Patrika Gate at sunrise before the crowds arrive

The Jaipur Virasat Foundation runs the RRAP Music Museum and Hub in C-Scheme, a space that combines a music museum, a soundscape garden and a recording studio focused on Rajasthan folk and regional music. It has hosted performances and residencies in the past, so check its online events calendar or write to the team…

Sanganer, a small town adjoining Jaipur on the Banganga River, has long been a centre of hand block printing, with workshops where cloth is bleached, dyed and printed on long tables. A local printer in Sanganer hosts a three-hour session where you choose wooden blocks and colours and print a scarf, dupatta or tote to…

Masala Chowk is an open-air food court inside Ram Niwas Garden, across the road from Albert Hall Museum, where well-known Jaipur street-food vendors share one courtyard. Go on a weekday evening, when the atmosphere is lively but seats are easier to find, since weekends get crowded. Walk the stalls first, then pick one…

On arrival, a taxi or rickshaw driver may claim your booked hotel is full, closed or unsafe and offer to take you to another one that pays him a commission. Before you get in, write down the address and phone number of your hotel and call it yourself to check. Insist on going to your chosen address, and if the driver…

Alsisar Haveli was built in 1892 as the Jaipur residence of the Thakur of Alsisar and is still run by the family. It stands in the Sindhi Camp area on Sansar Chandra Road, away from the old city noise, with courtyards, arches and period details. Staying here gives you a taste of a noble family's town house rather than…

In the monsoon, usually July or August, Jaipur celebrates Teej with a procession that carries the Teej Mata idol out through Tripolia Gate and along Tripolia Bazaar, Chhoti Chaupar and Gangauri Bazaar. Expect decorated camels, horses, palanquins, bands and folk performers, with many women in leheriya outfits. Confirm…

Maniharon ka Rasta, a narrow lane off Tripolia Bazaar, is where the Manihar community has shaped lac bangles by hand over coal for generations. Watch the shaping, then ask for a set sized to your wrist or matched to an outfit, since bridal sets are made to order. Shops run by the community's women often carry the name…

Panna Meena ka Kund, the geometric stepwell below Amer Fort, is free to visit, but the classic photos of people on its stairs are no longer possible. Visitors are not allowed down the steps and a guard turns people back. Shoot the pattern from the top in soft early light, ideally on a weekday, and keep your feet off…