The beautiful city of Indore is Madhya Pradesh's largest city and has a rich heritage of powerful empires, such as the Marathas and the Malwas. It has been an important site of trading from the 16th century between the Deccan and Delhi. With beautiful places, like the Lalbagh Palace, Kanch Mandir, Rajwada Palace and the lip-smacking cuisine of Indore, it is hard not to like the city. However, living in any place for too long can get boring and to break the monotony, we all crave for new places to explore. Luckily for the folks of Indore, the city is surrounded by magnificent places with intriguing places that have to be explored.
* Dhar Dhar is well known since it used to be the capital of the Malwa dynasty, before the limelight was shifted to Mandu. It is located just 67 km from Indore and is a perfect getaway for history enthusiasts. Dhar is dotted with ruins of forts, palaces and other remnants that belonged to the various dynasties that ruled over the city.
* Ujjain The ancient city of Ujjain is nestled on the river Kshipra and is one of the most popular tourist Hindu pilgrimage destinations of Madhya Pradesh. Ujjain is located just 56 km from Indore which is an hour's drive away.
* Bhopal Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh is located at a distance of 193 km from Indore, which is just a 3-4 hours drive away. The city is spread between two man-made lakes called the Upper Lake and Lower Lake.
* Mandu For all the architectural buffs, Mandu is certainly your weekend getaway. Located about 97 km from Indore, Mandu is a city full of magnificent forts and palaces. The Jahaz Mahal, also referred to as the Ship Mahal, was built by Ghiyas ud-din-Khilji, who ruled over Mandu for 31 years. It is the most popular attraction that was built in the late 15th century, in order to accommodate a huge harem for the King, that consisted of thousands of women.
* Ahmedabad Recently acclaimed as India's first UNESCO World Heritage City, Ahmedabad is truly a city rich with the heritage of many powerful dynasties. A 7-8 hour journey to Gujarat will take you from Indore to the glorious city of Ahmedabad, perfect for a long weekend.