Explore Bengaluru

🌳 Things to do

• Lalbagh Botanical Garden — historic gardens with a glasshouse and flower shows; lovely early morning.
• Cubbon Park — leafy green heart of the city, great for a stroll.
• Bangalore Palace — Tudor-style royal palace you can tour.
• Vidhana Soudha — the grand state legislature building (admire the exterior, especially when lit up).
• Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace & nearby Bull Temple (Dodda Basavana Gudi).
• ISKCON Temple — striking hilltop Krishna temple.
• Bannerghatta Biological Park — zoo and safari, ~1.5 hrs out.
• HAL Aerospace Museum — fun for aviation buffs.
• Microbreweries — Bengaluru is India's craft-beer capital: Toit, Arbor Brewing, Byg Brewski, and many more.

🍽️ What to eat

• South Indian tiffin — dosa, idli, and vada to start the day.
• Filter coffee — the local ritual; strong and frothy, served in a brass tumbler.
• Donne biryani — Bangalore-style biryani served in a leaf bowl.
• VV Puram Food Street — an evening street-food crawl.

Mostly vegetarian-friendly — South India is a paradise for veg eaters.

🥘 Where to eat

Indiranagar & Koramangala hold the densest cluster of modern restaurants, cafés, and bars — but some of the best meals are at the old-school institutions below. (Tap a name to open its map listing & website.)

• MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) — the 1924 institution; rava idli & masala dosa.
• Vidyarthi Bhavan — legendary benne (butter) masala dosa in Basavanagudi.
• CTR / Shri Sagar — crisp benne dosa in Malleshwaram.
• Brahmin's Coffee Bar — no-frills idli, vada & filter coffee.
• Karavalli — refined coastal South Indian at The Gateway Hotel.
• Toit — craft brewery & kitchen in Indiranagar.
• Byg Brewski — one of India's largest breweries.

🛍️ Shopping

• Commercial Street & Chickpet — bustling markets for clothes, jewellery, and silk sarees.
• MG Road & Brigade Road — central shopping and people-watching.
• UB City — upscale luxury mall.
• Church Street — bookshops, cafés, and boutiques.

🚙 Day trips & getaways

• Mysuru (Mysore) ~3 hrs — the magnificent Mysore Palace and Chamundi Hills; doable as a long day or an overnight.
• Nandi Hills ~1.5 hrs — popular sunrise viewpoint north of the city.
• Coorg (Kodagu) ~5–6 hrs — misty hills and coffee plantations; best as a weekend trip.
• Shivanasamudra Falls ~3 hrs — dramatic waterfalls (best after the rains).
• Hampi overnight — UNESCO World Heritage ruins; worth the extra travel if you have time.
• Ramanagara ~1.5 hrs — granite hills made famous by the film Sholay.