Bangalore

With its salubrious climate, tree-lined avenues, trendy, yuppie downtown, and the software flood, Bangalore truly offers one a picture of striking contrasts. There are old beautiful bungalows, parks, hallowed places of worship and traditional market-places on the one hand, balancing with fashionable shopping malls, pubs, new architectural wonders and modern looking religious centers on the other.

Bangalore is about experiencing an Indian city that brims with bars, restaurants, clubs, and positive energy — a great place for walking, window-shopping and, at night, letting your hair down. The Garden City also has lovely parks, some of which date back over 2 centuries, of which the botanical gardens at Lal Bagh are the most impressive.

An inscription found near Begur, reveals that the district was part of the Ganga Dynasty until 1004 CE and was known as Benga-val-oru, the City of Guards in old Kannada.

Bangalore , located 1000 Mts. above sea level, this city was formed by Kempegowda. This city also is a gateway to Southern India. Today it has almost become the fifth metro of India and is fastest growing city in Asia. It’s known as The Garden City of India & the Neon City. Bangalore is really a cool place to be in if you want to relax as well as enjoy your life.

SIGHTS

Bangalore Palace

Anyone who sees the Bangalore Palace is bound to fall in love with it. Once you get over the initial shock of finding Tudor architecture surrounded by Indian urban scenery, it’s quite an intriguing place worth exploring. It was built by Chamaraja Wodeyar, Maharaja of Mysore in 1887. The Palace flaunts turreted parapets, battlements, fortified towers and arches. During a visit to England, Chamaraja Wodeyar was inspired by the Windsor Castle in London, and along similar lines he built this palace in Tudor style.

Vidhana Soudha

The majestic looking Vidhana Soudha houses the State Legislature, and is the largest Secretariat in India. Built entirely from Bangalore granite, it has floral motifs on stone carvings drawn from the celebrated temple craft of South India. . The architecture of the building is based on Dravidian style, comprising richly carved bases and capitals for pillars, deep friezes, etc. At the same time, the construction has been on modern designs, making use of the present-day materials like steel, reinforced cement concrete glass, plastic, etc.

Lal Bagh Garden

Lal Bagh is a must see while visiting Bangalore. The name Lal Bagh has been given to it for the wonderfully bloomed red roses that remain blooming all through the year in this garden. The garden has also a collection of famous Botanical species. Though the flow of visitors to the park is a regular affair, the garden gets a festive look during the Republic Day and on the days of flower shows that are held here. Described as the most romantic garden in India, it was laid during the 18th century by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

Tipu`s Palace

The palace and the fort of Tipu Sultan are the must see spot in Bangalore. The architecture, the layout and the overall look of the palace gives you the idea of the ethnic Mughal lifestyle. The fort and its remains present the history of the era in which it was built. The construction of the Tipu palace was started by Haider Ali and completed by Tipu Sultan himself. It is one of several beautiful palaces they built all over the state. Tipu Sultan used it as his summer residence and named it Tashk-e-Jannat meaning “the envy of heaven”. Constructed mainly of wood, its intricately sculptured arches and minarets are worth perusing. The walls and ceilings are covered with paintings though faded through the centuries.

Ulsoor Lake

This lake is centrally located, over a space of 1.5 sq. km. It was originally known as “Halsur” or “Alasur”. It then extended over an area of 125 acres. It is a major tourist attraction with a boat club. You can enjoy a boat-ride which includes stops at some of the tiny islands that dot the lake. It provides a welcome break from busy sightseeing and shopping. One can go for a swim in the nearby swimming pool that is part of the recreational complex near the lake.

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