Tourist Spots in Cochin
Bolghatty Palace
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Bolghatty is a Dutch palace situated on an island.
The palace was built by the Dutch in 1744, later it became
the seat of the British Resident of Cochin and is
presently a hotel with a fine golf course. Frequent boat
service is available from the mainland. Its easy access
to Bolghatty makes it an attractive picnic spot.
Mattancherry Palace
Built by the Portuguese in 1555,  Mattancherry
Palace was presented to the Raja of Cochin, Veera Kerala
Varma. The palace was renovated in 1663, by the Dutch
and hence it has an alternative name, Dutch Palace.
The place is a two storey quadrangular building surrounded
by a courtyard with a Hindu Temple. The most wonderful feature
of this palace are the murals in the bedchambers and other
rooms which depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and
of the Puranic legends.
Open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on all days except Fridays.
Jewish
Synagogue
The synagogue, magnificently decorated with Chinese tiles
and Belgian chandeliers, was built in 1568. Giant
scrolls of the Old Testament can be found here. It is located
close to the Dutch Palace. The handpainted willow pattern
floor tiles were brought from Canton in China
in the mid 18th century by Ezekial Rahabi, who was
also responsible for the erection of the building's clock
tower. A synagogue built at Kochangadi in 1344 has
since disappeared, although a stone slab from this building,
inscribed in Hebrew, can be found on the inner surface
of the wall. The area around the synagogue is known as Jewtown
and is one of the centres of the Kochi spice trade.
Open from 10:00am to 12:00 noon and 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.
 St
Francis Church
It is the oldest European church in India, built by Portuguese
Franciscan friars who accompanied the expedition led
by Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The original structure was
made of wood, but the church was rebuilt in stone during
the 16th century. On his 3rd visit to Kerala, Vasco da
Gama, the Portugese trader who reached India from Europe
by sea, fell ill and died in Kochi. He was buried
in the St. Francis Church. Fourteen years later his remains
were taken back to Portugal. In spite of that, the exact
place where he was buried has been marked out, inside the
church.
Sunday services are held in English at 8:00 am and in
Malayalam at 9:30am, the church is not open at other times.
Chinese Fishing
Nets
 The
Chinese fishing nets found in Cochin are one of its kind in
India. It is believed that traders from the court of the Chinese
ruler Kublai Khan introduced these nets here. These
fishing nets demonstrate a mechanical method of catching fish
and are mainly used at high tide. The fishing nets can also
be seen along the backwaters between Cochin and Kottayam
and between Alleppey and Kollam.
Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary
Believe it or not, this bird sanctuary is situated right
in the heart of Cochin city and is a small tourist place.
It is home to many exotic and rare varieties of migratory
birds.
Hill Palace
Built in the 19th century by Raja of Kochi, the Kochi
province was ruled from here. The palace has been converted
into a museum displaying a fine collection of articles used
by the Rajas of Kochi apart from many other archaeological
findings.
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