Things to do in Bangalore

Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka in South India. It is also known as Silicon Valley of India and City of Gardens. The city has sprawling gardens, art galleries, shopping malls, arcades, museums, temples, aquarium, planetarium and restaurants. Here are some of the things to do in Bangalore including Tipu Sultan's palace, Lalbagh botanical garden, cubbon park, wonderla, aquarium, Jawarharlal Nehru planetarium, bull temple, palace and Iskon temple.

One of the main places to see in Bangalore is Lalbagh botanical garden. This garden is a green paradise and has a area of about 240 acres. You can see numerous native and almost 1000 varieties of exotic flora. There is also a glass house inside the garden, modeled on London's crystal palace. The garden is arranged beautifully with lawns, flowerbeds, lotus pools and fountains. Biannual flower shows is organized every year in January and August on the occasion of the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations. Inside the garden you can see the flower clock which is decorated with multicolored flowers. It is run by electronic quartz mechanism. The garden is an important centre for plants, environmental and economic value. People come from different parts of the countries like France, Persia and Afghanistan. The entry to the garden is free for children. It is open daily from 6.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. It has four main gates.

2. Bangalore Palace: It was built in Tudor style architecture and looks like a smaller replica of the Windsor castle in England. There are 35 rooms inside the palace. The ground floor has granite seats and covered with blue ceramic tiles. The first floor containing Durbar Hall. The hall and sofa set is in yellow colour. Raja Ravi Varma paintings and 30,000 photographs is present in this palace. You can see the silks and other garments which is used by royal family is also exhibited. It is in vasanth nagar near Mount Carmel college. Opens at 10am to 6pm on all days except Sunday. The entrance fee is Rs 100 for Indian Citizens, children Rs 50 and other visitors Rs 200. The photographic charge is Rs 500 and video recording charge is Rs 1000.

Another tourist spot in bangalore is Tipu Sultan's summer palace. It is a small wooden palace and built in Islamic style. The main attraction in this palace is beautiful architecture. The arches and ceilings made of expensive rosewood and painted with dark brown enamal paint. Another major attraction is Ganapathi temple situated inside it. It was constructed as the summer retreat of Tipu Sultan. On either side of the palace you can see gorgeous gardens which leads to the main entrance. The double storied wooden palace has pillars, arches and balconies. It is located in the center of Bangalore near city market. Open all days from 8.30am to 5.30pm. The ticket fee is Rs 5 for citizens of India and other visitors is Rs 100. Children under 15 is free. They charge Rs 25 for video camera and still camera is free. It was built in the 17th century by Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar.

4.Cubbon park: It is 5 km from the railway station and one of the famous park in Bangalore. It is known as Sri Chamarajendra park in history. The park extends an area of about 330 acres and has around 6000 plants. You can see the ringwood circle, lotus pond and bamboo grove nook here. Many monuments in this park including memorial hall dedicated to Sheshadri Iyer, marble statues of Queen Victoria and Edward VII. The predominantly green area of the park has many motorable roads, and walking paths. Also there is a toy train runs within the park, the doll museum and boating facility is also available here. The park is open all the time except 5am to 8am. Dancing musical fountain show is organized everyday from 7pm to 7.30pm and 8pm to 8.30pm. Closed on every monday and second tuesday of the month. At the entrance of the cubbon park, you can see the aquarium, the second largest in the country. It has many collection of exotic fishes.

It is the largest Iskon temple in the world and is the temple of Lord Krishna. It attracts millions of visitors every year. The entire complex forms 10,000 square feet hall adorned with magnificent paintings. The temple is a blend of traditional gopurams and glass architecture. Ratha yatra, Akshaya Tritiya and Brahmotsava are some of the main festivels celebrated here. Other attractions in the temple include theatre, Vedic museums, gardens and exhibition halls. It is on west of Chore road in Bangalore. Darshana timing is 4.15am to 5am, 7.15am to 12.50pm and 4pm to 8.20pm everyday.

6. Government Museum: This museum is a great place for art lovers and displays 600 paintings. Some of the popular paintings include Nilgiri mountains and Sunrise in Ooty. and It is nearer to cubbon park. Some of the items displayed here include fascinating stones, South Indian jewelry, paintings, coins, inscriptions, icons, miniature paintings, sculptures and textiles. There are variey of sections like geology, sculpture, natural history, art and numismatics. It is open 10 am to 5 pm daily and closed on wednesdays and public holidays.

7. Wonderla: It is a theme park spanning over 82 acres of land. The park is divided into two dry rides and wet rides. Some of the highlights in the park include musical fountain, scary house, virtual reality, crazy car and ant hill. Open daily from 11am to 7pm on weekdays and 11am to 8pm on weekends. It is a great place for kids and adults.

It is also called as Nandi temple. Height is 4.5m and length is 6.5m and is made by a single rock. It is the biggest temple for nandhi in the world. Kadalekayi Parishe or groundnut fair is celebrated every year during the month of november and december. It is in Basavangudi area of South Bangalore. Entry to the temple is free and the daily timings remains 6am to 8pm.

9. Bangalore aquarium : Another major attraction is Bangalore aquarim. It is the second largest aquarium in India and has variety of aquatic life. There are many types of fishes in this aquarium including angel fish, glow light tetra, catla, Indian tiger barb, red tail shark, prawns, gold fish and siamese fighter. The visiting time is 10am to 7.30pm and closed on every thursday.

10. Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium: The planetarium is a sky theatre with dome of 15 m in diameter and also has a seating capacity of 225 people. They have 2 shows of astronomy everyday. It is a blend of entertainment and instructions. The timings of the show is 3 pm and 4.30 pm except on mondays.