Thiruvananthapuram is a historic city, dotted with many historical structures, parks, museums, tourist centers and palaces. Its also famous for its distinctive greenery, present all over, a rare site in any bustling Indian city. Visit the official website of Kerala Tourism (http://www.keralatourism.org/).
itinerary
See Trivandrum on foot.
Get public transport to Kanaka Kunnu Palace. See this public building on top of a hill, used for cultural programs. Walk down to Napier Museum and Zoo. See the building, walk around the park and visit the zoo if you are interested. Also pay a visit to the Sree Chitra Art Gallery, Natural History museum and the Reptile House. Then walk towards Palayam along the MG road absorbing the roadside buzz of activities and shopping at the roadside shops.Usually there are cultural programs at VJT Hall which may be open to the public. Continue along MG road towards the Secretariat. The area around the secretariat is known locally as Statue, due to a few neglected statues of important figures. There are sometimes political protests or demonstrations along this place. Sample the food from some of the local restaurants. SMS Institute on a side road near Secretariat sells authentic Kerala handicrafts and gift items. Prices start from Rs.25 to a few thousands. Continue along the MG road. There are many local book shops including Paico (http://www.paicoindia.com/), Modern Book House and Prabhat book store. The Ayurveda college , which teaches the traditional ayurvedic medicine will be on the right side. Opposite this, there is another handicraft store.Walk along the MG road and you will reach the junction with traffic signals known as the Over bridge locally. There are a few movie theatres nearby.
The railway station and Bus station are towards the left, about half a mile. If you continue straight, you will eventually reach Pazhavangadi. You will see the remains of a fort well hidden on the right side known as Kottakakam/East fort. The famous Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is nearby, complete with a temple lake Padmatheertham. The architecture of the temple is more in line with Tamil temples as compared to other Kerala temples. On the left is Chaalai Bazaar. This is a busy congested road teeming with all kinds of shops.
other attractions
There are several attractions, located outside the city limits, popular among tourists. Some of them are,
The Padmanabhapuram Palace
the old headquarters of Travancore Royal family, is one of the most attractive palaces, which no tourist can't afford to miss. The palace is recorded as World's largest Wooden Palace, by Guinness Books of Records. It is entirely made of teak and rosewood and have an exquisite flooring made of granite and a rare ayurvedic mixture with secret extracts to keep the floor cool in summer season and warm during rainy season. It has a grand Dubar Hall made out of rosewood and glass. The Palace houses a numerous rare antiques, including 600 year old spice bed, a rare bed made out of a special wood treated in various spices, to rejuvenate the kings as well as sandal pillars. The clock tower is one of the oldest in South Asia, that is still working. It is 65 km from Trivandrum City and is in the Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. However the palace and fort is still maintained by Kerala Government. The royal sword of Travancore Maharajas is preserved here, which is taken to Trivandrum as a grand procession during Arattu Festivals of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.Attingal Palace
the erstwhile head-quarters of Travancore Queens who ruled a small province of Attingal within Travancore. The large palace, also houses one of the family temples of Travancore Royal Family. Much of the palace is off-limits to public, however its durbar hall and public areas are open to public.Kerala Art College
is affiliated with Kerala University and easy to find, being directly opposite the unmissable Chandrasekharan Nair Football Stadium. Housed in the grounds of an old colonial building with sprawling grounds behind, there are occasional art shows eg: after graduation, circa early June held upstairs, and the downstairs offers a large library with world art books. The grounds have many impressive sculptures from the students, who are friendly and may be keen to show you around the workshops.Koyikkal Palace, Nedumangad
Aruvikkara Dam
Neyyar Dam
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
Ponmudi
SreeMahadeva Temple
Vizhinjam