- Discover the acoustics of Golconda fort and Seven Tombs. Find the rooms with whispering walls in Golconda and the Echoing tomb in Seven Tombs complex. Also, explore the hamams in Seven Tombs and the very deep well.
- Feel the four hundred years of Charminar, Climb up on the Charminar and try locating High Court, Osmania Hospital, and Golconda Fort from the top.
- Count the seven Qutub Shahi tombs from a roof top in the western suburbs or from the Hyderabad Golf Course
- Climb the steps of Maula Ali and enjoy the view.
- Spend a day at Salar Jung Museum. Don't miss the Nizam's jewelry collection - it's bound to make heads spin.
- Listen to the silence of Mecca Masjid in a congregation of hundred thousand. Also, view the Mecca Masjid from the Nizamia Unani Hospital campus right opposite the Masjid. At the entrance courtyard of the mosque, a rectangular, arched and canopied building houses the graves of the Nizams who ruled Hyderabad, aka, Asaf Jahi rulers.
- Enjoy the cityscape from Birla temple
- Explore the Osmania University, the vast campus are green-lungs of the city
- Discover the Paigah tombs
- Visit the Hyderabad Public School, a school campus fit to be a palace
- Drive through the Mecca Darwaza, a Qutub Shahi era gate in Golconda fort that is still manned by army jawans. This got its name as it is apparently in the direction of the Mecca City where Muslims face to offer their prayers five times a day.
- Stroll through the Public Garden and see the Mosque beside Assembly building within the garden, Archaeology Museum, Jubilee Hall and Bal Bhavan
- Visit the Ramoji Film City. Hyderabad churns out more Tollywood films than Bollywood every year
- Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were once retreats outside the city. With rapid urbanization, find remnants of yesteryear holiday spots caught in between new development and ring-roads
- Drive through Hi-Tec City - an IT hub that could have been so much more - till you find the Durgam Cheruvu
- Trace the Shaikhpet Sarai built by the Qutub Shahi kings
- Go for a swim in the Mir Alam Tank and also locate the Nizami Observatory, a Space Observatory established in 1907 in the area.
- Circumcircle the roller coaster roads around KBR National Park, home to the Chiran Palace
- Look for the statues of Telugu literature trio Nannayya, Thikkana and Errana on the Tankbund
- Walk the bridges across Moosi - Purana Pul, Muslim Jun Pul, Naya Pul, Salar Jung Pul, Chaderghat Pul
- Trace the palaces of Nizams - Chowmahalla Palace (being restored by the grand daughter-in-law and great grandson of Nizam VII), Purani Haveli, King Kothi (now a hospital), Falaknuma Palace (being converted into a Taj hotel), Mahboob Mansion, Chiran Palace (now under Forest Dept), Hill Fort Palace (now Ritz Hotel), Bella Vista (now Administrative Staff College), Basheer Bagh Palace (now dismantled); the palace of Salar Jungs - Dewan Devdi (now houses GHMC); the palaces of Paigah nobles - Paigah Palace (now houses US Embassy; earlier HUDA), Asman Garh Palace (now an archaeology museum) and numerous others
- Listen to qawwali at Yousufain dargah, walk the almost magical streets around it and taste Chakna at a cheap restaurant
- Buy Laak ki Choodiyaan in Laad Bazaar
- Get lost in a black sea of burqas while shopping at Madina on Chaand Raat (eve of Eid-ul-Fitr)
- Admire the stone buildings of Patherghatti and haggle for some fine pearls in Char Kaman, Gulzar House
- Catch a cultural program or two at Ravindra Bharti
- Admire the Nizam era architecture - the High Court, Osmania Hospital, Unani Hospital, City College, City Library, Assembly Building, Jubilee Hall, Osmania Medical College, Osmania Arts College, Moazamjahi Market, Pathergatti
- Go boating (sailing if you are a pro) in Hussain Sagar lake and catch a glimpse of largest monolith statue of Buddha
- Walk through the Mahboobia school, Nizam college to All Saints school - educational institutions that are 100 to 150 years old
- Hunt for books (used) in Abids' roadside book bazaar on Sundays
- Walk through some neighborhoods - Red Hills has some fading art deco buildings, Humayun Nagar had some decent bunglows and villas now giving way to commercial projects, Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills houses the city's elite
- Exchange old cut notes and buy attar in the vintage Moazamjahi Market and while you are there, give the kulfi (Rs. 7 only) at Famous Ice Cream a try
- Discover kahwa, suleimani, harees and football in the Little Arabia of Barkas - erstwhile colony of Nizam's army and a corruption of the word 'barracks'
- Count mosques and tombs as you pass through the main street in Karwan
- Walk the bylanes of Hussaini Alam to discover oddities like Deccan Button Factory, surprises like Jamia Nizamia and shockers like Khursheed Jah Palace
- Drive down to mango farms in Kandi on Bombay Highway in summer for some great mango varieties - Benishaan, Rasaal, Malika, Langda, Dusseri, Shakkar Gutli, Himayat. Enjoy the arid boulders of Deccan plateau of your return drive
- Get yourself a Sherwani stitched at Silver Jubilee, Abids. The master tailor may be a little fussy but what else do you expect from a guy who's doing Sherwanis for several decades now?
- Shop for some fine silks at Handloom House, Nampally
- Catch a movie at Santosh Sapna - a 70mm-35mm combo theatre - before it is torn down to build a multiplex
- Walk through British era markets - General Bazaar and Tobacco Bazaar - now wholesale cloth markets
- Meet the city's rich and young on a pub crawl - Ahala, Liquids, Touch, Poison, Dublin, 10D - where the party doesn't stop at 11p
- Understand the Khada Dupatta, Sharara, Gharara, Laancha and other wedding dresses
- Climb up to the roof of a 300 year old mosque and listen to five adhaans at a time in the muslim quarters of old city
- Discover a whole world of spices, herbs and dry fruits in the yellow drawers of Dawasaaz stores
- Attend a Hyderabadi Muslim wedding and listen to the teen-maar of a marfa band
- Enjoy Irani chai, Osmania biscuit and Onion samosa in a street-side cafe with bent-wood chairs, marble table tops and open shutters
- Hog Biryani at Paradise (Paradise Circle); Mandar, Banne Nawab (Salarjung Colony); Nayaab, Shadaab (Madina). Nayaab and Shadaab may have more atmosphere of old city but the taste is as good as it gets at other places too
- Understand Hyderabad's naan (oval and square shaped). They sell it hot from the earth ovens on most street corners in old city. Uzbeki Naan of ITC Hotels comes closest in bread family to the Hyderabadi Naan
- Feast on some spicy Boti Kababs from the grill and hot Rumaali Roti tossed directly in your plate
- Wake up early for some steamy greasy Paaya Nahari and Kulche
- Enjoy the road side Pani Puri (or Gup Chup as it is sometimes called)
- Buy dry fruit biscuits at Karachi bakery
- Savour the fiery Andhra meals (full/plate) and tiffins
- Find the spicy and tangy Mirchi ke Pakode on roadsides
- Fill up yourself with the Chicken 65 cooked in red color and seasoned with fried curry leaves. Usually served in brown melamine bowls on roadside Chinese eateries.
- Indulge yourself with the delicious Hyderabadi cuisine - Biryani, Bagare Baigan, Luqmi, Haleem, Dalcha, Pasinde, Pathar ka Ghost, Khubaani ka Meetha
- Eat Haleem and Dahi bade from shacks on street corners during the month of Ramadan
- Offer Eid-ul-Fitr / Eid-uz-Zuha prayers in an eidgah
- Catch a film festival at the Lalitha Kala Toranam
- Watch world cinema at Hyderabad Film Club, Sarathi Studios
- Listen to the city's literati at the annual Urdu Academy mushaira in Numaaish grounds
- Enjoy the Deccani Urdu. There are fine nuances which make it structurally more similar to Telugu than to Lucknowi Urdu. But what the heck, enjoy "naan ki roti khao ji" and "paani nahane jaaroon"
- Enjoy the night-view of the City from Dargah Hakeem Shah Baba, Hakeempet (Behind Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills)
- Try the awesome fruit salad at International Juice Center Mehdipatnam, or Ice N Spice Tolichowki OR Fruit Juice Center on ChowMahalla Palace road near Charminar.
- Visit the 800 year old Kalpavriksha tree in Golconda Fort, which is supposedly 80-feet in circumference, hollow in the middle and can accommodate up to 12 people.
- Try the mutton achar (pickle) at Nampally
- Trace the ‘overhead canal’ near Shaikpet the brings drinking water from Manjeera river to Hyderabad.
- Spot peacocks at Chiran Palace (now, KBR Park) early morning
- Trace the 105-year old beautiful Spanish Mosque in Begumpet, the one of its kind in India.
- Spot the Saidanima’s Tomb Near the Hussain Sagar Sailing Club (Towards Mariott Hotel)
- Explore the Mir Chowk Bazar (after Laad bazaar near Charminar) for antiquities and pets.
- Hog on some awesome hand-made ice-cream at Famous Ice-Cream Center Moazam Jahi Market (Near Abids)
- Trace the Aladin Mansion on Begumpet Road (right beside Shopper’s Stop)
- Hog on awesome beef cuisine like boti kebab, seekh kabab, tala hua gosht, and beef biryani at spots like Alhamdulillah Hotel (Nampally), Prince Hotel (Mehdipatnam) and Rumaan Hotel (Tolichowki)
- Buy a pair of Saleem Shahi shoes at Chatta Bazar (near Salar Jung Museum on Charminar road)
- Trace the Central State Library, the biggest library in Asia. The library is located at Afzal Gunj on the bank of the River Musi. It houses 500,000 books and magazines including some rare palmleaf manuscripts. This library is at the apex of the library system in the state.
- Explore the Begum Bazar market, the hub of wholesale commercial activity in Hyderabad.
- Explore the Jagadish Market, the hub of Mobile and Electronic stores in Hyderabad
- Trace the Koti Women’s college. The area's name comes from the word because of Koti Residency. This was later converted to house the British resident James Achilles Kirkpatrick and which was, in 1949, converted into the campus of the Osmania University College for Women.
- Explore the Annual Industrial Exhibition aka Numaish held annually for 45 days starting 1st of January every year.
- Trace the Taramati-Baramati Baradari on the other side of Golconda fort
- Trace the Dargah of Shaik Ji Hali near Gulzar Houze for its unique marble work.
- Trace the Dargah of Hazrat Shah Mohammed Hassan Qibla (RA) Abul Ullai near Bhoiguda Kaman (near Aghapura) for its amazing architecture.
- Trace the Ghode ki khabar (apparently the grave of a warrior’s horse) this again is near Nampally, Aghapura. If traveling by Auto, just tell him to take you to Ghode Ki Khabar Nampally.
- Explore the Hyderabad Zoological Park.
- Trace the Lal Bahadur Stadium, aka Fateh Maidan.
- Trace the house, Golden Threshold, of Sarojini Naidu, which currently houses the Hyderabad Central University’s office at Nampally.
- Visit the SudhaCar’s Museum, BahadurPura, which has a good collection of modified vehicles which are in different shapes and sizes. It houses the world’s tallest tri-cycle, shortest double-decker bus and the smallest bike, apart from a bedcar etc.
- Enjoy the evening breeze at People’s Plaza Necklace road.
- Enjoy the awesome North Indian chaats at Sindhi Colony, Behind Paradise Hotel.
- Trace and count the number of Tombs you will find in Nampally and surrounding areas.
- Explore the ‘Secret Lake’ and the beautiful rocks in the adjacent park aka Durgam Cheruvu in Jubilee Hills
- Try the famous hyderabadi breakfast spread: Kichdi, Khatta, Kheema and Papad at one of the Hotels like Prince, Rumaan or Alhamdulillah.
- Try the Arabian Cuisine blended with Hyderabadi flavors at Dine Hills Masab Tank.
- Explore the Khowa/Mawa market near Shah Ali banda Charminar and try some plain khowa with sugar.
- Try some Chicken Shawarma and Murgh Tabak at Tolichowki Food Courts
- Explore the imported stuff market at Shahran (Behind Shahran Hotel, near Charminar)
- Try Camel riding on the Necklace road
- Trace the Gulzar Houz Fountain near Charminar
- Trace the grave of the last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan at Judi Mosque in King Kothi area.
- Explore the Mir Alam Mandi on Pathergatti road near Charminar.
The above are an improvisation to the original list here
