The Rashtrapati Bhavan (About this sound pronunciation, Presidential Residence" previously "Viceroy's House") is the official home of the president located at the Western end of Rajpath in New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bhavan may refer to only the 340-room main building that has the president's official residence, including reception halls, guest rooms and offices, also called the mansion; it may also refer to the entire 130-hectare (320 acre) Presidential Estate that additionally includes huge presidential gardens (Mughal Gardens), large open spaces, residences of bodyguards and staff, stables, other offices and utilities within its perimeter walls. In terms of area, it is one of the largest residences of a head of state in the world.
Rashtrapati Bhawan is an imposing and admirable work of engineering. It consists of four floors with 340 rooms and the floor area spans over a massive 200,000 square feet. Lutyen's design was essentially classical with inspiration drawn from Indian architecture. A number of classical Indian motifs find an appearance in the architecture, ranging from imperial elephants to circular stone basins. The main building has a drawing room, ballroom, library, dining room and private apartments. The Durbar Hall, which is a major venue for all the ceremonies inside the Rashtrapati Bhawan has a dome that measures 22.8 meters in diameter and is marked with various coloured marbles. The Viceroy's throne is also present in the hall and is quite a spectacle to behold.
The nearest airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport located 23 km southwest of Central Delhi and the domestic terminal at Palam is 5 km away from the international terminal. Taxi and coach transfer is available from both International and Domestic Arrivals.
October to March is the best time to visit New Delhi. Summers are very hot here in Delhi and should be avoided as much as possible as the temperature might rise upto 45 degree Celsius. Temperatures fall a little during the monsoons, but rains might hamper your sightseeing plans.
