What to See in Lahore - Top Sights and Attractions

Walled 17th-century Mughal garden. The Shalimar Gardens (Urdu: شالامار باغ, romanized: Shālāmār Bāgh are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations.

The Shalimar Gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature. Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and was completed in 1642. In 1981 the Shalimar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development.^[1]

Historical landmark in Lahore, Pakistan. The Lahore Fort is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than 20 hectares. It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which date to the era of Emperor Akbar. The Lahore Fort is notable for having been almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century, when the Mughal Empire was at the height of its splendour and opulence.

Though the site of the Lahore Fort has been inhabited for millennia, the first record of a fortified structure at the site was regarding an 11th-century mud-brick fort. The foundations of the modern Lahore Fort date to 1566 during the reign of Emperor Akbar, who bestowed the fort with a syncretic architectural style that featured both Islamic and Hindu motifs. Additions from the Shah Jahan period are characterized by luxurious marble with inlaid Persian floral designs, while the fort's grand and iconic Alamgiri Gate was constructed by the last of the great Mughal Emperors, Aurangzeb, and faces the renowned Badshahi Mosque.

After the fall of the Mughal Empire, Lahore Fort was used as the residence of Emperor Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire. The Sikhs made several additions to the fort. It then passed to the control of the East India Company after they annexed Punjab following their victory over the Sikhs at the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849. In 1981, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its "outstanding repertoire" of Mughal monuments dating from the era when the empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith.^[3]

Prominent 17th-century domed mosque. The Badshahi Mosque is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore, and is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks.

The Badshahi Mosque was constructed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb between 1671 and 1673 and was the largest mosque in the world from 1673 to 1986. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest mosque of the Mughal-era, and is the third-largest mosque in Pakistan. After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the mosque was used as a garrison by the British Empire, and is now one of Pakistan's most iconic sights.^[4]

Sizable zoo with pony rides and a cafe. Lahore Zoo in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Pakistan. Today the zoo houses a collection of about 1378 animals of 135 species. Lahore Zoo was the host of the fifth annual conference of SAZARC in 2004.

Lahore Zoo is thought to be the third or fourth oldest zoo in the world. House of Vienna Zoo of Austria, established in 1752 as a menagerie, was opened to public as a zoo in 1779. London Zoo of England, established in 1828, was opened to public in 1847. The Alipore Zoo of India, established some time in the early 19th century, was opened to public as a zoo in 1876.^[5]

Museum in Lahore, Pakistan. The Lahore Museum, is a museum located in Lahore, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on 'The Mall' in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is one of Pakistan's most visited museums and one of the major museums in South Asia.

The museum houses an extensive collection of Buddhist art from the ancient Indo-Greek and Gandhara kingdoms. It also has collections from the Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire and the British Empire in India.

The Lahore Wonder House, along with the Zamzama Gun located directly in front of the building, is the setting of the opening scene in the novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling, whose father was one of the museum's earliest curators.^[6]

Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. The Wazir Khan Mosque is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of Wazir Khan Mosque began in 1634 C.E. and was completed in 1641. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque, Wazir Khan Mosque is renowned for its intricate faience tile work known as kashi-kari, as well as its interior surfaces that are almost entirely embellished with elaborate Mughal-era frescoes. The mosque has been under extensive restoration since 2009 under the direction of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Government of Punjab, with contributions from the governments of Germany, Norway, and the United States.^[7]

Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Begum Shahi Mosque, officially The Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum, is an early 17th-century mosque situated in the Walled City of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque was built between 1611 and 1614 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir in honor of his mother, Wali Nimat Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba, chief consort of Emperor Akbar.

It is Lahore's earliest surviving example of a Mughal-era mosque, and influenced construction of the larger Wazir Khan Mosque a few decades later. The foundation as stated by one of the inscriptions on the mosque was laid by the Dowager Empress Wali Nimat Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba herself in the year 1611. This mosque was turned in name of the most celebrated Sikh hero Bhai Mani Singh Ji, as Shaheed Ganj Bhai Mani Singh, under the Sikh rule. The mosque has been encroached upon by several shops, and views of the mosque from the Akbari Gate of the Lahore Fort have been obstructed by illegally constructed tire shops. In July 2016, the Walled City of Lahore Authority announced that the shops would be removed, and the mosque would also be conserved and restored.^[19]

Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Grand Jamia Mosque Lahore also known as Bahria Grand Mosque is a mosque located in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan. With a capacity of 70,000 worshippers, it is the third largest mosque in Pakistan and the fourteenth largest mosque in the world.

Designed by Nayyar Ali Dada, it was inaugurated on Eid al-Adha on 6 October 2014. It can accommodate 25,000 worshipers indoors, while the courtyard and corridor leading to the main halls of worship can accommodate a total of 70,000. The architecture is influenced by Badshahi Masjid, Wazir Khan Mosque and Sheikh Zayed Mosque, with construction costs of over 4 billion rupees (or approximately $39 million).

The structure comprises four minarets, each 165 ft tall, and a grand dome, which is surrounded by 20 smaller domes. The exterior is surfaced with 4 million handmade Multani tiles. The interior is decorated with custom-made carpets imported from Turkey and over 50 chandeliers imported from Iran. One of the floors consists of an Islamic heritage museum displaying rare Quranic collections, an Islamic library and also an Islamic art gallery with various antique artifacts. Over four million Multani handcrafted mosaic tiles cover the surface area of the mosque.^[21]

Auditorium in Lahore, Pakistan. Alhamra Arts Council was designed by Nayyar Ali Dada and completed in 1992.

The Alhamra Arts Council is located on a colonial-period road in Lahore, Pakistan, that was formerly known as Mall Road and has been renamed as Shahrah Quaid-e-Azam. The origins of the arts complex lie in an initial commission of Nayyar Ali Dada to design a 1000-seat auditorium for the Alhamra Arts Council, of which he was a member. The AAC had been given the site by the government in the years immediately following independence but had generally staged its performances outdoors. The auditorium was completed in 1979 and replaced some temporary buildings.

A further three phases of construction followed that of the auditorium. There were commissioned from Dada by the Lahore Arts Council, a government agency that took over the project from the non-governmental Alhamra Arts Council following a dispute concerning ownership of the land. The first of these phases was completed in 1984 and consisted of offices and art galleries housed in four octagonal structures. In the following year, a 450-seat theatre in hexagonal form was added to the existing auditorium and, in 1992, an octagonal 250-seat facility for lectures and recitals was completed. The buildings are placed in a manner that creates semi-enclosed courtyards and the various polygonal shapes in their design are intended to enhance acoustics when used for performances.

The structures are influenced by Mughal architecture and are constructed using a veneer of handmade red bricks overlaying a concrete form. The bricks are bonded with a local mortar and reflect the construction of the historic Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, as well as the red sandstone that was favoured by the Mughals.

The design was a winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998, when the jury described it as "a rare example of flexible spaces that has enabled several additions to be made over time, each of which has in turn enhanced, rather than detracted from, its overall architectural value.^[22]

Museum in Lahore, Pakistan. The National Museum of Science and Technology, Lahore is a museum in Lahore, Pakistan.

The museum was founded in 1965 and is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society, open to the public, which exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purpose of education of the public.

Since its establishment in 1965, the National Museum of Science and Technology has served as Pakistan's only national-level science and technology museum. Initially it was meant only for the University of Engineering & Technology students. Later in 1976, it was opened to the public. In a spirit of service to the public, this museum has continually improved and enhanced its functions as a museum of science and technology. Exhibits and its galleries went through four phases of expansion. The Museum became an attached department of Science and Education Department, Punjab in the wake of the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in 2011. In 2011, this museum in Lahore had nearly 100,000 visitors.^[33]