coolmunda

Please help me build a list of all the places I can visit in Islamabad, shopping areas, food places, inc reasonable priced hotels, taxi/bus routes and fares to each place.

Places to visit

- Shah faisal masjid
- Shakar pariyan

Parks

- Where is melody park?

Shopping

- Blue area?

Food
- Food street - (where is this located?)

Hotels
- Marriot
- PC
- Best Western


Thanks in advance

CM_2000

Pakora

jiss ka bus nahin chalta wohi bus leta hai...forget busses , just taxi's that even without a meter.

restaurants go to kitchen cuisine (good food), or food street , but the service there is really bad, jhangir, or haleem house cheap food.shopping go to jinnah and the surrounding area ..
also visit pir sahawa if the weather is cloudy..
hotel marriot is in islamabad, sarena is also there price range would be 15000 + per night pakistani rupee.
Local newspapers magzine would tell you what is happening in that particular week when u visit.

Pakora

and yes! melody park is some chechora place that I have never visited.

Pakora

go to civil junction for tea or coffee , on saturdays they have a live band performance.(sometimes)

yusuf1982

Shopping sucks in Islamabad, highly overpriced but everywhere in Islamabad is either a housing division or shopping division so you wont have much trouble finding one. Food, well melody food street has LOW quality food assured to give any foreigner deadly diareah, so avoid it at all costs. There arent any decent restaurants in town to be honest although I found cinnamon to be decent and if you know someone who's a member of islamabad club, their food is also good. Decent priced hotels would be Envoy continental in blue area, mariott and serena are really expensive. theres no proper bus route in islamabad so your stuck with taxi from wherever to wherever. if your staying in the F sectors I would expect to pay anywhere from 50-80 rupees max wherever u want to go. There is also this new taxi system called radio cab, u call them and they pick u up in a new corolla and take u anywhere u want, charge 50 rs pickup charge and 12 rs a km after that.

Mehnaz

What is shakar pariyan? Some pics would be nice.

Faisal

Blue Area has (had) a lot of really nice food outlets. One of my favorite Italian restaurants was there.. Papasaalis. Also Jinnah Super had a few places, including a very nice chinese.

coolmunda

Thanks for the advise pakora, yusuf and faisal. It doesn't look as though there is much to see in Islamabad compared to lahore.


yusuf, what is the cost per night to stay at Envoy continental? What is Blue Area exactly, just shopping and eating? how far is jinnah from blue area? thanks for the transport advise.

what is the F-sector?

Is there much to see in rawalpindi?

coolmunda

I've done some research and found some interesting places to visit in Islamabad..... which all seem to be parks

Fatima Jinnah Park
The entire sector of F-9 is being developed as an attractive urban park which will have a profusion of lakes, rock gardens, aquariums, fountains etc.

It has been named after Miss. Fatima Jinnah, sister of the founder of Pakistan.


Rose and Jasmine Garden

This 20,360 sq. meters rose garden is famous for its roses. It has 250 different varieties of roses as well as a dozen types of Jasmines. Flower shows are occasionally held here, particularly during spring. Nearby is the Tourist Camping Site.


Murghzar Mini Zoo and Children's Park

Murghzar Mini Zoo is located at the foot of Daman-e-Koh view point.

A display corner of Pakistan Museum of Natural History and a Japanese style children's park have also been established near the Zoo.

The Park is a gift to Pakistani children from the children of Japan. Islamabad Sports Complex.


Chattar Bagh

Nestling at the base of Murree hills at a distance of 15 km on Islamabad-Murree road, TDCP Chattar Bagh recreational facility provides a quiet break from the hustle and bustle of the twin cities.

Scenic walks, gently flowing stream, water fall and the surrounding hillside are a perfect attraction. The resort has a restaurant, barbecue and two air-conditioned tourist cottages. The Children's Park and playground are spread over an area of 12.5 acres.

coolmunda

where is this?

coolmunda

What about the house of parliment etc...it looks really beautiful located around those hills

coolmunda

click above

MiniMe

Pakora no ill will towards you but, sorry, I couldn’t just digest this....Islamabad is just a reflection of our elitist-cum-Bureaucratic-feudalistic mentality...imagine a city of or 800,000 people with no public transportation system....I think that its time the people should realize that….Ghareeb ka waqee main koi bus nahi chalta…

Bookworm

Islamabad is only 40 Years old city and there is not much history of the city itself. It also depends what you want to see. Close to Islamabad there are few other places which are just about 45 Min or more Drive away.

Said Pur Village (there is a train model made of clay)
LOK Virsa Museum
Rawal Lake
Lotus Lake
Texila Museum
Budhist Remains in Texila
Site of Old grand Trunk Road built by Sher SHah Soori
Wah Gardens
Murree
Ayub National Park
Rohtass Fort
Old Budhist Stupa in Mankiala
Old town of Rawalpindi

BTW there is a good transport system there but most of these attraction are away and that is why it is suggested that one should take taxi, unless you are not afraid of walking.

Pakora

Minni me: I agree with you 100 %.

btw: just to give you a reflection of house prices in islamabad , A four kanal house on margalla road that belonged to Mr ***** Hoti was sold for 15 crores recently.

civil junction is close to hot spot , that ice cream place.

Faisal Papasallis , one of my favourite too

Zakk

I never liked Papa Salis..Arizona Grill was cool..

lunaticCalm

^ has arizona grill shut down?
around 5 yrs back you couldnt go wrong with papasalis, dont know if they maintain the same standards today
zenose(sp) in melody and sufi on peshawar moor were excellent choices as well.

lunaticCalm

how close? is it in the same sector?
sometime ago they were thinking of turning a makeshift canteen to an icecream shop on the corner of nazmudeen and margala college road.

Code_Red

No public transport system ??

Have I been to some other Islamabad ?? For more than dozen times !

Where there are busses and wans running all around the city.

If they are not vanished in last year or so, then i think Islamabad's public transport system is well in place.

MiniMe

Code, there is a difference between public transportation and the privet buses and vans which are allowed to roam around the city, hurling passengers. Public transportation is a system, which on the very least level provides maps and schedules for the convenience of the public (poor public in case of Islamabad) and on a higher level provides the easiest and most convenient service between two points in an urban setup. Now look at Islamabad, and tell me when did it ever had a public transportation system? As a matter of fact there is no city, and I mean no city in Pakistan, which has ever published a public/private bus route chart for public convenience.

This 8% growth rate is just for the rich to get richer, I don’t see any thing such as public service and public convenience coming out of it.