Mysuru Short Break — Palace, Hill and Market

About 145 km south-west of Bangalore, and the road is quick enough that the interesting stop can be made on the way in. Srirangapatna sits on an island in the Kaveri and was Tipu Sultan's capital until the British took it in 1799 — the summer palace at Daria Daulat Bagh still carries its painted walls, and the Gumbaz holds his tomb and his father's. Into Mysuru in the afternoon. If it is a Sunday, keep the evening free: the palace illumination is at seven and is the reason to have arrived today.

Chamundi Hill early, before the queue at the temple builds — and the Nandi on the way down, five metres of it cut from a single outcrop in 1659. The palace takes the middle of the day and deserves the time: what stands now was finished in 1912 after the previous timber palace burned, and the Durbar Hall and the marriage pavilion are the rooms people remember. Shoes come off at the entrance and cameras are not allowed inside. The afternoon is Devaraja Market and, if you want them, the government silk weaving factory and the sandalwood oil works — both are working operations rather than showrooms.

North-west to Ranganathittu first thing, where the Kaveri splits around a set of small islands and the boats go out among nesting storks, ibis and spoonbills — best between June and October when the colonies are active, and quiet the rest of the year. Brindavan Gardens sits just beyond, terraced below the Krishnarajasagara dam. Then east to Bangalore, roughly three hours. The musical fountain at Brindavan runs in the evening rather than the morning, so it belongs to an outbound afternoon rather than this one.