Bengaluru (Bangalore), India — Where to Go
Bengaluru (Bangalore) Sightseeing Overview
Sightseeing in Bengaluru city which have functional as well as sightseeing interest to visitors - Gandhinagar to the west and MG Road 4km (2.5 miles) to the east. Gandhinagar has the central bus stand and the main railway station. Known locally as ‘Majestic', it is crowded, bustling and full of shops, cinemas and budget hotels.
MG Road has mid-range accommodation, banks, restaurants and tourist information. In between is Cubbon Park, Bengaluru's equivalent of Central Park in New York – one of the reasons Bengaluru is known as the Garden City. Round the northern fringes of the park are the British-era buildings, the High Court, a golf course and a racecourse.
Bengaluru (Bangalore) Tourist Information
Government of India Tourist Office
KFC Building, 48 Church Street
Tel: (080) 2558 5417.
Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation and Department of Tourism
49 Khanija Bhavan, West Gate, Racecourse Road
Tel: (080) 2227 5883.
Bengaluru (Bangalore) Sightseeing
There are free passes to many of the tourist sights and reduced-price passes for others and the many museums. They are available from KSTDC.
Bengaluru (Bangalore) Sightseeing
There are free passes to many of the tourist sights and reduced-price passes for others and the many museums. They are available from KSTDC.
Key Attractions in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India
Cubbon Park
This large, 120-hectare (300-acre) green space right in the heart of the city is shaded by massive clumps of bamboo and is a perfect place for picnics. One feature is a statue of the old colonial empress herself, Queen Victoria.
Near MG Road
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Admission charge: N.
Lalbagh Botanical Gardens
Lalbagh means ‘red garden' and a feature of these botanical gardens, located 4km (2.5 miles) south of the city center, is an enormous swathe of red roses. The gardens were laid out in the 18th century by Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan and many of the trees have been there since the beginning. They are home to one of India's largest collections of rare tropical plants and a glasshouse modeled on London's Crystal Palace.
South Bangalore
Tel: (080) 2657 3667.
Website: www.horticulture.kar.nic.in/lalbagh.htm
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 0600-1900.
Admission charge: N.
The Fort and Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace
A few minutes walk south of the City Market are The Fort and Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace. The fort was built in stone by Tipu Sultan on the site of an earlier mud brick one. Much of it was destroyed in the wars with the British and it has not been restored or well maintained. Tipu's Summer Palace is built of wood and has notable teak pillars but much of its painted decoration has disappeared.
Krishna Rajendra Road
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1800.
Admission charge: Y.
Bull Temple
Dating from the 16th century, Bull Temple contains a giant granite monolith of a sacred bull called Nandi. Large number of devotees visits the enormous monolithic statue of the sitting bull every day. There are often prayer gatherings, musicians and wedding processions to be seen.
Bugle Hill
Opening times: Mon-Sun 0600-2000.
Admission charge: N.
Iskcon Temple
The Iskcon Temple, 8km (5 miles) northwest of the city, is a shiny, modern, lavishly decorated temple. Iskcon stands for International Society of Krishna Consciousness, sometimes known as the Hare Krishnas. It is open to the public and has a multimedia cinema showing films on the Hare Krishna movement. For the converted there are five shrines.
Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road
Website: www.iskconbangalore.org
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 0600-2000.
Admission charge: N.
Further Distractions
Vishana Soudha
The Vishana Soudha is Bengaluru's most imposing building. It was built in 1954 by convicts in the ancient Dravidian style, complete with onion domes. It houses the Secretariat and the State Legislature. As such, it is not open to the public.
Cubbon Park
Bangalore Palace
Bangalore Palace, in the north of the city, was built in 1880 during the time of the British Raj as a replica of Windsor Castle, complete with granite towers, turrets, Gothic windows and battlements. Mainly built of wood, it boasts splendid carvings and paintings. It was purchased by the descendants of the royal dynasty, the Wodeyars of Mysore, and part of the family still live here.
Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar
