Must see attractions in Kochi (Cochin)

  • Top Choice
    Pardesi Synagogue

    Originally built in 1568, Mattancherry's synagogue was partially destroyed by the Portuguese in 1662, and rebuilt two years later when the Dutch took…

  • Top Choice
    Mattancherry Palace

    Mattancherry Palace was a generous gift presented to the Raja of Kochi, Veera Kerala Varma (1537–65), as a gesture of goodwill by the Portuguese in 1555…

  • Chinese Fishing Nets

    The unofficial emblems of Kerala’s backwaters, and perhaps the most photographed, are the half-dozen giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on Fort…

  • Kerala Folklore Museum

    Created in Kerala style from ancient temples and beautiful old houses collected by its owner, an antique dealer, the family-run folklore museum houses a…

  • Hill Palace Museum

    Around 13km east of Ernakulam, this impressive 49-building palace complex was formerly the residence of the Kochi royal family. It now houses the…

  • Indo-Portuguese Museum

    The heritage of one of India’s earliest Catholic communities – including vestments, silver processional crosses, altarpieces from the Kochi diocese and…

  • S
    St Francis Church

    Constructed in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars, this is believed to be India’s oldest European-built church. The faded-yellow edifice that stands…

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    David Hall

    Opposite the parade ground, this beautiful restored bungalow is all that remains of three 17th-century Dutch-era houses built using materials from…

  • K
    Kashi Art Gallery

    The pioneer of Fort Cochin’s art revival, Kashi displays changing exhibitions of local artists in a creatively restored Dutch heritage house, attached to…

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    Indian Naval Maritime Museum

    In a pair of former bomb shelters, this museum traces the history of the Indian navy, as well as maritime trade dating back to the Portuguese and Dutch…

  • S
    Santa Cruz Basilica

    Built on the site of an early-16th-century Portuguese church (demolished during the British Raj), Fort Cochin's imposing neoclassical Catholic basilica…

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    Dutch Cemetery

    Consecrated in 1724, this cemetery near Kochi's beach contains the worn and dilapidated graves of Dutch traders and soldiers. Its gates are normally…

  • B
    Bastion Bungalow

    Though the interior of this 1667 Indo-European bungalow was being renovated into a museum at research time, you can admire its fine whitewashed, tiled…

  • J
    Jewish Cemetery

    Just southwest of Mattancherry's synagogue, the undisturbed Jewish Cemetery contains ancient tombstones marked with Hebrew script.