Bangalore
Bangalore keeps its history low and green: a 1537 watchtower fort, Tipu Sultan's teak palace, the cantonment the British laid beside the petes, and the parks that earned it its garden name.
1537
The mud fort
Kempe Gowda founds the pete town.
1791
The Company's city
Bangalore falls in the Third Mysore War.
1809
The cantonment
A second, British city grows beside the first.
1956
Vidhana Soudha
The granite seat of the enlarged Mysore State rises.
3 days in Bangalore
Day 1 — The old pete
- Morning
- Masala dosa and filter coffee at MTR on Lalbagh Road, then Tipu Sultan's teak Summer Palace, the Kote Venkataramana temple beside it, and the surviving Delhi Gate of the 1537 fort.Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) · Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace · Kote Venkataramana Temple · Bangalore Fort
- Lunch
- A South Indian meal at Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan in Balepete, trading in the pete since the 1920s.Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan
- Afternoon
- A walk through the petes Kempe Gowda laid out by trade — Chickpet's silk and saree shops, Nagarathpete's metalworkers — ending in KR Market's flower hall.Pete heritage walk
- Dinner
- Donne biryani at Shivaji Military Hotel in Jayanagar.Shivaji Military Hotel
- Evening
- Vidhana Soudha's granite facade, floodlit on Sundays and public holidays.Vidhana Soudha
Good to knowKR Market's flower market is at its best before 7am, so you could start the day there. The pete lanes are very crowded; leave valuables at the hotel.
Day 2 — Cubbon Park and the museums
- Morning
- A morning walk through Cubbon Park's bamboo groves and rain trees, past the red Attara Kacheri (now the High Court) and the State Central Library.Cubbon Park
- Lunch
- Appams, stew and a cold coffee at Koshy's on St Mark's Road, open since 1940.Koshy's
- Afternoon
- The Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), opened in 2023 with Indian art, photography and textiles, then the renovated Venkatappa Art Gallery next door.Museum of Art & Photography · Venkatappa Art Gallery
- Dinner
- Andhra meals at Nagarjuna on Residency Road.Nagarjuna
- Evening
- Church Street's bookshops — Blossom Book House is the best-known — and a craft beer in the cantonment's pubs.
Good to knowMAP is closed on Mondays and free on Tuesdays. Cubbon Park closes to traffic on Sunday mornings, when it's at its liveliest.
Day 3 — Lalbagh and Basavanagudi
- Morning
- Lalbagh at dawn: Haidar Ali's 1760 garden, the 1889 glasshouse modeled on Crystal Palace, and the three-billion-year-old rock with Kempe Gowda's watchtower on top.Lalbagh
- Lunch
- Crisp masala dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan in Gandhi Bazaar, serving since 1943.Vidyarthi Bhavan
- Afternoon
- The Dodda Basavana Gudi (Bull Temple), with its monolithic Nandi, then Bugle Rock park and the Gandhi Bazaar flower stalls.Bull Temple
- Dinner
- Idli, vada and bisi bele bath at Brahmin's Coffee Bar in Shankarapuram, or a thali in Basavanagudi.Brahmin's Coffee Bar
- Evening
- The Gavi Gangadhareshwara cave temple, cut into the rock in the sixteenth century, at the evening puja.Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
Good to knowVidyarthi Bhavan is closed on Fridays and very busy on weekends. Lalbagh's flower shows are held around Republic Day and Independence Day.