It took us two autorickshaws to make it the fort. (It helps to know that Lal Quila is also the name.) Once we arrived, I felt overwhelmed by all the people hitting us up to give them money, buy their postcards, take their tour, etc. I was seriously concerned that this attention would never stop even once inside the fort. Not so. Inside, is relatively calm and well cared for.

Once you enter, you walk through a shopping mall (not really, but an Indian equivalent). You will then see the area where the Shah would hold an audience. The intricate inlay work is beautiful. Many of it has been lost, but still you can get a good feel for the Mughal artistry.

We ended up giving in to one of the "tour guides". Like all the tour books say, you will be hit up by these guys. Whether or not you choose to pay one is up to you. I really don't know if we received any information that wasn't already in our book, but it was nice to just listen.

There is a small museum on the grounds housing Mughal art. These are beautiful miniature paintings and exquisite scrolls. It's worth a look. Also, you will notice the really ugly, modern building. This is a barracks built by the British during the last century. It really doesn't fit in.

I do advise utilizing the services of an official tour guide, who will tell you everything (perhaps more than) you need to know about the fort. Our guide was useful in not only teaching us a lot about the history of the fort and Old Delhi, but also for shooing away the creepy, weird packs of young men who silently followed us wherever we went (in many places throughout our time in India, in fact!) They were strange and slightly menacing, so it was nice to have a guide who would yell at them every now and then to disperse.

The Red Fort is definitely worth a visit, combined with a few hours wandering around the markets and the mosque, Jami Masjid.

The Fort is vast - the walls are well over a mile long. Inside are the many buildings the court needed in its everyday life. If you have been to Istanbul, many features here will be familiar, such as the Halls of Public and Private Audience. Both are made of white marble, set with precious stones – not unlike the construction used in the Taj Mahal. The hall of public audience was like a court held by the emperor to hear his subjects’ grievances, and settle disputes. The private audience hall, which is smaller, was used for diplomacy, and meetings of the emperor’s advisors.

Further into the Fort, are the emperor’s private quarters – where he lived and worked. Again, they are beautifully built, but many of the precious stones have disappeared over the years, and few remain now. The layout is still very interesting, though, and well worth a look. Like the medieval Kings of Europe, the Emperors simply had no privacy, as we see it now, and there was a constant flow of people in and out of his rooms.

On your way back out of the Fort, pass through the Chatta Chowk – the royal bazaar. Although very interesting, most of the stuff here is very overpriced, so you’d be better looking here, and buying elsewhere.

The entrance is from the Lahore Gate. Try not to come on Fridays - there is no admission charge then, and it is very crowded indeed. On other days, it costs 3 rupees to get in. We went as early as we could, getting there about 8am, when it is much less hot and crowded, making it much more enjoyable.