Madhya Pradesh · India
Where to stay in Bhopal
Bhopal is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India, home to about 1,798,000 people.
- Best months
- December to February
- Nearest airport
- BHO8 km · Raja Bhoj International Airport
- Currency
- INRIndian rupee
- Time zone
- Asia/Kolkata
- Language
- English, Hindi
About
About Bhopal
Bhopal is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the City of Lakes, due to presence of various natural and artificial lakes near the city boundary.
Bhopal (bhoh-PAHL) is a good mix of the old and the new with old portions of Bhopal reminiscent of the Mughal influence and the new ones showcasing the planned development of a modern Indian city. Bhopal is the seat of the Madhya Pradesh government and is a beautiful mid-sized city in the heart of India. It is said that Bhopal was first called "Bhoj-pal" after Raja Bhoj, who is credited with founding the city. It was an important part of the "Bhoj" kingdom with Ujjayini (modern-day Ujjain, about 190 km from Bhopal) being the seat of the kingdom.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Bhopal
See
Bhopal is a city rich in heritage and history. It's an amalgam of the old and the new, the rich and the poor, the wide roads of New Bhopal and the narrow "gullies" of Old Bhopal and a mix of planned development on one side with urban sprawl on the other. There are various places of worship in Bhopal, both old and new, that will give you a glimpse into the Mughal architecture, some of it from before the British raj. The people of Bhopal, particularly the mix of the Muslim and the Hindu population will also give you a glimpse of what makes India tick with different religions and cultures living together.
- Idgah
- Jama Masjid
- Moti Masjid
- Taj-ul-Masajid
- Laxminarayan Temple
- Manua Bhan Tekari
- Bharat Bhavan
- Regional Museum of Natural History
- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya
- MP Tribal Museum
- Science Centre
- Shaurya Smarak
Do
Bhopal is a fairly quiet city for nightlife, and has few clubs and bars. Most of the restaurants close around 11PM, although many in the larger hotels have bars that are open at least midnight. The hotels of Amer Palace and The Residency in the Maharana Pratap Nagar have nightclubs.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Bhopal to stay in
Bhopal has some good budget as well as 3- to 4-star hotels to choose from if you want to spend a few nights in the city. A couple of hotels in the old Bhopal area are considered Grand Heritage hotels as they have been converted from palaces and residences of the Mughal era to modern hotels. Jehan Numa Palace Hotel and Noor us Sabah Hotel fall under this category and staying here will transport you into an era where you will be able to imagine how the Mughal aristocracy lived a life of pure luxury. The customer service at both these hotels is exemplary and you will enjoy your stay here. Towards the New Bhopal area, Hotel Lake View run by the Ashoka group is a decent place to stay in.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Bhopal
208 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata; the 40 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Capital O 12341 Madhuram Landmark OYO Rooms | 5.5 km | |
| Capital O 1547 Hotel The Oasis OYO Rooms | 4.0 km | |
| Capital O 15671 Hotel Jalsa Dlx OYO Rooms | 9.7 km | |
| Capital O 2642 Skyline Hotel OYO Rooms | 7.7 km | |
| Capital O 27045 Pride Inn OYO Rooms | 3.4 km | |
| Capital O 30261 Hotel Vyanjan OYO Rooms | 4.9 km | |
| Capital O 47403 Hotel Manjeet OYO Rooms | 0.6 km | |
| Capital O 5402 Hotel Amar Vilas OYO Rooms | 8.8 km | |
| Capital O 66719 Hotel Harriot OYO Rooms | 9.7 km | |
| Capital O 66828 Hotel 4g OYO Rooms | 9.2 km | |
| Capital O 71580 Hotel Komal Palace OYO Rooms | 7.4 km | |
| Capital O 72374 Hotel JD3 INTERNATIONAL OYO Rooms | 6.4 km | |
| Capital O 75399 Convivial Square OYO Rooms | 3.5 km | |
| Capital O 78965 Hotel Arch Manor Dlx OYO Rooms | 4.2 km | |
| Capital O 81124 Hotel Bine Venue OYO Rooms | 4.0 km | |
| Capital O 81293 Hotel Aditya Palace OYO Rooms | 3.5 km | |
| Capital O 82138 The Dine Venue OYO Rooms | 4.0 km | |
| Capital O 8650 Hotel Johri Residency OYO Rooms | 2.8 km | |
| CAPITAL O76275 Hotel Kasturi Residency OYO Rooms | 9.6 km | |
| Citrus Prime Bhopal | 11.3 km | |
| Collection O 11546 Hotel CSFC OYO Rooms | 1.2 km | |
| Collection O 23700 HOTEL HTC OYO Rooms | 1.1 km | |
| Collection O 27042 Hotel Red Chilli OYO Rooms | 10.1 km | |
| Collection O 27658 Hotel New Mohit Regency OYO Rooms | 4.3 km | |
| Collection O 3995 Hotel Shree Kishan Palace OYO Rooms | 3.4 km | |
| Collection O 43265 Happy Stay OYO Rooms | 7.9 km | |
| Collection O 66979 Hotel Maanpreet OYO Rooms | 1.8 km | |
| Collection O 68451 Sugar Cube OYO Rooms | 9.4 km | |
| Collection O 82719 Hotel Udit Plaza OYO Rooms | 3.3 km | |
| Collection O 82847 Rajat Crown OYO Rooms | 2.3 km | |
| Collection O 84853 Suhana Guest Housee OYO Rooms | 7.1 km | |
| Collection O The President International OYO Rooms | 1.5 km | |
| Courtyard by Marriott Bhopal | 3.3 km | |
| Hotel 18 Keys | 4.5 km | |
| Ivy Suites | 3.4 km | |
| Jain's Hotel Rajhans | 4.3 km | |
| Jehan Numa Palace Hotel | 3.3 km | |
| OYO 10077 Indrapuri OYO Rooms | 4.7 km | |
| OYO 10472 Hotel Queen OYO Rooms | 2.0 km | |
| OYO 11307 Hotel Satya Villas OYO Rooms | 3.9 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Bhopal
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bhopal are December to February. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 41 °C; August is the wettest, with about 375 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Bhopal: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Raja Bhoj International Airport (BHO), about 8.3 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting around
Bhopal has a decent public transportation system comprising of buses, mini-buses and three-wheeled autos. It is also fairly easy to book a taxi for a full day to get in and around the city for reasonable rates. Ola and Uber are also available. Usually, any hotel you choose to stay in will help you get transportation according to your needs. If it's your first visit to Bhopal, the safest thing to do is book a taxi rather than try the public transportation system in Bhopal. A private firm operates citybus service with full-sized buses called Star-bus, which is quite safe to travel.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BHO · Raja Bhoj International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Bhopal
Eat
Bhopal, like any other north Indian city offers a rich Indian cuisine to explore. People enjoy eating the sweet - sour and spicy "chaat" in Bhopal. Due to the Mughal influence, Bhopal also offers delicacies like Kebabs, Goat Biryani, Chicken Tikka, Jalebi, and Ras Malai. The best chicken Biryani can be tasted at Jameel Hotel in old Bhopal. Sashas restaurant in Indrapuri offers good South Indian non-vegetarian delicacies. Hotel Jehanuma Palace in Bhopal has a very good restaurant that serves awesome North Indian delicacies. Hotel Noor us Sabah also has a couple of good restaurants to choose from.
Drink
For tourists from foreign countries, it's recommended that they stick to mineral water. If you want to be adventurous, try the sugarcane juice from the streetside vendors. If you are lucky, you will not get an upset stomach and will be able to enjoy the rich sweetness of sugarcane. Alcoholic drinks: Only use hotel bars for this as there are very few pubs in the city and the local bars are not a place to hang out. The only good place other than hotels is the Tavern Pub at Board Office Roundabout in M P Nagar.
Stay safe
Bhopal is generally a safe city for travellers, but the usual precautions for any Indian city apply.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Bhopal: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Bhopal?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bhopal are December to February. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 41 °C; August is the wettest, with about 375 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Bhopal?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Raja Bhoj International Airport (BHO), about 8.3 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Bhopal?
Indian rupee (INR).
Nearby
Destinations near Bhopal
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.