India's Other City
Bangalore doesn't feel like India — until suddenly it does. The craft breweries, the tech campuses, the garden boulevards — and then the auto-rickshaw takes a shortcut through a street market and you remember exactly where you are.
What Are the Top Things to Do in Bangalore?
I’ll be upfront — Bangalore (officially Bengaluru) isn’t the first city most travellers think of when planning an India trip. It doesn’t have the Taj Mahal or the Ganges or pink-painted palaces. What it does have is the best weather in India year-round (thank the 920m elevation), the best craft beer scene in the country, some of the finest food in South India, and a cosmopolitan energy that makes it the most immediately comfortable city for foreign visitors. I’ve used Bangalore as a base for South India exploration multiple times, and every visit I stay a few days longer than planned because the city just works.
Lalbagh Botanical Garden
Lalbagh Botanical Garden (INR 30/$0.40) is 240 acres of tropical beauty in the heart of the city, established by Hyder Ali in 1760 and expanded by his son Tipu Sultan. The centrepiece is a Victorian glass house modeled on London’s Crystal Palace, which hosts spectacular flower shows in January and August that draw half a million visitors.
I visited Lalbagh at 7 AM on a weekday and had the garden nearly to myself — joggers on the paths, birds everywhere, and an extraordinary 3-billion-year-old rock formation (Peninsular Gneiss) in the middle of the garden that you can climb for city views. The garden has over 1,000 plant species including some genuinely ancient tropical trees. It’s the most peaceful hour you can spend in Bangalore.
Cubbon Park is Lalbagh’s more manicured cousin in the city centre — 300 acres of tree-lined paths, heritage buildings, and the Bangalore Aquarium. The park connects several of the city’s key institutions (Vidhana Soudha, High Court, museums) and is the green lung that keeps the city livable.
Craft Beer Capital
Bangalore is unambiguously India’s craft beer capital — the city has 50+ craft breweries, more than every other Indian city combined. The concentration is highest on 12th Main Road in Indiranagar, where you can walk between three or four excellent breweries in an afternoon.
Toit is the most famous and deservedly so — their hefeweizen and IPA are excellent, and the pub food (particularly the pork ribs and pizza) is genuinely good. Go on a weekday to avoid the 1-2 hour weekend queue. Windmills Craftworks is a massive space with multiple brew varieties and a live music calendar. Arbor Brewing Company (an American craft brewery’s Indian outpost) does outstanding stouts and pale ales. Biere Club near MG Road was one of Bangalore’s first microbreweries and still serves some of the most inventive seasonal brews.
My recommended crawl: start at Toit around 2 PM (no queue), walk to Windmills, then end at Arbor Brewing. Total damage: INR 2,000-3,000 ($24-36) for three breweries including food.
VV Puram Food Street
VV Puram (Thindi Beedi — “Eating Street”) is Bangalore’s best street food destination and one of the finest food streets in South India. The lane opens around 5 PM as stalls fire up their griddles and the aroma of dosas, vadas, and fresh masala fills the air. Walk the entire strip before committing — the variety is staggering.
Must-tries: masala dosa (INR 40-60, the crispy Bangalore style), churmuri (puffed rice mixed with onion, lime, and spices — Bangalore’s signature snack), Mysore pak (dense ghee-rich sweet fudge, INR 30 a piece), and the iconic Bangalore filter coffee served in a steel tumbler with a saucer (INR 20-30). I spent INR 400 ($5) on a full VV Puram crawl and was uncomfortably full.
The Garden City Lives Up to Its Name
Lalbagh at 7 AM — the city not yet awake, the gardens immaculate, the 3-billion-year-old rock in the center. Bangalore's parks are why people who come for work never want to leave.
Day Trips from Bangalore
Bangalore’s real power is as a South India base. Several of India’s best destinations are within a day’s drive.
Mysore (3 hours) has the magnificent Mysore Palace (INR 200/$2.50), which is illuminated by 96,000 light bulbs every Sunday evening — the sight is extraordinary. The Devaraja Market sells jasmine flower garlands and spices. Mysore pak (the sweet) was invented here at the palace kitchen.
Nandi Hills (60km, 45 minutes drive, free entry) is the Bangalore sunrise ritual. At 1,478m elevation, the hilltop fort gives views over mist-filled valleys that look like seas of cloud. Cycling groups depart from the city most weekends at 4 AM — joining one is a wonderful way to experience Bangalore’s outdoor culture. Go on a weekday to avoid the traffic jam of weekend day-trippers.
Coorg (Kodagu, 5 hours) is Karnataka’s coffee country — misty hills covered in coffee and spice plantations. Stay at a plantation homestay, walk through working coffee estates, and visit the Abbey Falls and Dubare elephant camp. The Coorg specialty pork curry with kadambuttu (steamed rice balls) is one of Karnataka’s best regional meals.
Hampi (6 hours by overnight bus or train) — the ruined Vijayanagara capital in its surreal boulder landscape is one of India’s most extraordinary UNESCO sites and worth the overnight journey.
Where Should I Stay in Bangalore?
- The Leela Palace — Grand luxury in the Kodihalli area with stunning pool, gardens, and Bangalore’s best hotel dining. The weekend brunch buffet is legendary among residents. From INR 20,000/night ($250)
- Taj West End — Heritage property on 20 acres of lush tropical gardens, originally built in 1887. The gardens are the most beautiful hotel grounds in Bangalore and the central location near MG Road is perfect. From INR 12,000/night ($145)
- ibis Bangalore City Centre — Reliable mid-range option near Hosur Road with clean rooms, decent restaurant, and excellent Metro access. From INR 3,500/night ($42)
- Social Offline — Budget-boutique hybrid in Church Street with a co-working vibe, rooftop bar, and rooms that punch above their price point. From INR 2,500/night ($30)
- Zostel Bangalore — Social hostel in HSR Layout with a good common area for meeting other travellers. From INR 600/night ($7)
What Should I Eat in Bangalore?
Bangalore has India’s most diverse restaurant scene after Mumbai — South Indian classics, coastal Karnataka seafood, North Indian, and an increasingly impressive modern dining scene driven by the city’s young, well-travelled tech workforce.
- Vidyarthi Bhavan — Operating since 1943 in Gandhi Bazaar, this is the dosa temple of Bangalore. The masala dosa is crisp, ghee-kissed, and served on a banana leaf with three chutneys and sambar. Arrive before 8 AM to avoid the queue. Cash only. INR 150/person ($2)
- MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) — South Indian institution since 1924 near Lalbagh. The rava idli (semolina steamed cake, actually invented here) is perfect, and the filter coffee is the benchmark against which all other Bangalore coffee is measured. INR 250/person ($3)
- Toit Brewpub — Best craft beer in India with pub food that’s genuinely good — the pork ribs, wood-fired pizza, and fried calamari all hit. Go on a weekday around noon for no queue. INR 800/person ($10)
- Karavalli — Coastal Karnataka fine dining at the Taj Gateway Hotel. The Mangalorean prawn gassi and kane fry (ladyfish) represent Karnataka’s coastal cuisine at its peak. The ambiance, the banana-leaf presentation, the spice complexity — this is one of the best meals I’ve had in India. INR 1,500/person ($18)
- Brahmin Coffee Bar — Tiny, no-frills joint in Basavanagudi that serves only four items: idli, vada, kesari bath, and filter coffee. Since 1965. Standing room only, no chairs. The filter coffee is possibly the best in the city. INR 80/person ($1)
Dosa at Dawn
A Vidyarthi Bhavan masala dosa at 7:30 AM — crisp, ghee-kissed, served on a banana leaf with three chutneys and sambar. This dosa has been made this way since 1943. It has never needed improving.
Getting Around Bangalore
Bangalore’s traffic is legendary — it’s ranked among Asia’s worst. The saving grace is the Namma Metro, which is expanding rapidly and now covers the airport to city centre route plus key commercial and tourist areas. Use it whenever possible — it’s clean, cheap (INR 20-60), air-conditioned, and bypasses the gridlock entirely.
Uber and Ola are reliable but can be painfully slow during rush hours (8-10 AM and 5-7 PM). A 10km ride that takes 15 minutes at noon can take an hour at peak time. Auto-rickshaws work for short distances — insist on the meter or agree on a price before getting in. The city is too spread out to walk between major neighbourhoods, but individual areas (Indiranagar, Koramangala, Basavanagudi) are walkable internally.
- Best time to visit: October to February is ideal, but honestly Bangalore is pleasant year-round thanks to the 920m elevation. Even April-May (India's hottest months) rarely exceed 35C here. Pack a light jacket for evenings — it drops to 15-18C in winter.
- Getting there: Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) is a major hub with domestic and international connections. The airport is 40km from the city — the Namma Metro airport line runs directly to the centre. AirAsia, IndiGo, and SpiceJet all offer cheap domestic flights from most Indian cities.
- Budget tip: Bangalore is pricier than most Indian cities but still excellent value. A full day (transport, food, one brewery) runs INR 2,000-3,000 ($24-36). Craft beer prices are INR 250-400 ($3-5) per pint — less than half of what you'd pay in Europe.
- Insider tip: Brahmin Coffee Bar in Basavanagudi is the standing-room-only, no-frills filter coffee experience that locals will tell you about. Four items on the menu, open since 1965, and the coffee is transcendent. Go at 7 AM.
- Metro first: Always check if the Metro reaches your destination before opening Uber. The Namma Metro is expanding fast and saves enormous amounts of time stuck in traffic.
- Brewery strategy: Hit Toit on a weekday (no queue). Weekend evenings can mean 1-2 hour waits. The Indiranagar 12th Main crawl works best as a Tuesday-Thursday afternoon activity.
- Nandi Hills timing: Leave Bangalore by 4:30 AM for sunrise. The cycling groups that depart weekends from various Bangalore meetup points are friendly and inclusive — bring your own rental bike or hire through the group.
The Comfortable Surprise
Bangalore surprises you by being easy — good coffee, good beer, excellent weather, and a city that genuinely functions. After northern India's intensity, it feels like coming up for air. Then you take a day trip to Hampi and remember what India is for.