Residency Road is Srinagar's main commercial spine, running from the Bund south of the city centre through the administrative district to Dalgate at the lake. During the British period it was the address of the Residency (the representative of British India to the Dogra court), the main hotels, the banks, and the best shops. It retains this role today: the main restaurants, the government offices, the established hotels, and the formalised handicraft shops are all on or just off Residency Road.
The road is useful rather than beautiful — functional urban India at its characteristic density. The restaurant options along it (Ahdoos, Mughal Darbar, and several others) are the best concentration of sit-down Kashmiri food in the city. The Government Handicrafts Emporium is on Residency Road. The Polo View market area branches off to the east. For practical Srinagar — banking, buying, eating, getting transport — Residency Road is the reference point. For atmosphere and history, the old city to the north is more rewarding.