If you have one full day in Agra and you slept in the city the night before, this is the order we suggest. It puts the Taj Mahal in the best light, keeps you in shade for the hottest hours and ends with the tomb across the river at sunset. It works on any day except Friday, when the Taj is closed.
Before dawn: the Taj Mahal
Buy your ticket online the evening before, including the ₹200 mausoleum add-on, so you only have the security line to deal with. Be at the east gate 30 to 45 minutes before opening. The gates open about half an hour before sunrise, which in winter means a little before 7 a.m. and in early summer a little after 5.
Go straight through the great gateway and take the classic view first, before the channel paths fill up. Then visit the mausoleum early, while the line is short, and use the rest of your time for the side lawns, the mosque and the river terrace behind the tomb. Two and a half hours is plenty. You will be out by about 9:30, just as the tour buses arrive.
Breakfast and a rest
Go back to your hotel for breakfast. You have been up since before five, and the next stop has more shade than the Taj.
Late morning: Agra Fort
Agra Fort is about ten minutes from the Taj by road. The red sandstone walls and covered halls stay cooler than the open garden of the Taj, which makes the fort the best choice for late morning. Take two hours. Finish at the white marble pavilions on the river side, where you can look back down the Yamuna at the Taj you saw at dawn.
Foreign visitors pay a little less at the fort on the same day as a Taj visit, so keep the Taj ticket.
Lunch
Eat somewhere with air conditioning and take your time. The early afternoon is the worst part of the day for sightseeing in Agra for most of the year.
Mid-afternoon: Itimad-ud-Daulah
Cross the river to the "Baby Taj," Nur Jahan's tomb for her father. It is small, quiet and covered in inlaid stone, and it is on the same side of the river as the last stop. An hour is enough.
Sunset: Mehtab Bagh
Mehtab Bagh is a short drive along the north bank. The garden lines up with the Taj across the river, and as the sun goes down the marble turns gold and then pink. It closes at sunset, so be there at least an hour before. Walk to the riverbank wall, find a spot and wait.
Adjusting the plan
If you are coming from Delhi on the day, swap the order. Take the Shatabdi at 6:00 or the Gatimaan at 8:10, go to the Taj first, then the fort, and skip the river sights unless you are taking the late Shatabdi back. Our Delhi to Agra guide has the times.
If it is a Friday, do the fort in the morning, Fatehpur Sikri in the afternoon, and save the Taj for Saturday.
Afterward, write down one thing you want to remember about the day. The memory card on our home page turns it into an image you can keep.