Vadodara

A trip to Vadodara would mean taking a break fro. the commercial ambience of Gujarat. Located by the beautiful Vishwamitri River, there are several beautiful gardens, museums and art galleries. Vadodara has preserved the culture of Gujarat as well of its rulers and different kingdoms across the years.

The history of Vadodara can be traced back to 2000 years ago. Situated on the bank of Vishwamitri River, the city was formerly called Chandravati after the ruler Raja Chandan. Later the name was changed to Virvati and then Vadpatra because of the densely populated banyan trees on the bank of river Vishwamitri. The present name Baroda or Vadodara got derived from ‘Vadpatra’. The rich historical background of this place started from the Moghul rule which ended in 1732. The greatest rule was of Maratha which started with the accession of Maharaja Sayajirao III, 1875. Maharaja Sayajirao was a foremost reformer and initiated a socio-economic reform. He also started textiles and tile factories, visualised a scheme of development in educational sectors. He was the one to introduce compulsory primary education and library moment to emphasise the importance of education. The maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda marks his vision and modern Vadodara is a fitting memorial to this late ruler. The city has witnessed the rise and fall of several kingdoms and empires, Hindus, Pathans, Moghuls and Marathas and now occupies a vibrant position in the industrial and educational map.

The city of Vadodara is marked with several shopping hot - spots for shopaholics. One can find spots ranging from multiplexes and malls to small markets with vibrant atmosphere of shoppers. If you think you can get everything with the brand tag, shopping is incomplete in Vadodara without jumping to the streets. National Plaza and Alkapuri are two major malls in the city. The industrial market is one of the largest street market which provided a wide range of goods, from furnitures to apparel and textiles. Lehripura market is another street market famous for its supply of traditional goods. This market is dominated majorly by the middle class population of the city.

During the 2000 year long history, the city of Vadodara has gone through several phases of urbanisation and development. The city Brims with architectural heritage as most of the offices and buildings designed during the ruling of Guptas, Solankis, Marathas and Mughals still stand tall today. There are several landmarks that are still evident of the fact that how powerful the impact of those ruling was over that period. The kila-e -daulatabad or today known as Old Baroda is a walled section of the city where you can explore shrines, century-old tenements, pilgrims and medieval bazaars. The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda established in 1881 by Sayajirao III is an evident example of an architectural design which has 144-foot high dome top in their Faculty of Arts Building, which is the second largest masonry dome in India. The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery is another heritage with remarkable design on walls. The Kothi building is where the administrative office is located which is inspired by Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. Also known as the ‘temple of fame’ Kirti Mandir is a memorial for the deceased of Gaekwad family. Sayajirao Gaekwad hospital is another example that shows the influence of Indo – Saracenic architectural style.

Vadodara has a large range of restaurants serving typical Gujarati thalis and also other cuisines, which means that the tourists do not have limited options in terms of food. Though there are more vegetarian restaurants in this city than there are non vegetarian. But the Gujrati cuisine offers a lot of variety in food and with so much variety in eating vegetarian food, the famous Indian British cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey has termed Gujarati cuisine as "the haute cuisine of vegetarianism" in one of her TV serials about Indian food.
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Day 1- Begin day at the EME Temple. Then visit the Inorbit Mall, Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum and Gandhinagar Gruh Town Hall.
Day 2- Begin day at Iskon Temple, Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery and Sayaji Baug.