PLACES
TO VISIT
Chinese Fishing
Nets/Vasco da Gama Square
These huge cantilevered fishing nets are the legacy of one of the first visitors
to the Malabar Coast. Erected here between 1350 and 1450 AD by traders from
the court of Kublai Khan, these nets are set up on teak wood and bamboo poles.
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Pierce Leslie Bungalow
This charming mansion was the office of Pierce Leslie & Co., coffee merchants,
founded in 1862. A representative of the Fort Kochi colonial bungalow, this
building reflects Portuguese, Dutch and Local influences.
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Old Harbour House
This elegant old bungalow built in 1808 is in the possession of Carrit Moran
& Co., renowned tea brokers, who now use it as their residence. The house
was once a boat club.
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Koder House
This elegant old bungalow built in 1808 is in the possession of Carrit Moran
& Co., renowned tea brokers, who now use it as their residence. The house
was once a boat club.
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Delta Study
Once a warehouse, this heritage bungalow built in 1808, house is a high school
today.
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St. Francis Church
Built in 1503 by Portuguese Francis Canfriars, this is India’s oldest European
church. This was initially built of timber and later reconstructed in stone
masonry. It was restored in 1779 by the Protestant Dutch, converted to an Anglican
church by the British in 1795 and is at present governed by the Church of South
India.
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Santa Cruz Basilica
This historic church was built by the Portuguese and elevated to a Cathedral
by Pope Paul IV in 1558. In 1795 it fell into the hands of the British when
they took over Kochi, and was demolished.
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Loafer’s Corner/Princess
Street
One of the earliest streets to be constructed in Fort Kochi, Princess Street
with its European style residences still retains its old world charm.
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Vasco House
Believed to have been the residence of Vasco da Gama, this is one of the oldest
Portuguese residences in Fort Kochi.
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VOC Gate
The large wooden gate facing the Parade Ground, with the monogram (VOC) of the
once mighty Dutch East India Company carved on it, was built in 1740.
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The United Club
Once upon a time one of the four elite clubs of the British in Kochi, the United
Club today serves two roles as class room for the nearby St. Francis Primary
School by day and as card room for the current members by evening. Until 1907,
the building housed the offices of the Fort Kochi Municipality.
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Fort Immanuel
This bastion of the Portuguese in Kochi was a symbol of the strategic alliance
between the Maharajah of Kochi and the Monarch of Portugal, after whom it was
named.
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The
Dutch Cemetery
The tomb stones here are the most authentic record of the hundreds of Europeans
who left their homeland on a mission to expand their colonial empires and changed
the course of history of this land.
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Thakur House
This graceful building holds within itself a reflection of the colonial era.
The Bungalow was built on the site of the Gelderland Bastion, one of the seven
bastions of the old Dutch fort.
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David Hall
Though built around 1695 by the Dutch East
India Company, David Hall gets its name from one of its later occupants, David
Koder, a Jewish businessman. More..........
The Cochin Club
The club, with its impressive library and collection of sporting trophies, is
housed in a beautifully landscaped park. In the early 1900s, when the club had
just become operational, admission was restricted to the British and to men
only.
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Mattancherry Palace
(Dutch Palace)
Built by the Portuguese in 1557 and presented to Raja Veera Kerala Varma of
Kochi, the Palace was renovated in 1663 by the Dutch. On display here are beautiful
murals depicting scenes from the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, and some of
the Puranic Hindu legends.
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Synagogue
Constructed in 1568, this is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth. Destroyed
in a shelling during the Portuguese raid in 1662, it was rebuilt two years later
by the Dutch.
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Jew Town
The area around the Synagogue is a centre of spice trade and curio shops.
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Cherai Beach
This lovely beach bordering Vypeen island is ideal for swimming. Dolphins are
occasionally seen here. A typical Kerala village with paddy fields and coconut
groves nearby is an added attraction.
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Bolghatty Island
This island is famous for its palace of the same name. The Bolghatty Palace
was built in 1744 by the Dutch and later taken over by the British.
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Willingdon Island
Named after Lord Willingdon, a former British Viceroy of India, this man-made
island is surrounded by beautiful backwaters. The island is the site of the
city's best hotels and trading centres, the Port Trust and the headquarters
of the southern naval command.
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The Hill Palace Museum
10 km from Kochi, Hill Palace, the official residence of the erstwhile Kochi
Royal Family, was built in 1865. The Palace complex consists of 49 buildings
in the traditional architectural style of Kerala and is surrounded by 52 acres
of terraced land with a deer park and facilities for horse riding.
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Parikshith Thampuran Museum
This museum houses a collection of coins, bronzes, copies of murals and megalithic
relics of Kerala.
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Madhavan
Nayar Foundation
Just 8 km from Ernakulam, at Edappally, the Foundation houses the Museum of
Kerala History and its Makers. The museum showcases historical episodes from
the neolithic to the modern era through life size figures.
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Vamanamoorthy Temple
Inscriptions from the 10th to the 13th century are found in this temple in Thrikakkara,
near Ernakulam.
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