Ahmedabad rewards visitors who walk. The morning Heritage Walk through the old city is the single best introduction — two hours through the pols of carved wooden havelis from the Swaminarayan Temple to the Jama Masjid. The walled city was India's first UNESCO World Heritage City and most of its great monuments stand within it: Bhadra Fort, Teen Darwaza, the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, and Manek Chowk.
Across the river, the Sabarmati Ashram is the second great sight — Gandhi's home and the starting point of the Salt March. The west bank is also where Ahmedabad's spectacular modernist architecture stands: Louis Kahn at the IIM, Le Corbusier at the Sanskar Kendra and Villa Sarabhai, Balkrishna Doshi's Sangath studio.
Allow time for the smaller museums — the Calico Museum is one of the world's great textile collections, and the L.D. Museum holds extraordinary miniature paintings. Day trips north to Adalaj Stepwell and southwest to Sarkhej Roza round out a 3-day visit.