Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Fast-paced, dynamic and cosmopolitan, Bengaluru — formerly Bangalore — is the face that India wants to present to the world as it marches towards superpower status. This prosperous and rapidly developing city is the hub of India’s IT revolution and the focal point of the phenomenally successful Indian outsourcing industry. Signs of affluence abound — locals browse the internet on wireless laptops in swish coffeeshops and window-shop for brand names in air-conditioned shopping malls. Bengaluru has come a long way from its humble roots as the "City of Boiled Beans," but traces of history remain in the form of fading palaces and the shady ...

Fast-paced, dynamic and cosmopolitan, Bengaluru — formerly Bangalore — is the face that India wants to present to the world as it marches towards superpower status. This prosperous and rapidly developing city is the hub of India’s IT revolution and the focal point of the phenomenally successful Indian outsourcing industry. Signs of affluence abound — locals browse the internet on wireless laptops in swish coffeeshops and window-shop for brand names in air-conditioned shopping malls. Bengaluru has come a long way from its humble roots as the "City of Boiled Beans," but traces of history remain in the form of fading palaces and the shady walkways of the Lalbagh botanical gardens. Historical sights are concentrated in the old British quarter at Gandhi Nagar; shopaholics make a beeline for the malls and stores around MG Road. Nightlife is Bengaluru’s other big attraction — this is India’s "pub city" and locals party as late as the licensing laws allow in the lounge bars around St. Mark’s Road and Brigade Road.

About the Expert

Joe Bindloss has written more than 30 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, Time Out and other publishers, with a focus on Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and island nations.