The Taj Mahal

Scratch the surface of Shah Jahan’s love life and you’ll find enough political polygamy and silk-clad concubines to create a Persian Game of Thrones, with his fourth wife, Mumtaz Mahal, lasting long enough to deliver their fourteenth child and immortalise the pair in the echelons of romantic history. Romance may not have initially stemmed from Mumtaz’s almost permanent pregnancy from 1613 to 1631 but zip forward a couple of decades to 1643 and you’ll find the completion of a marble mausoleum which would set the standard for romantic symbolism from here to eternity.

Estimated to have cost a total of 32 million rupees, about £640 million in modern money, the Taj Mahal represents the might of the Mughal Empire as well as one of the grandest, or guiltiest, gestures to a spouse ever. Millions of tourists are now drawn to this UNESCO World Heritage Site every year.

Just 2.5km down the road, the Red Fort of Agra is thought to have been Shah Jahan’s final resting place after he was imprisoned by his son, the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Featuring large lawns, impressive Mughal architecture and some great views over the River Yamuna towards the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort is an experience in its own right and another fine example of the strength and the finances of the ever-impressive Mughal Dynasty.

This former capital city of the Mughal Empire was built by the third Mughal Emperor, Akbar, and can be found around 40km west of Agra. Featuring several water features, including a vast artificial lake, Fatehpur Sikri was only occupied by Akbar for a decade before he upped sticks and left for Lahore in 1585. The red sandstone public buildings, courtyards, Hindu and Islamic artwork, and places of worship, including one of India’s largest mosques, Jama Masjid, provide one of India’s most important collections of preserved Mughal architecture.