Cities of Punjab are agriculturally well suited for growing various crops like wheat, rice, sugar cane as well as fruits and vegetables, earning for Punjab the nickname of "Granary of India" or "India`s bread-basket." Cities of Punjab have a rich culture of self-dependence, self-reliance and hard work. The important cities of Punjab are Chandigarh, Amritsar, Firozpur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Rajpura, Barnala, Muktasar, Phagwara, Khanna, Malerkotla, Abohar, Moga, Batala and Hoshiarpur.
Amritsar
Amritsar is an important city of this state. This place is quite famous among the global travellers for the dazzling Golden Temple. This city also has historical value as the Jalianwalabagh Massacre took place in this city.
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is the capital city of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh is the first planned city of India. Chandigarh is the base to numerous architectural projects of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki and Albert Mayer. This city is considered as the cleanest city in India. Most of this city is covered by dense Banyan tree and Eucalyptus plantations. Asoka, Cassia, Mulberry and other trees flourish in the forested ecosystem. Chandigarh has the largest number of vehicles per capita in India. There are many display gardens across the city, comprising the Rock Garden that is built mostly from waste material and the Rose Garden. Other gardens include Garden of Annuals, Fragrance Garden, Hibiscus Garden, Chrysanthemum Garden, Botanical Gardens and Shanti Kunj.
Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur is another important city of Punjab. Bathinda is home to two modern thermal power plants, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in the city and the other one, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat. This city has one of the famous food grain and cotton market in northern India.
Firozpur
Firozpur is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District. It was founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351AD), a Muslim ruler of the Tughluq Dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. Firozpur today is an administrative and transportation center. Firozpur is called "the land of martyrs". After partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the Indo-Pakistan border with memorials of India`s freedom fighters. Firozpur also holds a historic place in Indian history as it was from here that British Government of India established control over much of North-West India as well as what is now Pakistan through the Anglo-Sikh Wars that were fought in this region.
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is one of the 22 districts in the state of Punjab in North-West Republic of India. The capital is Jalandhar City. Nawanshahr district excluding the Balachaur sub-division was part of the original Jalandhar district until the mid-1990s when a separate district of Nawanshahr was created including Nawanshahr and Banga areas of Jalandhar district and Balachaur area of Hoshiarpur district.
Patiala
Patiala is a city in south-eastern Punjab. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the Qila Mubarak (the Fortunate Castle). It was constructed by militiamen Sardar Lakhna and Baba Ala Singh in 1763.
Ludhiana
Ludhiana is a city and a municipal corporation in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab, and is the largest city of north of New Delhi. The population increases substantially during the harvesting season due to the migration of labourers from the eastern states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Delhi. It has an area of about 3767 square km. The city stands on the Sutlej River`s old bank, 13 km south of its present course. It is a major industrial centre of northern India, and was referred to as India`s Manchester by the BBC.
Rajpura
Rajpura is a city in Patiala district has an average elevation of 259 meters. Rajpura is bounded by a number of major cities like Chandigarh, Patiala, Ambala and Ludhiana.
Pathankot
Pathankot is a Municipal Corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. In 2011 it became the capital of Pathankot district in Punjab, India. The name Pathankot comes from Pathania Rajput, who was the king of Nurpur. Pathankot was the capital of Nurpur prior to 1849. Pathankot is at the meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to its ideal location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states. Pathankot is the 6 most populous cities in the state of Punjab, situated in the foothills of Kangra and Dalhousie, with the river Chakki flowing close by, the city is often used as a rest-stop before heading into the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Dalhousie, Chamba and Kangra.
Bathinda
Bathinda, named after the Bhati kings, is one of the oldest cities in Punjab and the current administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is in north western India in the Malwa Region, 225 km west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth largest city of Punjab. Bathinda is nicknamed the `City of Lakes`, courtesy of the artificial lakes in the city, and was once known as Tabar-e-Hind (or Tabarhindh), meaning the Gateway to India. The first empress of India, Raziya Sultan in Islam rule was imprisoned in the Qila Mubarak fort in Bathinda.
Barnala
Barnala serves as the headquarters of the Barnala district. It is situated in the heart of the state. Barnala is well known for textile market in the area.
Dharamkot
Dharamkot is a city and a municipal council in Moga district in Punjab.
Mohali
Mohali is a city which is a commercial hub lying adjacent to the city of Chandigarh in Punjab. It is administrative headquarters of Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar District. It is still known and popular, as Mohali among local people and other parts of India.
Batala
Batala is the eighth-largest city in the state of Punjab, India, in terms of population, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bhatinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. It is an A-grade municipal council in Gurdaspur District in the state of Punjab. It is located about 32 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district.
Sri Muktsar Sahib
Sri Muktsar Sahib is a city and district headquarters for the district of Sri Muktsar Sahib. The main gurdwara in Muktsar is Gurudwara Tuti Gandi Sahib, which was built by the first Sikh residents of the city that settled in the city in 1743
Moga
Moga is a city in the Indian state of Punjab. Moga became part and headquarters of 17th District in the state, Moga district of Punjab state on 24th day of November 1995. Before this, Moga was a part of Faridkot District as a tehsil. Moga town is situated on the National Highway 95 (NH-95 Ferozpur-Ludhiana road). The area of Dharamkot block with 150 villages has been merged into Moga district, which falls under the jurisdiction of Ferozpur division.
Abohar
Abohar is a municipal committee in Fazilka state of Punjab, north east of Sri Ganganagar and south east of Fazilka.
Malerkotla
Malerkotla is a city and a municipal council in Sangrur District in Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Government of India. The state acceded unto the union of India in 1947 and was merged with other nearby princely states to create the Patiala and East Punjab States` Union (PEPSU).
Khanna
Khanna has the largest grain market in Asia, followed by the grain market of Rajpura (Punjab). Khanna is an ancient town which came into existence 500 years back.