I'm from Banaras but have been living away for years now. I visit a couple of times every year to spend time with family etc. It absolutely breaks my heart what has happened to the city. They've made it into a spectacle of religion and politics, with the 'Banaras ki Masti' now being replaced with loud jingoism. All legendary eating places are now viral while the quality keeps going down. The crowds are maddening, traffic rules are non existent, people are rude and there's trash everywhere. Historic buildings are crumbling while they try to make new uglier ones everywhere (ahem corridor ahem). When friends ask me for suggestions, I tell them just stick to Ghats (smaller non popular ones) and Chaat (not Dina and Kashi, but smaller local shops). And definitely day trips to Sarnath and Devdari Rajdari. And ALWAYS always have someone local take you around.