Bengaluru

No reviews yetCity Karnataka, India

View from Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (2025) 02, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Naganatheshvara Temple (9th century) at Begur, Bengaluru, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Bangalore palace side view, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore (2025) 86, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

About Bengaluru

Bengaluru sits almost 900 meters up on the Deccan Plateau, which gives India's tech capital a mild climate that has made it a city of gardens, pubs and outdoor cafes. Founded as a mud fort by the chieftain Kempe Gowda in 1537, it later passed to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, then became a British cantonment, before software parks turned it into one of Asia's fastest-growing cities.

The old layers are still easy to find. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park keep huge green lungs in the center, Tipu Sultan's teak summer palace stands near the old fort, and the granite Vidhana Soudha and Tudor-style Bangalore Palace show two very different ideas of grandeur. In Basavanagudi a giant stone Nandi bull draws worshippers, and the evening snack lanes of VV Puram are a crash course in Karnataka cooking.

Breakfast is a ritual here, from crisp masala dosa to rava idli, and filter coffee is served all day. For a day out, Nandi Hills rises north of the city for sunrise views, and Mysuru is about three hours away.

Best seasonOctober to February for dry, pleasant days; the monsoon brings rain from June to September.

Ideal stayTwo to three days for the gardens, palaces, temples and food, plus a day for Nandi Hills.

ArrivingKempegowda International Airport lies about 35 km north of the center; traffic can make the drive take over an hour.

12 Best Things to Do in Bengaluru

Parks 2

Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Begun under Hyder Ali in the 18th century and expanded by Tipu Sultan, this vast botanical garden in south Bengaluru holds centuri...

Cubbon Park

Laid out in 1870, this large wooded park in the administrative center is threaded with shady avenues and bamboo groves and surroun...

Landmarks 2

Bangalore Palace

Built in the late 19th century for the Wadiyar rulers of Mysore, this palace was modeled on English castles, with turrets, battlem...

Vidhana Soudha

Completed in 1956, the home of Karnataka's state legislature is a massive granite building in the Neo-Dravidian style, combining a...

History 1

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace

Near the old Bangalore Fort, this two-storey palace finished in 1791 was a summer retreat of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore. It is b...

Temples and Shrines 2

Bull Temple Basavanagudi

Known locally as Dodda Basavana Gudi, this temple from the 16th century houses a huge Nandi bull carved from a single granite boul...

ISKCON Temple Bangalore

Rising on a hillock in Rajajinagar, this large Hare Krishna temple blends traditional gopuram towers with modern glass and is one...

Museums 2

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum

Named after the celebrated engineer M. Visvesvaraya, this science museum on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park is packed with intera...

National Gallery of Modern Art Bengaluru

Housed in the elegant Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, with a modern wing added behind it, the Bengaluru branch of India's nati...

Food and Drink 2

VV Puram Food Street

Close to Basavanagudi, this short lane comes alive after dark with stalls serving Karnataka and South Indian snacks, from dosas an...

Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

Better known as MTR, this vegetarian restaurant on Lalbagh Road has served South Indian meals since 1924, and is credited locally...

Nature 1

Nandi Hills

About 60 km north of the city, this hill fortress rises to around 1,500 meters and is famous for sunrise views, when valleys below...

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Bengaluru? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Bengaluru? Add your best shots to the gallery.

More places in Karnataka

Hyderabad

Telangana, India

Mumbai

Maharashtra, India

Pune

Maharashtra, India

Kanpur

Uttar Pradesh, India

Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh, India

Delhi

Delhi, India

Ahmedabad

Gujarat, India

Chennai

Tamil Nadu, India

See all places in India →

Photo credits

Photo: Yercaud-elango, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Gpkp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dineshkannambadi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Ayush Singh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Gpkp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Saisumanth Javvaji, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: KshitizBathwal / Skyscape Photography, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Magentic Manifestations, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Yercaud-elango, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Minskycuriosity, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Subhashish Panigrahi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Chidambara, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Augustus Binu/ facebook, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Indrajit Das, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Anupam Chatterjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Polytropos-Commons, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Nagesh Kamath, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Ravi Teja Godam, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sanojaa Thiyagarajah, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Rameshng at ml.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: PP Yoonus, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: PP Yoonus (ppyoonus@yahoo.co.in), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Krishnans.sri, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Smuconlaw, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bkmahesh12, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Gpkp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Destination8infinity, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Amanjosan2008, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Gpkp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Basavaraj M, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Harikrishnan N, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Subhashish Panigrahi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Gpkp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sidhant Soni, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sbprasad2312, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Jnanaranjan sahu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alexalan94, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0