Would like some advice on the must sees and must do's for Delhi for the 3 days that we have prior to joining an Intrepid Tour to Kathmandu.
We will move onto Agra the first day of the tour so a day trip here is not necessary.
Any tips on Delhi would be greatly appreciated.

Do you know which hotel you will be staying in?
Important to see both old and new Delhi to see the wide avenues, beautiful government buildings of red sandstone and elegant bungalows set in large gardens; and the bustling honeycomb lanes of Old Delhi. When doing Old Delhi I suggest you get your driver to park as close to the Red Fort as possible and you get rickshaws to take you through the laneways, getting out to see the Jama Masjid, the spice market and if time permits, the Sikh gurdwara (temple), a Jain temple and a Hindu one. All the rickshaw wallahs will know where to take you. Also stop for looking or shopping when you're in silver street, wedding street, etc. You can lunch safely at Karim's right in the heart of Old Delhi. After returning to the REd Fort, you could take a look inside, but if you're going to Agra the Red Fort there is much better. Otherwise, don't buy a ticket, but just shop at all the little places inside before the entry gate. Must bargain hard. There will be a security checkpoint here.
Day 2 you could visit the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru, a modern Hindu temple Lakshminarayan, over to Dilli Haat for excellent shopping, you can also eat safetly at the food stalls towards the back (I like the Punjabi stall). There is a sound and light show at Purana Qila (Old Fort). Visit Humayuns Tomb and down south to Qutab Minar, the site of the first mosque in India. If there at lunch time, lovely Thai food at nearby Ambawatta Complex on the top floor.
A walk around Connaught Place is always interesting, and underground at the Palika Bazaar. There are a couple of interesting shopping areas off Connaught Place - Janpath and Baba Karak Singh Marg where there are emporiums from all the Indian States.

Probably others will make other suggestions, in any case there will be plenty to do to keep you busy.

It would be good if you get a car and driver for your time there, otherwise you have the stress of dealing with taxis. Try outside your hotel as am sure hotel drivers would be more expensive.

Have fun!

For something a bit different off the tourist route - try the Lotus Temple and the Railway Museum. Both of these are rarely crowded with tourists.

Thanks for the replies - I love the sound of the little honeycomb laneways and the spice market - great!.

And Fenno - what about day 3 - loved the sound of your schedule for us so far - sounds perfect, how about finishing it right off for me?! ha ha

Im off to do a search on the things mentioned includeing the Lotus Temple -thanks PJ
As to the hotel - Its always the hardest decision to make.Ive been see-sawing...
We dont mind paying around the $100Aust which I think is a lot for India and we dont need anything special... the money would be to ensure the following convenient safe location, clean, reasonable noise and relaxation
So in that room rate range I thought Nirulas Hotel in L Block of Con Circus looked good but then found the much cheaper HD Coudhary Guest House in H Block of Con Circus and it looks ok.. the 3rd alternative is an alternative and its Master Guest House in New Rajinder Nagar, it has 4 rooms only - family guest house and actually looks really inviting... sigh - any suggestions here? -
thanks again

U could check Claridges Hotel, a recently renovated boutiquey property. Not sure it will fit in your budget. If you want to shop def check out Cottage Industries on Janpath. Think you have pretty much covered the sights. Def suggest u book car and driver - u may even want to consider a guide as it will help u enjoy the experience more.

We stayed last month at Master Paying Guesthouse. It is small, but with a wonderful group of guests. If you do not mind sharing the bath, I recommend the Guesthouse. Also, they serve a wonderful light dinner for about $3, and snacks can be ordered throughout the day. Dinners are served in the communal family/TV/reading room, which means that you have the opportunity to spend time with other guests from around the world.

Make sure you have reservations (they fill fast) and you have very good directions (it is in a nice neighborhood, but can be hard for some taxi drivers to find).

Greetings..It looks like most of the big sights of Delhi have been fully covered..I can suggest that you can visit some of the other neighhborhood/shopping areas to get a feel of Delhi...YOu may want to visit some of the markets in South Delhi, definately, Hauz Khauz Village very artistic/galleries, etc, Sundar Nagar market, (antiques, etc)-near the Oberoi and perhapsGK1 market, N Block, and then M Block where some excellent shops are, including FAB India..Also, walk down the Janpath Market, which is a road that goes off of Connagut Place, and heads up to the beautiufl IMperial Hotel..A great place to have lunch is in the garden of the IMperial Hotel, on Janpath..Also, in Delhi, a great thing to do is to eat, and some excellent resturants exist around Connaugt Place, and in many of the finer Hotels...About places to stay, Delhi is generally expensive, and even simple places around Connaught Place like Nirulas or the likes will cost you...Another area to stay which is value for the money is in Karol BArgh...However, if ya wnat to be in the thick of things, Connaught Place is the best bet, with a few options.,..There are also three/four very good Hotels located near this area which include the Grand Intercontinental, The Metroplotian NIkko, the Park, and the Imperial, and the Merridein.,..Most will be out of budget, but both the Park and the NIkko four/five star Hotels, among others, offer huge discounts if ya know where to look..Feel free to contact me at [email protected] and I can try to help you out as I am a American who lives in Delhi..Namaste Drea

Another reasonably priced hotel is the Oberoi Maidens, north of old Delhi. It is a lovely old place, built in the 30's from memory and has nice sized rooms. When I last stayed there, the subway was being built. On visits since then I haven't had a chance to take a ride, what's it like?

When I went that side of Del in Dec '03 the subway was not yet complete and the entrance to the maidens was badly affected. Avoidable IMO until the work is comp over! The parts of the delhi rail which have come up are brilliant.