Jaipur is pink stone, wide avenues, and a set of monuments that punish anyone who tries to see them at midday in May. The city is generous in the cooler months and perfectly visitable in the hot ones if you treat the afternoon as indoors. The plan is a morning monument, a market before you are tired, and a hotel you are happy to return to.
Amber Fort, above the city, should be the first big outing. Go at opening if you can. The courtyards photograph better in early light, and the climb or the jeep ride is more pleasant before the stone holds the day’s heat. City Palace and the Jantar Mantar sit in the old city and pair naturally with a walk through the bazaars nearby. Hawa Mahal is a facade you mostly admire from the street. Do not cross town twice to make it a separate event.
Markets without a mission
Johari Bazaar and the lanes around the old city are for looking: textiles, jewelry, spices, and a lot of things you do not need. Decide before you go whether you are buying or browsing. If you are buying textiles, compare two shops, ask what the fabric is, and walk away once. A driver who insists on a “better” emporium is on a commission. Your hotel can point you to a shop that is simply a shop.
Eat a serious thali or a Rajasthani lunch in a dining room, then snack later. Street food is part of the city and is wiser when the stall is busy and your stomach is already settled from a day or two in India. Drink water you trust. The heat makes dehydration look like tiredness until it is something sharper.
Getting around
Autorickshaws are the local tool. Agree the price or ask for the meter, and keep small notes. A car and driver for Amber plus a countryside stop can be worth it for a half day; a car for every movement inside the old city can be slower than walking. Book the Amber ticket plan you actually want — some routes and add-ons are separate — and keep one evening for nothing but the rooftop of wherever you are sleeping.