This museum contains one of the world’s finest collections of antique and modern Indian textiles, all handmade and up to 500 years old. There are some astoundingly beautiful pieces, displaying incredible virtuosity and extravagance. You’ll see Kashmiri shawls that took three years to make, and double-ikat cloths whose 100,000 threads were each individually dyed before weaving. A single tour is offered each day the museum is open; advance booking is absolutely essential as spaces are limited (20); call well ahead.

The tour takes in the main textile galleries, where you get to see remarkable examples of tapestries, royal garments, exquisite saris, tribal costumes, Patola and Mashru weaves and Bandhani tie-dye. A separate gallery showcases different examples of needlework from around the world, and you can also see sacred bronzes, pichwais (devotional cloth hangings) and miniature paintings.

Kids under 10 are not welcome. Photography is not permitted and bags are not allowed inside. The museum is in the Shahibag area, 3.5km north of the old centre, opposite the Shahibag Underbridge. An autorickshaw from Lal Darwaja should cost about ₹50.

Outside Delhi Gate, this Jain temple is one of 300 derasars in Ahmedabad. Even if you've already seen some, this one will make your jaw drop in wonder at its delicate carvings of deities, flowers, and celestial damsels in white marble. Built in 1848, it’s dedicated to Dharamanath, the 15th Jain tirthankar (great teacher), and each of the 52 sub-shrines in the courtyard is home to his likeness with bejewelled eyes. The caretaker may let you go on the roof.

In peaceful, shady grounds on the Sabarmati River’s west bank, this ashram was Gandhi’s headquarters from 1917 to 1930 during the long struggle for Indian independence. It’s said he chose this site because it lay between a jail and a cemetery, and any satyagrahi (nonviolent resister) was bound to end up in one or the other. Gandhi’s poignant, spartan living quarters are preserved, and there’s a museum that presents a moving and informative record of his life and teachings.

It was from here, on 12 March 1930, that Gandhi and 78 companions set out on the famous Salt March to Dandi, on the Gulf of Cambay, in a symbolic protest, with Gandhi vowing not to return to the ashram until India had gained independence. The ashram was disbanded in 1933, later becoming a centre for Dalit welfare activities and cottage industries. After Gandhi’s death some of his ashes were immersed in the river in front of the ashram.

It’s about 5km north of Lal Darwaja. An autorickshaw from the city centre is about ₹50.

This museum, 3km west of the river in Bhudarpura, displays a fascinating range of Gujarati folk arts – particularly from Kachchh – including wood carvings, metalwork and some wonderful embroidered textiles and amazing tie-dyed quilts. Look out for elaborate headdresses, beadwork, dowry boxes, household utensils, camel and horse ornaments made by the Rabari people and more. The curator can give you a free tour. An autorickshaw from the centre costs around ₹50; say you want to go to the Shreyas Foundation.

This mosque, tomb and palace complex is dedicated to the memory of Ahmed Shah I’s spiritual adviser, Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh. The elegant, dilapidated buildings cluster around a great (often dry) tank, constructed by Sultan Mahmud Begada in the mid-15th century. It’s an atmospheric place once used as a retreat by Ahmedabad’s rulers. It’s located in the Sarkhej area, 8km southwest of the old centre; a return autorickshaw from the city centre will cost around ₹150. Combine with dinner at Vishalla.

The mausoleums of Mahmud Begada (by the entrance, with geometric jalis casting patterns of light on the floor) and Ganj Baksh (the largest in Gujarat) are both here.

Built immediately after the founding of Ahmedabad in 1411, Bhadra Fort houses government offices and a Kali temple. Its mighty gate formed the eastern entrance of the Ahmedabad citadel, which stretched west to the river. From the roof (take left doorway), you can see the formidable structure and views of surrounding streets. Between the fort and the Teen Darwaja (Triple Gateway; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Lal Darwaja) to its east was the Maidan Shahi (Royal Square), now a seething marketplace, where royal processions and polo games took place.

One of four buildings in Ahmedabad designed by legendary Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, this one is the most striking. A dramatic ramp rises up the building, with slanted concrete brise-soleil (sun breakers) that make up the east and west facades allowing for air to circulate while blocking out the harsh sunlight. The mezzanine hosts temporary art exhibitions. If you wish to photograph the building, you need to seek permission first.

Part of the Shreyas Museum complex, this one features festival masks from around India, toys, crafts, musical instruments and, just to round things off, an elephant skeleton. Admission is free with entry to Lokayatan Folk Museum.

In the same building as the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, this gallery has an important collection of jewel-like illustrated manuscripts and miniature paintings. Best known is Chaurapanchasika (Fifty Love Lyrics of a Thief), written by Vilhana, an 11th-century Kashmiri poet sentenced to be hanged for loving the king’s daughter. Before his execution he was granted one final wish: he chose to recite these 50 poems, which so impressed the king that he gave Vilhana his daughter in marriage.

Part of the LD Institute of Indology, this museum houses a gorgeous collection of ancient and medieval Indian art treasures, including Buddhist, Hindu and Jain deities in stone, marble and bronze, 75,000 Jain manuscripts and miniature paintings. A 6th-century-AD sandstone carving from Madhya Pradesh is the oldest-known carved image of the god Rama.

The glorious, multicoloured, wood-carved Swaminarayan Temple, in the old city, was built in 1822 as the first temple of the Swaminarayan Hindu sect. Followers believe the sect’s founder, Swaminarayan (1781–1830), was the supreme being. The daily Heritage Walk starts here at 8am and usually coincides with worship at the temple, with chanting and music on full display.

At Vishalla restaurant, this excellent museum displays the graceful practicality of pots and utensils, with more than 4500 items from all over India, some 1000 years old. Look out for enormous oil containers, nutcrackers shaped like buxom women and a prototype samovar. It's around 7km southwest of the centre.

Inside one of four buildings designed by Le Corbusier, this museum covers Ahmedabad’s history, craft, art, architecture and literature. It includes sections on the city’s religious communities, Gandhi and the Independence struggle, as well as an excellent photography gallery and works by Gujarat's notable artists. On the ground floor there's a collection of 100 colourful kites, along with the history of kite-flying (the Chinese were the first to do so, in 200 BC).

Located next door to Sabarmati Ashram, it's well worth popping in here to see the ecofriendly toilet models and diagrams displayed in the garden. Ishwardada Patel (also known as Mr Toilet) made it his life's work to promote sanitation across India, where around 40% of the population still don't have access to clean latrines. His other aim was to free the human scavengers, belonging to the untouchables caste, from their degrading and dangerous job of cleaning dry latrines by hand.