Delhi, situated on the ancient trade and silk routes, is a marketplace for the whole of India and a shopper's paradise. Everything from fabrics to leather products, scarves, jewellery and ornamental items is available. Hard bargaining and intense haggling is the custom in this part of the world.

The price and quality range is vast, on a scale from one to a thousand. For example, you can get a scarf for one euro, but the best quality pashmina shawl costs one thousand euros. Prices per metre for silks start at one euro and end at... well, the sky's the limit. India is a Mecca for oriental carpets, but the merchants are renowned for their dishonesty. A cheap mat costs 30 euros, but for the finest you can pay 30,000 euros.

The top three of Delhi's ten best shopping places are the cheap Janpath, the moderately price State Emporium and the expensive Central Cottage Emporium, according to your taste.

1. Janpath
Colourful, very cheap trinkets, jewellery, scarves, sunglasses, bags, ornamental items, leather products and clothes. Here you can haggle to your heart's content!

2. State Emporium
Moderately priced and good quality products can be found at the State Emporium, which is situated on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, near to Connaught Place. In principle, the prices are fixed, but people often haggle here, too.

3. Central Cottage Industries Emporium
The Central Cottage Industries Emporium, situated on Janpath Street, is like a museum, with products on display from all the states of India. Prices are high, but you can also trust in the quality, which is the best there is. This is one of the only places where you do not haggle.

4. Connaught Place
Low-cost Delhi spread outs in the vicinity of Connaught Place, which was built as a centre of business life in the 1930s. Luxury boutiques, department stores and small shops line the horseshoe-shaped area. Close by is the Paharganj, which is popular with Western backpackers and where you can find accommodation for a few euros.

5. Palika Bazaar
The air-conditioned underground Palika Bazaar, popular with tourists, is situated under Connaught Place. Its hundreds of small shops focus on electronics and clothes. There are lots of fake goods, whose sale the authorities have failed to control.

6. Chandni Chowk
Delhi's oldest bazaars are situated near to the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid mosque. The area, criss-crossed by congested, narrow streets is the heart of Delhi, where sweets, foods and a multitude of other goods are sold.

7. Dilli Haat
The Dilli Haat, maintained by the Delhi Tourist Office, is a fenced outdoor area where you can calmly acquaint yourself with Indian handicrafts and foods. Prices are reasonable and artisans from various states rotate at two-weekly intervals, so there's always something new to be seen. There are often dance performances and music, too. The area is guarded and there is a small entrance fee.

8. Khan Market
Khan Market is a 70-year-old quality shopping area in an affluent, leafy park area next to Lodhi Gardens, near the India Gate. Everything is sold here, from bric-a-brac to shoes, saris and exotic fruits. The area is popular with embassy staff and tourists.

9. Sarojini Nagar
This is the place to find reasonably priced fabrics, interior textiles and clothes. The market has both local and international brands. The extensive area also has bakeries as well as a fruit and vegetable market. Indian is home to the factories of many quality brands, such as Gap, Levi's and Van Heusen, whose surplus stocks are sold here at knock-down prices.

10. Karol Bagh
One of Delhi's most important shopping areas and one of India's best known grey-market places, where local goods are sold: Indian clothes, jewellery and wedding attire. Karol Bagh's Ajmal Khan Market has Delhi's best showrooms for quality goods.