spread across the city and its outskirts rather than within walking distance.
Fatehpur Sikri Day Trip from Agra
About 40 kilometres west of Agra, roughly a one-hour drive, lies Fatehpur Sikri, one of the most remarkable sites in India. In the late 16th century, the emperor Akbar built an entire new capital here in red sandstone. He did so in gratitude to the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, who had prophesied the birth of his long-awaited son. The city was the Mughal capital for only about fourteen years before it was abandoned, most likely because of water shortages and Akbar's military campaigns in the northwest. Because it was deserted so soon, its palaces, courtyards and mosques survive in remarkably good condition, like a royal city frozen in time. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the perfect day trip from Agra.
The site is divided into two parts. The royal palace complex is ticketed, and the foreign tourist entry fee is around INR 610. It is open from sunrise to sunset. Inside, you walk through the Diwan-i-Khas, a hall of private audience with a famous carved central pillar that branches out like a tree to support a circular platform where Akbar is said to have sat. You will also see the five-storeyed open pavilion called the Panch Mahal, a great courtyard laid out as a giant board for a game similar to ludo, which was supposedly played with court ladies as living pieces, and the palaces of Akbar's queens, which combine Hindu, Islamic and Persian styles.
The second part is the Jama Masjid, a huge congregational mosque that is still in active use and free to enter. You must remove your shoes and dress modestly. Its southern entrance, the Buland Darwaza, is one of the largest gateways in the world, rising about 54 metres above the ground from the top of a broad flight of steps. Inside the mosque's vast courtyard stands the white marble tomb of Salim Chishti, covered with exquisitely fine marble lattice screens. Visitors of every faith tie coloured threads to the screens while making a wish, returning to untie them when it comes true.
Allow two and a half to three hours to see Fatehpur Sikri properly, and hire a licensed guide at the entrance or bring your own. The mosque area attracts persistent touts and souvenir sellers, so a guide also helps you move through calmly. Shoes must be left at the mosque entrance, and the stone floor can become very hot in summer, so carrying socks is a wise move.
Fatehpur Sikri lies on the main road between Agra and Jaipur, so most travellers on a Golden Triangle tour visit it on the drive between the two cities rather than making a separate return trip. With an early start from Agra, you can see Fatehpur Sikri in the morning and still reach Jaipur by late afternoon, possibly stopping at the deep, geometric Chand Baori stepwell in Abhaneri village on the way. Top Indian Holidays builds this route into its Golden Triangle itineraries, so you see Fatehpur Sikri without adding an extra day.
Markets, Marble Inlay Workshops, Food and Wildlife Projects
Agra's craft heritage is directly linked to the Taj Mahal. The families of artisans who carved and inlaid its marble still practise the same art of marble inlay, setting tiny pieces of lapis lazuli, malachite, carnelian, jade and mother-of-pearl into white marble to create flowers, vines and geometric patterns. In the better workshops, you can watch craftsmen shape each stone fragment by hand on a simple grinding wheel and set it into channels carved in the marble. Prices depend on the number of stones used and the complexity of the design. A small coaster or plate might cost around INR 2,000 to 5,000, while a large inlaid tabletop can range from INR 50,000 to more than INR 3,00,000, with shipping arranged by the shop.
Be careful. Agra is notorious for commission-driven shopping, where drivers and touts take tourists to showrooms that pay them a large cut, which is then added to your price. Never buy under pressure, insist on a written invoice and shipping receipt, and check that the marble is genuine. Real marble feels cold and heavy and does not scratch easily. Top Indian Holidays guides only take guests to workshops where artisans actually work on site and where prices are fixed.
For more everyday shopping, Sadar Bazaar is a lively market for leather goods, shoes, handicrafts and snacks. Kinari Bazaar, near Agra Fort, is a maze of old lanes selling textiles, wedding accessories, spices and silverware. Agra is also known for fine handmade carpets and rugs, which are best bought from established showrooms with clear certificates of origin.
When it comes to food, Agra has excellent choices. Esphahan at The Oberoi Amarvilas serves refined North Indian cuisine in an elegant setting at about INR 10,000 to 15,000 for two. Peshawri at the ITC Mughal is known for its tandoor-cooked kebabs and slow-cooked black lentils at around INR 7,000 to 10,000 for two. For a more casual meal, Pinch of Spice is a popular local favourite for rich North Indian curries at about INR 2,500 to 3,500 for two. Do not miss Sheroes Hangout, a small café near the Taj run by survivors of acid attacks, which works on a pay-what-you-wish basis and supports their rehabilitation and independence.
Animal lovers can visit two important conservation projects run by the charity Wildlife SOS. The Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, near Mathura, about 45 minutes from Agra, cares for elephants rescued from begging, circuses and logging. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility, at Keetham Lake, is home to sloth bears rescued from the cruel practice of dancing bears. Visits must be booked in advance, cost around INR 2,000 to 3,500 per person, and directly support the animals' care. Both offer an ethical and memorable alternative to riding elephants.
For an overnight stay, The Oberoi Amarvilas, with every room facing the Taj Mahal, costs around INR 60,000 to 1,20,000 per night. ITC Mughal, set in large Mughal-style gardens, costs about INR 15,000 to 30,000, and the Taj Hotel and Convention Centre, with a rooftop view of the monument, costs about INR 12,000 to 22,000.
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