Tourist Information Counters

MP Tourism
Gangotri
TT Nagar.
(Also check out their transport department for car hire.)
Tourist information offices at the railway station & the airport. There’s a 24-hour left-luggage facility at the railway station.

¤ Transport

Inter-city

Air : The airport is about 12km from Old Bhopal. Fixed rates operate for both taxis and rickshaws.
Indian Airlines
TT Nagar
Adjacent to MP Tourism.
Air India
GTB Complex
TT Nagar.

Rail : Bhopal is on one of the two main Delhi to Mumbai railway lines. There’s an extremely efficient air-conditioned reservation near the exit of the main terminal. There’s a separate counter for the Shatabdi Express within the terminal building itself.
It’s the terminus for the daily Shatabdi Express, which leaves New Delhi station at 6.15am, reaching Bhopal at 2 am and returning to New Delhi after a stop here of 40 minutes.
Other express trains connect Bhopal with:
Delhi (705km, 10-12 hours)
Mumbai (837km, 12-15 hours)
Agra (506km, 8¹/₂ hours)
Gwalior (388km, 6¹/₂ hours)
Jhansi (291km, 4¹/₂ hours)
Ujjain (188km, 3 hours)
Express trains leave for Sanchi (46km, one hour) at 0800am and 1440hrs (check timings). There are numerous slower passenger trains to Sanchi and Vidisha. For Khajuraho, travel to Jhansi and take a bus from there.
Other trains out of the city connect you to:
Bangalore: Karnataka Express; 31 hours
Calcutta (Howrah): Shipra Express; Thurs, fri; 29¹/₂ hours
Jabalpur: Amarkantak Express; Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sun; about 6 hours and Narmada Express; 7 hours.
Lucknow: Kushi Nagar Express;12 hours and Pushpak Express; 11 hours
Madras: Tamilnadu Express; about a day’s journey.
Mumbai (VT): Punjab Mail; about 15 hours.
New Delhi: Shatabdi Express; about 8 hours via Jhansi (3 hours) and Gwalior (about 5 hours).
Trivandrum via Coimbatore and Ernakulam: Kerala Express; about 2 days.
Ujjain: Narmada Express; about 5 hours.
Vidisha (also to Sanchi): Jhelum Express; about an hour.

Bus : There are numerous daily buses to:
Sanchi (1¹/₂ hours; via Raisen)
Vidisha (2¹/₂ hours)
Indore (six hours; or express, five hours)
Ujjain (five hours)
Jabalpur (11 hours)

There are no direct services to Mandu from Gwalior; you would have to connect through Indore.
There’s an overnight service to Khajuraho departing at 1930hrs (12 hours). But you would find it far more comfortable and convenient to go by train to Jhansi and then connect by bus from there on.
A computerized reservation system operates between 1100-2000pm for all deluxe and long distance buses.
MP tourism operates a very good air-conditioned bus to Indore (five hours, Rs 165). It departs from the railway station at 1430hrs, after having collected passengers off the Shatabdi Express (see Rail above).
There is also a non-air-conditioned service to Indore each morning at 8am (Rs 100) and a daily minibus to Pachmarhi (five hours, Rs 100).

¤ Intra-city

Local buses, tempos, taxis (unmetered) and auto-rickshaws (metered, except in the night when you might have to negotiate) and tongas. Mini buses for TT Nagar leave from front of Surya Hotel every two hours. Car hire here tends to be more expensive than in other states. MP Tourism (transport) has a/c and non a/c cars and coaches.


¤ Banks & Money Exchange

Indian Overseas bank
Near Surya Hotel.
Important: The State bank on Hamidia Road does not change TCs.


¤ Post & Telecommunications

Central GPO: TT Nagar
GPO: Sultana Road for Poste Restante


¤ Shopping

Most shops in Bhopal are open 0930-2000, and are closed on Mondays. The two main shopping centres are:
The Chowk (which is lined by picturesque old havelis and mosques)
New Market
Mrignayani Emporium, 23 New Shopping centre and Handicrafts Emporium, Hamidia Road are two good places for souvenirs hunting and they also stock a good collection of local handicrafts. Women’s Co-op Zari Centre, Pir Gate sells bags with some exquisite zari work (rich embroidery done with gold and silver thread) and chiffon sarees. MP State Emporium, GTB Complex, TT Nagar, specializes in chanderi saris and fabrics (combination of cotton and silk so sheer that the Emperor Aurangzeb insisted that his daughter wear seven layers of it!), as well as tussar and other raw silks.


¤ Recreation

British Council Library
GTB Complex
Roshanipura Naka
New Market.
Tues-Sat 1100-1900

Bharat Bhawan
Shamla Hills.
Tues-Sun 1400-2000 (Feb-Oct)
1300-1900 (Nov-Jan)


¤ Hospital & Medical Services

Hamidia Hospital, Sultania Road