Delhi

Delhi has been rebuilt by enough empires — Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, British and independent India — that its culture reads like sediment layers: Sufi qawwali at Nizamuddin, Mughal-era craft in Chandni Chowk, colonial architecture around Lutyens' Delhi, all a short walk from each other.

Zardozi embroidery and Meenakari enamel work, once made for royal courts, are still practiced by karigars in the old city's narrow lanes, alongside a street-food and market culture that's arguably its own living tradition.