LIKE PARIS AND The Eiffel Tower, the city of Agra is forever entwined with its most famous of monuments, The Taj Mahal, built by a broken-hearted Shah Jahan in the mid 1600s.
Like Paris, the city is also so much more than tha structure at its heart. Some other peaks of Moghul architecture also lie here on the banks of the Yumana River. Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah, small and intimate, may even surpass the Taj in grace and elegance. Several centuries of forts and palaces sit on the opposite bank, where one of the world’s greatest builders lived, loved and tragically died.
Few cities are as intrinsically linked to a building as Agra is to the Taj Mahal. A great many people know this masterpiece to love would not know the name of the city where it sits.
In 1504 Sikandar Lodi moved the capital of the Delhi Sultanate here, and today the city has a population of around 2 million.
As is often the case in India, arriving by train is the prefered option.
Like most countries, train travel is an insight to the soul of a country.
Even if sometimes that means joining several queues and filling out the wrong form.
Tightly packed bazaar streets surround the Taj, and the city's other great monument, Agra Fort.
The Yamuna River flows through the city, with most of the town on the west bank.
A short forest walk to the east of the Taj passes through villages, tombs, temples and mosques, and provides some good vantage points to see Shah Jahan's marvel.
Some excellent views can also be had from the east bank's royal garden, Mehtab Bagh.
While modern pollution has undoubtedly left a mark on the marble structure, walking within the grounds and seeing it up close is truly one of life's great experiences.
Those first views are unforgettable.
The second no less. Swim in the moment. Ignore the jostling of selfish sticks. Put your own camera down, too.
From 1631 to 1648, 20,000 people, from engineers, carvers, artists, to calligraphers, architects, craftsmen and laborers, toiled away.
Shah Jahan was heart broken when his second wife Mumtaz Mahal died, and this is the masoleum he built in her memory.
John Shors' "Beneath a Marble Sky" is a moving account of the dynasty, the building and the tragic end of this sad tale.
Shan Jahan's cruel son, Aurangzeb, siezed the throne, and imprisoned his father in the palace in Agra's Red Fort, from where he had a tantilising view of the building he could not touch.
While it will always play second fiddle, Red Fort must not be missed. It began life as 10th centurt fort, and was built and rebuilt over the centuries.
The Hauz Jahangiri was built by Akbar in the 15th century.
Shahjahan built the Shish Mahal (Glass Palace) as a Summer Palace. Two tanks and fountains, connected by a canal keep it cool and comfortable in the scorching heat of Agra.
The "glass" moniker comes from the distinctive glass mosaics which were added to brighten it's interior.
Shah Jahan also built glass palaces in Delhi and Lahore, but this is universally regarded as the finest.
The Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) is just one of the other elegant buildings in the garden filled complex.
Most cities would be content with these two great complexes, but Agra's citizens boast another delicately elegant masterpiece.
Itmad-ud-Daula is a small tomb complex commissioned by Nur Jahan, containing beautiful white marble and pietra dura inlay.
Sometimes called the "Bachcha (baby)Taj" and described as a "jewel box", it pre-dates the beginning of the Taj Mahal by 4 years.
Built on a 1m high base, the actual masoleum building is just 23m square. Walls of Rajahstani marble are pimped with jewels.
A number of outer buildings and tradition Persian-influenced Mughal gardens surround the 4 towered building.
Arguably the most gorgeous of all Mughal buildings, the extrior walls bear Koranic verses, the cool interior decorative motifs.
Marble inlay like this.
Itmad-ud Duala is a short ride over the Yamuna River from the Red Fort.
A couple of kilometres further on, the royal gardens, Mehtab Bagh provide some of the best afternoon views of the city's most famous tomb.
Ustad-Ahmad, the Lahori architect, had the Taj built on a 6.6m raised platfrom to give unobstructed views of the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal.
He also tapered the minarets, borders and caligraphy, so they would appear straight all the way to the top.
Symmetry is further enhance with twin buildings either side of the central building, a guest house to the east, and this, the Kuan Ban Mosque to the west.
While each of the elements, the gardens, the gates, the ornamental pools and fountains are works of art in their own right, the all fit together perfectly, making The Taj more than the sum of its parts.
Unlike the streets outside! The chaotic maze of shops and restaurants and peddlers and spices and livestock could not contrast more with the gilded insides.
It would be wrong to ignore the everyday life of the everyday Agran- not that that is even possible!
Inhale the spices....not literally....the smells...
Tuck in to a thali.
Savour the sweets.
Watch the world whizz, rattle, belch, bump, and crawl by.
Take in all the colour that India offers.
Because India at its best, can be hard to beat.