1. Escape rooms
- Duration: About two hours.
Escape rooms are a great experience for intellectually driven friend groups. Participants are locked in a dark room filled with clues that need to be deciphered. It is definitely a must-have experience for anyone who has never tried an escape room.
2. Bangalore Palace
- Duration: About two hours.
A visit to Bangalore Palace offers a glimpse of how kings used to live. It is nowhere comparable to Mysore Palace, but it is worth visiting at least once while in the city. I especially like the audio guide they have.
3. Visvesvaraya Museum
- Best time: Morning.
- Duration: About four hours, though covering every experiment may take a full day.
Visvesvaraya Museum is a good place for anyone who was interested in science while growing up. It has a lot of scientific experiments, including my favourite light-splitting experiment. They take me back to my childhood.
4. Movies
- Duration: About four hours.
Going to the movies with friends is an obvious but great experience. In my opinion, horror movies are a good choice. Watching a movie may not involve much active time together.
5. IKEA
- Best time: From its opening at 11:00.
- Duration: Until around 4:00; it can be a whole-day event.
IKEA might sound like an unusual choice, but it is a good place to spend quality time with a friend or a date. The furnished rooms can be explored, and there are places to sit, talk, and have some really good food. Their Swedish meatballs are too good.
6. National Gallery of Modern Art
- Duration: About three hours.
This gallery is decent and has some very interesting art. It is a no-brainer for art lovers.
7. Clubbing
- Duration: An entire night.
Bangalore has a lot of places for clubbing and partying, including Koramangala and Indiranagar. Koramangala is more suitable for dancing and dance floors, while Indiranagar has many resto-bars and is better suited to sitting down and talking over a beer. Bob’s Bar is one option that is definitely worth visiting at least once.
8. Food and cafes
- Duration: A couple of hours.
Bangalore is filled with great restaurants offering different cuisines, making them good places for a weekend meal with friends. Truffles is one option. Bangalore also has many new cafes with overpriced coffee and below-par food. Almost all have a great ambience, but very few have good food.
9. Playing board games with friends
- Duration: Up to an entire day.
A good collection of board games offers one of the best ways to enjoy a weekend with friends. Some options are Catan and Monopoly.
10. Parks like Cubbon Park and Lalbagh
- Duration: One to two hours.
Cubbon Park and Lalbagh are the go-to places for spending time walking in nature.
11. Stand-up comedy
- Best time: Weekends.
- Duration: One and a half to two hours.
Bangalore’s comedy scene is also quite good. Interesting shows take place throughout the week and are worth attending when a specific comedian is of interest. There are also comedy nights featuring a lineup of comedians, though they can be hit or miss depending on the lineup. Tickets usually cost around 200 or 300 rupees.
12. Wonderla
- Duration: A full day.
Wonderla is an amusement park close to Bangalore and is worth visiting with a group of friends. It has both water and land rides.
13. Plays
- Duration: About two hours.
Different plays are often listed on BookMyShow. They can sometimes be hit or miss, but watching a play and seeing drama performed live is an experience worth having.
Many thanks to my friends, who took the time to explore these places first and then exploit them with me.