Sight Seeing in Various South Indian Cities - Kerala

Kerala possesses unique geographic features that have made it one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Asia. Cochin adds to this, providing lovely sightseeing places in and around the city.
Bolghatty Palace: Bolghatty is a Dutch palace situated on an island. The palace was built by the Dutch in 1744, later it became the seat of the British Resident of Cochin and is presently a hotel with a fine golf course. Frequent boat service is available from the mainland. Its easy access to Bolghatty makes it an attractive picnic spot.

Mattancherry Palace: Built by the Portuguese in 1555, Mattancherry Palace was presented to the Raja of Cochin, Veera Kerala Varma. The palace was renovated in 1663, by the Dutch and hence it has an alternative name, Dutch Palace. The place is a two storey quadrangular building surrounded by a courtyard with a Hindu Temple. The most wonderful feature of this palace are the murals in the bedchambers and other rooms which depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and of the Puranic legends.Open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on all days except Fridays.

Jewish Synagogue: The synagogue, magnificently decorated with Chinese tiles and Belgian chandeliers, was built in 1568. Giant scrolls of the Old Testament can be found here. It is located close to the Dutch Palace. The handpainted willow pattern floor tiles were brought from Canton in China in the mid 18th century by Ezekial Rahabi, who was also responsible for the erection of the building's clock tower. A synagogue built at Kochangadi in 1344 has since disappeared, although a stone slab from this building, inscribed in Hebrew, can be found on the inner surface of the wall. The area around the synagogue is known as Jewtown and is one of the centres of the Kochi spice trade. Open from 10:00am to 12:00 noon and 3:00pm to 5:00pm.Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

St Francis church: It is the oldest European church in India, built by Portuguese Franciscan friars who accompanied the expedition led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The original structure was made of wood, but the church was rebuilt in stone during the 16th century. On his 3rd visit to Kerala, Vasco da Gama, the Portugese trader who reached India from Europe by sea, fell ill and died in Kochi. He was buried in the St. Francis Church. Fourteen years later his remains were taken back to Portugal. In spite of that, the exact place where he was buried has been marked out, inside the church. Sunday services are held in English at 8:00 am and in Malayalam at 9:30am, the church is not open at other times.