Delhi..(Agra-Fatehpur Sikri). India

1st row, at Delhi: left-Humayun's tomb, right-Jama Masjid; 2nd row, left-Qutub Minar, right-the Red Fort of Delhi; at Agra: the Taj Mahal, below: Agra Fort, below:Itmad-ud-Daulah's tomb, below : Akbar's tomb entrance, below Fatehpur Sikri, a gateway, and the Panch Mahal where the king sat in the top canopy to view the royal court below in the open grounds.

Most of the erstwhile Princely States are now a tourist delight, with some superb palaces and forts forts to visit and stay in!!! -most of the palaces/forts are converted to heritage hotels. The best place to start is to group the more famous places by the present political states of India:

Rajasthan: Western India, a good place to start; from the Indian capital: New Delhi, by road; any number of car rentals offer driven or self drive cars, http://www.carrental-india.com/delhi-car-rental-charges.html and hotels: http://www.planetholiday.com/hotels/asia/india/new_delhi.html and http://www.indiahotelreview.com/destination_delhi.htm

(a good 3/4 days in Delhi........see the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Lotus temple of the Bahais, the President's palace-Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, the Raj Path and India Gate, Humayun' s Tomb, the Jama Masjid, Connaught Place, see the nieghbouring towns of Noida and Gurgaon to view the spanking new townships, worth a visit......spend one day in Agra, a 3/4 hour drive from Delhi....please opt for a train to Agra-the Taj specials, or a chauffered driven rental car, or taxi recommended by your hotel only, because the Delhi-Agra road driving is quite rough

see the Taj, the world's most romantic monument to love, then drive accross to the Agra fort then see the itmat-ud-Daulah tomb, then Akbar's tomb......then drive to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital for only a few years, then deserted because of lack of water.
Always ask for the guides to show his credential/identity card and bargain the charges.

You can then stay in Agra for the night(hotels: http://www.planetholiday.com/hotels/asia/india/agra.html http://www.indiahotelreview.com/destination_agra.htm or drive back- or a train back to Delhi, but avoid road travel at night; the next morning/afternoon you can start west for Rajasthan, either from Delhi or Agra; the Rajasthan border is closer to Agra.

Facts on Delhi:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi

Facts on Agra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra

and Lonely Planet on Delhi: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/india/delhi/

and Lonely Planet on Agra: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/india/agra/

Below:
New Delhi: Vijay Chowk where the defense forces hold "beating the retreat" a few days after every Republic Day(Republic Day falls on 26th Jan.-see post below on Republic Day); with Raj Path behind, and in the distance-background centre is the dome of President's House, flanked in the foreground by government offices; below, the Bahia Lotus Temple.