Best things to do in Bangalore
From Cubbon Park, a well-maintained 120-hectare garden in the heart of the city, to the world-class National Gallery of Modern Art and atmospheric temples, here are the best things to do in Bangalore.
#1 Chill out at Cubbon Park
A welcome green space in the heart of the city, shaded by massive clumps of bamboo, Cubbon Park is entered from the western end of MG Road, presided over by a statue of Queen Victoria.
Several prominent historic landmarks are located within its sprawling expanse, including the State Central Library, one of the oldest and largest in the country, housed in the impressive red Sheshadri Iyer Memorial Hall, and the colonnaded, red-brick High Court of Karnataka (Attara Kacheri), while the famous Chinnaswamy cricket stadium and domed St Mark’s Cathedral sit nearby.
#2 Delve into the prehistoric artefacts of the Government Museum
The poorly labelled and maintained Government Museum features prehistoric artefacts, Vijayanagar, Hoysala and Chalukya sculptures, musical instruments, paintings and Deccani and Rajasthani miniatures.
It includes the adjacent Venkatappa Art Gallery, which exhibits twentieth-century landscapes, portraits, abstract art, wood sculpture and occasional temporary art shows.
#3 Visit Vidhana Soudha, India’s largest civic structure
Built in 1956, Bengaluru’s vast State Secretariat, Vidhana Soudha, is the largest civic structure of its kind in the country.
Kengal Hanumanthaiah, chief minister at the time, wanted a “people’s palace” that, following the transfer of power from the royal Wadiyar dynasty to a legislature, would “reflect the power and dignity of the people”. In theory its design is entirely Indian, but its overall effect is not unlike the bombastic colonial architecture built in the so-called Indo-Saracenic style.
#4 Wander the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens
Inspired by the splendid gardens of the Mughals and the French botanical gardens at Puducherry in Tamil Nadu, Sultan Haider Ali set to work in 1760 laying out the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, 4km south of the centre.
Originally covering forty acres, just beyond his fort – where one of Kempe Gowda’s original watchtowers can still be seen – the gardens were expanded under Ali’s son Tipu, who introduced numerous exotic species of plants, and today they house an extensive horticultural seedling centre.
The British brought in gardeners from Kew in 1856 and built a military bandstand and a glasshouse, based on London’s Crystal Palace, which hosts wonderful flower shows. Now spreading over 240 acres, the gardens are pleasant to visit during the day, but tend to attract unsavoury characters after around 6pm.
Great sunsets and city views can be had from the central hill, which is topped by a small shrine.
#5 Check out Tipu’s Summer Palace
Just southwest of the crowded City Market (aka KR Market), near the fairytale like Jama Masjid – whitewashed and rambling and still in regular use – lies Tipu’s Summer Palace, a two-storey, mostly wooden structure built in 1791.
Similar in style to the Daria Daulat Bagh at Srirangapatna, the palace is in a far worse state, with most of its painted decoration destroyed.
Next door, the Kote Venkataramana Swamy Temple, dating from the early eighteenth century, was built by the Wadiyar rajas.
#6 Be wowed by the Bull Temple
Lying 6 km south of the Kempegowda Bus Station, in the Basavanagudi area, Kempe Gowda’s sixteenth-century Bull Temple houses a massive monolithic Nandi bull, its grey granite made black by the application of charcoal and oil.
The temple is approached along a path lined with mendicants and snake charmers; inside, for a small donation, the priest will offer you a string of fragrant jasmine flowers.
Don’t miss the Dodda Ganesha Temple, featuring a mammoth monolith of Ganesha, 5.5m tall and 5m wide, below the Bull Temple.
#7 See the gold-plated dome of Sri Radha Krishna Mandir
Some 8 km north of the centre lies ISKCON’s (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) gleaming temple, a hybrid of ultramodern glass and vernacular south Indian architecture.
Also known as Sri Radha Krishna Mandir, it’s a huge, lavish showpiece crowned by a gold-plated dome.
Barriers guide visitors on a one-way journey through the well-organised complex to the inner sanctum, an octagonal hall resplendent with colourfully painted ceilings and golden images of the god Krishna and his consort Radha.
Collection points throughout and inescapable merchandising on the way out are evidence of the organisation’s highly successful commercialisation.
#8 National Gallery of Modern Art
Set in a former Wadiyar mansion, the beautifully designed and laid out National Gallery of Modern Art (one of three in India – the others are in Delhi and Mumbai) is a fabulous repository of 17,000 paintings, sculptures and graphic prints capturing Indian art from the early eighteenth century to present times.