Bengaluru Travel Guide

Hyder Ali laid out Lalbagh in 1760 and Tipu Sultan expanded it, importing species from Persia, Kabul and beyond. The Glass House, modelled on London's Crystal Palace, hosts flower shows every Republic Day and Independence Day that draw enormous crowds. Beyond the horticulture there is the Lalbagh Rock — a peninsular gneiss outcrop dated to around three billion years, one of the oldest exposed rock formations on earth, with a watchtower built by Kempe Gowda on top.

Timings

Around 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Ticket

Approx. ₹25 (free before 9 AM for walkers)

Time needed

2 – 3 hours

Best time

Early morning

Completed in 1878 and inspired by Windsor Castle, Bangalore Palace brings fortified towers, turrets and battlements to the middle of a south Indian city. The interiors run to carved wood, Gothic windows and an extensive collection of paintings — including a number of Raja Ravi Varma works. It remains private Wadiyar property, which explains the steep foreign ticket and the separate camera charge. The grounds are frequently hired out for concerts.

Timings

Around 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Ticket

Approx. ₹230 (Indian), ₹460 (foreign) · camera fee extra

Time needed

1.5 hours

Best time

Weekday mornings

Laid out in 1870 and now formally named after Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar, Cubbon Park is central Bengaluru's lung — bamboo groves, ancient rain trees and roughly 6,000 trees in total, wrapped around the red-brick Gothic High Court and the State Central Library. On Sundays the roads through it close to vehicles entirely and the park fills with runners, cyclists, skateboarders, dog walkers and impromptu music. That is the day to come.

Timings

Around 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Ticket

Free

Time needed

1 – 2 hours

Best time

Sunday morning, when roads close to traffic

Completed in 1956 in what is called Neo-Dravidian style, Vidhana Soudha houses the Karnataka legislature and secretariat behind a facade of local granite, with a 60-foot dome and the state emblem above the entrance. Over the main door is the inscription 'Government Work is God's Work'. The interior is not open to casual visitors, but the building is floodlit on Sunday evenings and public holidays, and that is when people come to photograph it.

Timings

Exterior viewing only · illuminated Sunday evenings and public holidays

Ticket

Free

Time needed

30 minutes

Best time

Sunday evening when lit

Opened in 1997 on Hare Krishna Hill in Rajajinagar, this is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world — a cultural complex as much as a shrine, combining traditional South Indian temple forms with glass and steel. The main sanctum houses Radha Krishnachandra, and there are shrines to Krishna Balarama, Nitai Gauranga and Srinivasa Govinda. The approach passes through a long retail and prasadam corridor, which some find off-putting and others enjoy. Janmashtami here draws crowds in the hundreds of thousands.

Timings

Around 7:15 AM – 8:30 PM, with a midday break

Ticket

Free

Time needed

1 – 2 hours

Best time

Early morning or evening aarti