City of silk and sandalwood, of fantasy gardens and fairy-tale palaces, Mysore has changed very little since its days as the princely city that several royal families made their headquarters and were proud to call home. Strangely the name ‘Mysore’ is derived from Mahishasura, a monster killed by the goddess Chamundeswari. Mysore was the ancient capital of the State, capital of the Hoysala Kings and Haider Ali, and the key city during the reign of the Guptas, the Ganges, Kadamas, Pallavas, Chalukyas, Cholas, the Vijaynagar emperors and later, the Wadiyars.
Maharaja’s Palace
Mysore Palace, India (photo – Jim Ankan Deka)
An ochre-colored extravaganza of domes, arches, turrets, colonnades and the stunningly intricate sculpture of the Hoysala school. It is a magnificent synthesis of Hindu and Muslim styles, where the royal palace designer’s imagination seems to have been spurred to soaring heights by the determination to include every opulent decorative and architectural feature he could think of.
In spite of its ancient appearance, the Palace is a surprisingly recent building having been constructed in 1911 to replace on that was partially burnt down. Illuminated by countless tiny lights on Sunday nights, the palace is an outstanding piece of architecture.
Stained glass, ornate gilt work, intricate mosaics, and carvings occur in a gorgeous profusion inside. The most spectacular single item on view is the royal, golden elephant throne. Some say it was a gift to Maharaja Chikka Devaraya from Emperor Aurangzeb, who send it through ambassadors of the Mysore monarch in 1699. The Palace legend, however, states that it was the ancient throne of the Pandus which was unearthed at Penukonda by the founders of the Vijaynagar Empire, who were told of its presence by an ascetic. The splendid throne changed locale according to the whims of the occupants and was found in the lumber room when Shrirangapatnam was taken by the British and used at the coronation of the five-year-old Wadiyar heir when the dynasty was restored in 1799. Originally the throne was made of fig wood overlaid with ivory, but the tastes of some later ruler dictated that the ivory be plated with gold and silver. The throne is delicately wrought with figures from Hindu mythology.
The palace has a Durbar Hall, a chamber for receiving nobility and granting audiences and the Kalyanamandapam, a marriage hall with its life-like representations of the Dassera procession in gaudy color. These paintings are interesting as a view of life in Mysore during the British Raj, Royal Armoury is seen everywhere and the hall containing the hunting trophies is worth a look.
St Philomena’s Cathedral
St. Philomena’s Church, Mysore Image credit- Arshad.ka
Attractive spacious church built-in the neo-Gothic style celebrates the feast of St. Philomena every year in August when the statue of the saint is taken in procession through the city.
Government Sandalwood Factory
Pure Sandalwood Oil from Mysore Sandalwood Shop
Watch the process of sandalwood oil being distilled and the amazing art of incense stick manufacture. Entirely handmade, a good worker can make over 10,000 agarbattis a day. Mysore is one of the major centers of manufacture of the incense sticks. You need prior permission to visit this place.
Government Silk Factory
Mysore silk saree’s zari made of pure gold thread. Image credit- Kiranravikumar
Mysore is one of the largest silk production centers in India, its superior quality silk being used by the master weavers of Kanchipuram and Varanasi. Mysore weavers are super craftsmen too, creating an extremely soft, sensuous type of silk. Silks are sold at the sales counter. Silk weaving can be observed at close quarters. To visit this place, you need to have prior permission.
Mysore Zoo
Two giraffes at Mysore zoo | by Rameshng
Ranks among the best in India. It is large and has a varied collection of animals and birds which include Gir lions, a family of chimpanzees, orangutans and several rare and deadly species of snakes.
Breakfast is what makes the entire day wholesome. There are many places in Bangalore that are worth mentioning. English, Continental, and South Indian flavors clubbed together is what makes Bangalore a favorite among Indians and foreigners alike.
9 best places to have breakfast in Bangalore/ Bengaluru”, a fusion of cuisines from all over.
Vasudev Adiga– Indiranagar for their awesome Kesari Bath
Smokehouse Deli– Indiranagar is when you are in the mood for Blueberry Pancakes on Weekends
Health Zingo– Bellandur for the healthy oil and Fat-free Burgers and Poha on Sundays
Carrots– Koramangala to experiment with Vegan breakfast
The Egg Factory – St Mark’s Road for Blueberry cream cheese with french toast or spinach Chilli and Cheese omelet on those sad news mornings.
Indian Coffee House– Church Street, My all-time favorite breakfast joint for the simple yet mouth-watering Scrambled Egg.
Maiyya’s– Jayanagar 4th Block. South Indian and traditional all the way. The Butter roast Paper Dosa is good here.
Pinxx– Dickenson Rd. for those days who crave a bit of North Indian flavors like Parantha.
Cafe Terra– Koramangala. Sunday mornings when you want to explore Belgium Inspired breakfast
If you want authentic breakfast places and don’t mind the ambiance:
1. Veena Stores, Malleswaram: One of the best, if not the best idlis in town. You must also try out their Kesari Bath, Khara bath, Bisibelebath, Avalakki bath, and Puliogre.
Warning: No place to sit here, but the taste is well worth it.
2. Brahmin’s Cafe, Basavanagudi: Idlis here are too soft as cotton and crispy vada melt in the mouth.
3. Hole in the wall (Koramangala):
The Hole in the Wall Cafe is one of Bangalore’s Cafes.
The meaty fries here were exceptional. They serve up a range of burgers and have a wide breakfast menu. It’s usually too crowded to get a table but the cafe clears out frequently. Hole in the wall – if you’re looking for a quick breakfast fix, here’s the place to go. The Hole in the Wall is a warm, bright, and winsome place with a great ambiance including both indoor and outdoor seating. Satiate your craving for a good old-fashioned English breakfast in Bangalore here. They have a wide variety of offerings including pancakes, waffles, salami, sausage, breakfast sliders, pies, pastries, etc.
4. Fat Fanny’s (Koramangala):
This quaint little cafe in Koramangala is known for its hearty breakfast meals that they serve all day.
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Pictured here: Admiralty Meal, Masala Omelette, and Classic waffles with apple reduction. They play jazz covers of the popular pop songs and have old sewing tables as furniture. Love it.
5. Monkey Bar (Indiranagar):
Red waffle
This red velvet waffle is the only reason Monkey Bar made to this list, but big enough a reason, too. If you’re the kind, you can continue your visit till the night and they’ll have plenty of drinks in store for you to help with that!
6. 38 Castle Street (Brigade Road):
Having a leisurely breakfast in Bangalore has become as scarce as hen’s teeth. However, as the saying goes: “One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast.” – Robert A. Heinlein, breakfast is an important meal to begin your day on a profuse note. Bangalore will spoil you when it comes to breakfast joints. From making you feel fit for royalty English breakfast to mouth-watering South Indian dishes, breakfast in Bangalore offers you all.
Following are the best places to have all your cravings satisfied breakfast in Bangalore-
154 Breakfast Club, Kormanagala
Small yet classy, breakfast at 154 Breakfast Club will leave you with a gleeful smile on your face. Delightfully delicious food at reasonable price, this place is ideal for both vegetarians and the non-vegetarians. Bacon, sausage, waffles, baked beans, and salad are some of the delicious items worth trying here. With a widespread menu, you get simple decor with limited seating and a homely feel.
2. Koshy’s
Located on St. Mark’s Road, come here for an English breakfast. Delicious eggs in different forms.
Opened in 1940 Koshy’s is a classic breakfast in Bangalore hangout and is quite popular among the journalists, businessmen, creative artists, and writers. Savor fried sausages, beans, bacon and eggs in a wide variety of forms with different toppings without burning a hole in your wallet here.
3. Shri Sagar, Malleshwaram
Shree Sagar Malleswaram
If in a mood for great South Indian food, visit this inexpensive place. Well, when the food is mouth-watering the ambiance doesn’t matter, does it? The crispy benne (butter) Masala dosa is worth the wait in this typical retro environment.
4. Café Noir
English breakfast lovers treat yourselves with a splendid and traditional breakfast in Bangalore on weekends in Café Noir. For weekdays you get French and American cuisine as well. Among their delicious options, you get ham, bacon, omelet, chicken sausages, grilled tomatoes and sumptuous pastries.
Café 132 is one of the newer places in the hangouts, café scene of Bangalore by comparison. However, it has quickly moved into my list of best places to have breakfast, and hang out, all at the same time.
Cup O Joe:
Cup O’ Joe, Bengaluru Image credit- Tripadvisor
This is another feasible option for enjoying an early breakfast or a late brunch. The egg lovers would especially love the way in which the scrambled eggs are done here.
Egg factory:
The Egg Factory, Image credit- theeggfactory.in
Another famous breakfast joint, the Egg Factory is best known for its garden frittata and chilly egg. Also, there is a variant of a sunny side up on toast called Kejriwal which is enjoyable. For beverages, one can go with the filter coffee or Whats up Doc (for a cooler variant).
Coffee On Canvas:
Coffee On Canvas, Bengaluru Image credit- Tripadvisor
Coffee on canvas wouldn’t make it to many people’s list considering its food alone, which although good, isn’t the greatest. However as a place wherein you can start your mornings with a good enough breakfast, a strong filter coffee, and an inspiring earthy interior highlighted by art, this would probably prove to be perfect.
Hole Lotta Love:
A Hole Lotta Love Cafe, Bengaluru Image credit- Tripadvisor
This is a sister outlet of The Hole In The Wall Café. A café with good food and great ambiance, it is a perfect place to while away hours sipping on a drink and tucking into a pancake. Frequented by students, it serves a wide breakfast menu, good continental food such as burgers, pasta, and sandwiches, and delicious waffles and pancakes with a variety of toppings. It has a brunch menu that is liked by many.
Taaza Thindi: Morning hours at the restaurant Image credit-Tripadvisor
It is a 10-minute walk away from Bangalore Central Mall(a major landmark in the city). Like most breakfast joints it opens at 7 am sharp. If you are someone who loves walking you would love to take an early morning walk to this place through the tree-lined lush green neighborhood. It’s not surprising to see people from all strata of the society coming up every morning to this small picturesque joint.
Talking of food there, it is delicious, healthy and cooked and served in an environment with insane emphasis on hygiene.
Aptly, named the ‘Garden City’, it boasts of an amazing number of flowering trees and parks. With splendid pink cassias and golden acacias blooming, with Jacaranda flowering in purple majesty and the gulmohars lighting the roads with their flame-orange brilliance, the city is a sheer delight to wander around in.
Bangalore or Bengaluru can be the ideal starting point for an exciting exploration of the fascinating, architecturally rich heritage of Karnataka, every important tourist attraction in Karnataka is within a day’s journey reach. While Bangalore or Bengaluru has its share of ancient forts and temples, it is a perfect spot for soaking in the sun and local color at the finest and friendliest of hotels. It is a shopper’s paradise where Karnataka’s fabulous traditional silks, coffee jewelry, and handicrafts can be bought at well-stocked, reliable shops.
Air– Bangalore is accessible by regular flights from Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Kolkata. Air services also link to smaller cities like Hyderabad, Mangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore.
Rail- Bangalore is connected to Chennai by several super-fast trains such as the Shatabdi, Brindavan and Lalbagh expresses. It is also connected to all other major Indian cities by rail.
Road– Connected by National Highway to Mumbai 1021kms. And Chennai 331kms. Both are eminently motorable highways.
Accommodations– Hotels come in a wide variety- you will find in them modern comforts enhanced by ancient tradition. Amid the hustle and bustle of city life, there are tranquil bases where business and pleasure meet. Rooms and conference halls can be had tailored to suit almost any kind of budget.
Shopping– The best buys in Bangalore or Bengaluru are Karnataka’s vast treasure-trove of traditional handicrafts: famous Mysore and Bangalore silks, carvings in wood, sandalwood, ivory and rosewood, copperware, cane and bamboo in furniture and crafts, lacquerware wooden toys and traditional gold jewelry in designs that have remained unchanged for centuries.
Kaveri (Karnataka State Arts and Crafts Emporium)
Handicrafts Museum
Janata Khadi Bhandari
Khadi and Handmade Products
Khadi Gramodyag Bhavan
Central Cottage Industries Emporium a selection of the quaint, the exotic, the earthy, the folksy, the best of typically Indian clothes, bags, shoes, linen, furnishing and bric-a-brac.
Lidkar Emporium – The state’s leather emporium with a wide selection finished goods.
Priyadarshini Handloom House- Sells the colorful handloom range of Karnataka both in silk and cotton. Sarees from Molakalmuru, stunning with their contrasting borders and silks from Kollegal in gorgeous colors and with exquisite woven borders.
Besides this, there are other shopping areas at Brigade Road, Commercial Street, M.G.Road, and others. Brigade Road and Commercial Street are ideal grounds for gift-hunting, window-shopping, and people-watching and are alive with the color of garment, jewelry, footwear, furnishing, gift, electronics, books and fashion accessories stores.
Tipu’s Palace – Begun by Haider Ali and completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791, it is one of the several beautiful and luxurious places they built all over the State. Its architectural style is reminiscent of Tipu’s more opulent Daria Daulat Palace at Srirangapatnam. He used it every summer and named it Rashk-e-Jannat, the envy of heaven.
Tipu Sultan Palace, Bangalore Main Entrance view
Constructed mainly of wood, it has 5 intricately sculpted arches surmounted by exquisite minarets. The walls and ceilings were once covered with bright paintings narrating the daring exploits of Haider Ali and Tipu, but these have faded into a pale whisper over the centuries.
Lal Baugh– Lal Baugh is artistically landscaped with an eye for ordering nature’s beauty without confining or stultifying it. It has expansive, lush lawns, a profusion of flower beds, lotus pools, and tinkling mountains.
Among the beautiful flowering Indian trees, is the Asoka (saraca indica) which bears brick-red flowers. The closely related Magnolia and Champa bearing white flowers that waft a heavenly fragrance are in abundance though there is only one specimen of the Indian Dillenia bearing fragrant, magnolia-like white flowers. Most of the centuries-old trees are labeled for easy identification.
The best time to visit Lal Baugh is during the best months of January and August when riotous color with the flowers and vegetables appearing at their best for the annual Flower, Fruit and Vegetable shows held in these months.
Cubbon Park– Cubbon Park was planned and laid out in 1864 by Sir Richard Sankey, the then Chief Engineer of Mysore, but named after Sir Mark Cubbon, Bangalore’s longest serving Commissioner.
Canopy in Cubbon Park, Bangalore | by Ajith_chatie Flickr
Cubbon Park is a lush, grassy expanse fringed with flower beds, shady bowers, and flowering trees, where literally thousands of breeze seekers can take a walk, without bumping into each other. In the evening, the illuminated fairy fountains light up and a restaurant in the center of the park serves light refreshments.
Venkatappa Art Gallery Bangalore Image credit- Banglaloretourism.in
4. Venkatappa Art Gallery– The main exhibition displays the works of famous Mysore artist, K.Venkatappa, a 20th-century art genius from Mysore who went on to achieve national and international fame with his work displaying both Indian traditionalism and Modern European technique. Venkatappa was a noted sculptor too, and the gallery displays several of his evocative plaster-of-Paris works as well as some of his personal musical instruments. A separate section houses the dynamic modern sculpture of Major Cheppurdira Ponappa Rajaram. A hall attached to the gallery holds exhibitions of contemporary Indian painters from time to time.
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore, Bengaluru
5. Visveswaraya Industrial and Technological Museum– The Museum is a wonderland of information about the marvels of science. You can see an unconnected tube light glow, learn how to make motion pictures, paper, and burglar alarms. These are some of the fascinating aspects of the museum. It has several rooms, each devoted to one discipline or aspect of technology.
