Bengaluru (Bangalore) travel guide

Cosmopolitan Bengaluru, formerly Bangalore, is the gateway to steamy South India, a handy hub for the beaches of Kerala and the temple towns of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

In the years since Indian independence, Bengaluru has transformed itself from faded relic of the Raj to dynamic technology hub, with a young, highly-educated population and one of the fast growing IT industries in Asia. A new city of office towers and apartment buildings is bursting skywards around the old city centred on Mahatma Gandhi Road and Cubbon Park.

For travellers, this means plenty of modern comforts – gleaming new hotels, upscale restaurants, air-conditioned shopping malls, multi-screen cinemas, fast internet-access – and a calmer, less frenetic introduction to the Indian way of life. Indeed, many find this metropolis the most relaxing place to arrive in the subcontinent.

Modern Bengaluru is one of India’s most cosmopolitan cities, with a famously lively nightlife scene. Its and bars and coffee lounges would not look out of place in Berlin or San Francisco. As you sip a beer amongst crowds of IT professionals, the sound system could play anything from Bollywood movie songs to wailing heavy metal.

Befitting its role as South India’s IT capital, Bengaluru is also a major transport hub, with frequent air, train and bus connections to the rest of India. The city’s international airport is the third busiest in the country, and fast gaining on Delhi and Mumbai, with direct flights to cities across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

However, this is not just somewhere to fly into and rush out of – away from the commercialism, you’ll still find traces of Bengaluru’s rich history. The city boasts ornate Hindu temples, elegant Victorian buildings and peaceful parks and gardens laid out during the British era.

Perhaps the most fascinating relics of Bengaluru’s past are the royal palaces built by Tipu Sultan and the Wadiyars, former rulers of the kingdom of Mysore. Here, and in the bustling city markets, you’ll be transported back to India as you’ve always imagined it.