Aminabad is the older, denser, much more chaotic bazaar district of Lucknow — laid out in the early 19th century by Nawab Amjad Ali Shah and now a maze of narrow lanes given over almost entirely to commerce. It is the city's traditional centre of the chikankari trade (white-on-white shadow embroidery on cotton or muslin), and dozens of small workshops still produce by hand in the lanes behind the main market.
It is also the best place in the city for street food — for basket chaat at Royal Cafe, for kulfi and falooda in summer, for piping-hot kulchas with nihari and paya in winter. Come in the late afternoon, walk slowly, and be prepared for crowds, motorbikes, and the kind of friendly chaos that has largely been zoned out of Hazratganj.