At sunrise, Lucknow’s old streets and historic buildings are drawing a new crowd, young people with phones, cameras, sketchbooks and curiosity about the city beyond its familiar landmarks. Heritage walks, food trails, photowalks and Urban Sketchers’ regular meet-ups are giving participants a slower, more hands-on way to encounter Lucknow. The trend is visible in recurring events and active communities but there is no comprehensive data to establish how much participation has increased over time. Recent reports, however, show groups turning out for walks, organisers introducing themed experiences, and a younger generation using social media and in-person exploration to make the city’s heritage part of everyday life.From old lanes to food trailsLucknow Heritage Walks, led by founder Atif Anzar, brings together architectural history, local stories and food. A March 2025 walk during Ramzan drew around 60 enthusiasts, who travelled from Rumi Darwaza towards the Clock Tower and Satkhanda, learning about the city’s past and sampling dishes such as malai gilori, Kashmiri chai and samosas. The group included people from different age groups and walks of life, with some participants travelling from abroad to take part.
Picture is for representational purposes only (LT AI imagery)
The attraction is not limited to monument-hopping. Food walks connect the city’s built heritage with the kitchens, shops and streets where its culinary traditions continue to thrive. Anzar has also organised a dedicated vegetarian food walk in Chowk, drawing attention to a part of Lucknow’s food culture that he says is often overshadowed. The format is expanding, too. In April 2025, the Uttar Pradesh government announced plans for a wider Heritage Walk Project, with themed tours covering heritage, food and cuisine, handicrafts, eco-tourism, birdwatching and customised historical routes. Proposed food trails in Lucknow would include areas such as Aminabad and Chowk.A generation making its own routesFor those who enjoy history in a more conversational setting, another community called Chaqallas has created a unique space through its weekly historical baithaks held at Begum Hazrat Mahal Park and public spaces. Participants gather to exchange lesser-known stories and facts about the city. “A lot of Lucknow folks are now interested in knowing about its history, but not in the old traditional way. During our baithaks, the joinees come with their own facts and books that we end up discussing. Our heritage walks also include baithak sessions that help people debate and discuss the city’s history interactively,” says Faiz Majzoob, founder of Chaqallas.The walk itself can also be a social experience. In a city where younger people often meet over food, a heritage trail offers a different way to spend time together, moving through the city, listening to stories and sampling local food along the way.Seeing, not just sightseeingFor some participants, the point is to pause and look more closely. A photowalk invites people to notice a carved doorway, a fragment of fading paint or the way morning light falls across a wall. A sketchwalk asks them to stay with a scene long enough to draw it.That approach was on display in 2023, when Lucknow Bioscope and the Lucknow chapter of Urban Sketchers organised a photo-cum-art walk to Gori Bibi’s Tomb near La Martinière College. Artists and heritage enthusiasts arrived with cameras, notebooks, pens and paints. The event was reported as the second instalment of the organisers’ photowalks, with a remarkable early-morning turnout.Urban Sketchers Lucknow has since developed a regular rhythm of meet-ups. In August 2026, the chapter announced its 175th sketch meet at the Indira Gandhi Planetarium, describing it as open to everyone, including first-timers, with no registration required. The meet-ups have also taken participants to places such as Chowk Chauraha and Lalumal Ghat.That regularity suggests more than a series of one-off events. It points to a community where sketching becomes a reason to visit places that participants might otherwise pass without stopping. People gather, choose a view and interpret it in their own way, creating an informal record of the city through the eyes of those who live in it.
Heritage walk participants Shashwat Kumar and Sanchita Chaudhary during Basil Hashmi’s photography walk in Khairabad, Sitapur
A trend with roots and momentumLucknow’s official tourism website lists a guided old-city heritage walk, while private operators advertise heritage, culinary and photography tours. Students have also participated in organised walks for years. A 2023 event brought more than 60 school students and youth-club members to city landmarks, while an IIM Lucknow heritage walk in 2022 took 45 students through lesser-known parts of the old city.What feels newer is the mix of formats and the visibility of community-led activities, including food trails, creator-led walks, photo-cum-art outings and a sketching chapter that has reached its 175th meet. These are not simply tours for visitors. They offer residents, particularly younger participants, ways to learn about, document and experience their own city.A picture-perfect walk!Basil Hashmi, a Lucknow-based photographer who regularly participates in and organises photo walks, recently led a group of young Lucknowites on a trip to Khairabad, Sitapur. The journey began with a bus ride, bringing together photography enthusiasts to explore the town’s heritage through their cameras. “Over the years, I have seen photography walks become a way for people, particularly young Lucknowites to engage with the city beyond its familiar landmarks. There is a growing interest in exploring heritage sites, noticing architectural details and documenting everyday life through their own lenses. Through these walks, they get to exchange ideas, learn from one another and develop their own visual narratives of the places they visit. For the Khairabad photowalk, I wanted to take this spirit beyond Lucknow and introduce participants to a place with a rich but often overlooked history. The idea was to encourage them to look beyond the obvious and capture the stories, textures and details that make these heritage sites unique,” he says.
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Making history cool, one walk at a timeHeritage walks and historical baithaks are giving young Lucknowites a reason to explore old neighbourhoods, uncover lesser-known stories and meet others. “Every Sunday, we set out on heritage walks that take us to hidden monuments, where we explore their history through interactive discussions and shared experiences. We are now a community of around 3,000 people where heritage enthusiasts come together to discover the city. The younger generation wants to experience Lucknow on foot rather than just read about its past,,” says Snehil Agarwal, founder of Dastane-Awadh.Ansaf Khan, who organises food and history walks in Lucknow, says these curated experiences are helping people discover the city beyond its popular landmarks and eateries. “There is a growing interest in exploring Lucknow through such walks, as people want to understand the history and local culture behind what they see and eat,” he says.-Amina Ashraf
