Best Tourist Attractions in Bangalore
               Stay at Alcove Serviced Apartments, Bangalore!

Vidhana Soudha houses the state secretariat and legislature, and was the brainchild of the late Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Chief Minister of Mysore state. It was completed in 1956 with "Bangalore granite". The building is based on British, Dravidian, and Indo-Islamic architectural styles and is 150 feet high, with a central dome, sixty feet in diameter. Its East face has a porch with 12 granite columns, 40 feet tall. Leading to the foyer is a flight of 45 steps, more than 200 feet wide. It is the largest Legislative building in India.

The Vidhana Soudha is illuminated during special periods and Sundays and is a sight worth viewing. It is open for visitors after 3 PM.

The Bangalore Palace was built by the then King of Mysore, ChamarajaWodeyar in 1884. The architecture represents Tudor style and was inspired by the Windsor Castle of England. The palace is spread across an area of 430 acres and is set amidst gardens, with elegant woodwork, paintings and carvings. This palace has fortified towers and its interiors are elegant carved of wood, with Gothic windows, battlements and turrets.

The palace ground is now used as a venue for various exhibitions, cultural programmes and concerts.

The entrance fee for Indian adult citizen is Rs 100/- and for children Rs 50/-. Foreign adult tourists are charged Rs 200/- and Rs 100/- is charged for children.
The visiting hours are 10 am to 6 pm on all days except Sunday which is a holiday.

The Cubbon Park, officially known as Sri. Chamarajendra Park, is located in the heart of Bengaluru. The Vidhana Soudha, the High Court Buildings - the Attara Kacheri and a number of other departments are located along the periphery.

It was established in the year 1870 in an area of about 100 acres and expanded over the years. It is a major lung space of Bangalore and is favored by early morning walkers, and naturalists. Rich in plant wealth, it has about 68 genera and 96 species with a total of around 6000 plants / trees.

The High Court Buildings, Indira Priyadarshini Children's Library, City Central Library, Government Museum, Art Gallery, Aquarium, YMCA, Yuvanika- the State Youth Centre, Century Club, Press Club, Jawahar BalBhavan, Tennis Pavillion are located in the park. Statues in the park include those of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII , Major General Sir Mark Cubbon, Rajya Dhurandhara Sir K. Sheshadri Iyer and Sri. Chamarajendra Wodeyar.

Only parts of the fort remain, standing in mute testimony to the struggle of Tipu Sultan against British domination. The fort is noted for its beautifully carved arches in Islamic style and for the well preserved Ganapati temple. Built by Kempe Gowda in 1537, it was extended and fortified by Tipu Sultan.

Tipu Sultan's Palace is located very close to the fort. The building of the palace was started by Hyder Ali and it was completed by Tipu Sultan in the year 1791. The Palace served as one of Tipu Sultan's summer retreats. The double storied wooden structure, a replica of the Daria Daulat Bagh in Srirangapattana, has columns, arches and finely embellished balconies. Although now dilapidated, it is still a hauntingly atmospheric place. While the palace retains the original elegant teak pillars, most of the painted decorations have been destroyed.

The Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore was started as a private garden in an area of 40 acres by Hyder Ali in 1760. Initially designed in Mughal style, on the model of an extensive garden at Sira in Tumkur near Bangalore, this garden was further developed by Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan and subsequently by the British and Indian horticulture experts by extension of area and addition of a number of plant species. Today, the garden is a lush green paradise with an area of 240 acres in the heart of the city.

Of the many artistic structures in Lalbagh, the Glass House is the most famous. It was built in 1889 to commemorate the visit of Prince of Wales. Designed on the lines of the Crystal Palace of England, it was intended for acclimatizing the exotic plant specimens. Today, the famous biannual flower shows are centered around the glass house.

The Bandstand, Lecture Hall, Lalbagh House, Pigeon House, Statue of Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar, the Directorate Building, Lalbagh West Gate Guard Room, the Museum and Cottage which now house some of the department offices, main gate of Lalbagh (Cameron gate), Deer Paddock, Aquarium building, Aviary and Kempegowda Tower are other artistic structures that can be seen in Lalbagh.

Biannual flower shows are organized every year in January and August on the occasion of the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations respectively.
Lalbagh remains open daily from 6.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. throughout the year.

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Temple , commonly known as ISKCON Temple, is located on west of Chord Road in Bangalore. Spread over seven acres of land amidst beautiful gardens and water fountains, the complex houses 5 temples, a multi-vision theatre, the Akshaya Patra mechanized kitchen, an open air auditorium, an organic products outlet, an art and craft outlet, Vedic library, two pure vegetarian & restaurants.

The 56 feet high gold plated Dwajastambha is one of the tallest in the world. First, visitors will enter the temple of Lord Narasimha; at the next level is the temple of Sri Srinivasa Govinda, the replica of the Lord Venkateshwara (Balaji) deity of Tirumala Tirupati. Finally you will enter the main temple hall, with highlights of beautiful paintings of Lord Krishna and His associates on the dome.

Kempe Gowda, who is known as founder of Bangalore, constructed this temple in a typical Dravadian style. The temple has a mammoth monolithic bull called 'Nandi', carved from a single granite rock and is 4.5m high and 6.5m long. Nandi is the mount of Lord Shiva.

The temple is adjacent to that of 'Lord Ganesha with a unique feature. The idol of the deity is made out of 110 kg of butter after every 4 years. The temple timings are from 6 am to 8 pm.