Overlooking the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple tank, the opulent 18th-century palace of the Travancore maharajas is a classically Keralan world of beautifully carved wooden ceilings, tiled roofs, marble sculptures and imported Belgian glass. Inside you’ll find Kathakali images, an armoury, portraits of maharajas, ornate thrones and other artefacts. Admission is by...

　　Yann Martel famously based the animals in his novel Life of Pi on those he observed in Trivandrum’s Zoological Gardens. Shaded paths meander through woodland, lakes and native forest, where tigers, macaques, hippos, peacocks, deer, leopards and other creatures gather, though some live in small, not very open enclosures. ...

　　One of Trivandrum's major churches, the Roman Catholic St Joseph's is a whitewashed neo-Gothic creation from 1873, topped by a soaring bell tower added in the 1920s. ...

　　Occupying a handsome 120-year-old heritage building within the Kerala Tourism complex, this intelligently presented museum traces Kerala's history and culture through superb static and multimedia displays. Exhibits range from Iron Age implements to bronze, wood and terracotta sculptures, murals, dhulichitra (floor paintings), Roman-era coins, re-creations of traditional Keralite homes and...

　　Within the grounds of Trivandrum's zoo, this gallery displays paintings by the Rajput, Mughal and Tanjore schools, and portraits by renowned Keralite artist Ravi Varma (1848–1906) in the European style. 　　In the gallery's small annexe, near the eastern entrance to the zoo, you can see an opulent royal chariot used...

　　Trivandrum’s spiritual heart is this 18th-century temple (closed to non-Hindus) in the Fort area, which fuses Keralan and Dravidian architecture and whose origins go back to at least the 8th century. The main entrance is through the 30m-tall, seven-tier eastern gopuram (gateway tower), in Tamil Nadu style. In the inner...

　　In Trivandrum's Zoological Gardens complex (but not inside the zoo itself), the Natural History Museum contains hundreds of stuffed animals and birds and a fine skeleton collection. It was closed for renovations at research time. ...

　　Housed in an 1880 wooden building designed by Robert Chisholm (a British architect whose Fair Isle–style version of the Keralite vernacular shows his enthusiasm for local craft), this museum holds an eclectic display of bronzes, Buddhist sculptures, temple carts, ivory carvings and a wood-carved model of Kerala's famous Guruvayur temple....