Freedom Park

Freedom Park in Gandhi Nagar occupies the site of the old Bangalore Central Jail, where many freedom fighters were imprisoned during the independence struggle. Opened as a public park in 2008, it preserves some of the jail’s watchtowers, cells and walls.

Freedom Park, Central Bengaluru
Practical guide

Plan Freedom Park

Who's going?Tailor Freedom Park to your trip
Typeheritage
Nearest baseCentral Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed30 to 45 minutes
EntryFree
Places to visit24Listed businesses49

Inspired by London’s Hyde Park, it is now the city’s designated space for protests, rallies and public events, as well as a green civic space with exhibition areas and a small museum on its history.

What to expect

Highlights

  • Preserved Central Jail watchtowers and cell blocks.
  • The freedom-struggle history and small museum.
  • A civic green space and the city’s main protest venue.
Getting there

How to visit

  • In Gandhi Nagar near the city railway station and Majestic; Nadaprabhu Kempegowda / Majestic metro is close.
  • Open through the day; some areas may be closed during official events.

Distance by road

  • Mysuru145 km
  • Chennai350 km
  • Hyderabad570 km
  • Mangaluru350 km
  • Coimbatore365 km

Road km to Bengaluru Urban; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.

Timing

Best time

October to February; mornings and late afternoons are pleasant.

Weather in Freedom ParkSeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Freedom Park
Sunrise6:10 am
Sunset6:00 pm
Golden hour best light5:00 pm–6:00 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:00 pm–6:25 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 37%

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Visitor notes

  • Free or nominal entry; access can be restricted when rallies or events are on.
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Freedom Park

Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Freedom Park — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.

Top pick
Restaurant
The Yard, Whitefield
19.3 km · 26 min driveOpen · till 1:00 amindian, asian, continental, bar food, grill, fusion5-star

Restaurant (indian, asian, continental, bar food, grill, fusion) on 22/A, Doddanakundi Industrial Area 2, Phase 1, Doddanekkundi in Central Bengaluru.

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Absolute Barbecue
16.8 km · 25 min driveOpen · till 3:00 pmbarbecue

Restaurant (barbecue) on Outer Ring Road in Central Bengaluru. Barbecue, AC.

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Café
Copper + Cloves @ the organic world
9.6 km · 15 min driveOpen · till 7:00 pmplant based

Café (plant based) on 12th Main, 7th Cross Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar in Central Bengaluru. Plant Based, WiFi, AC.

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Café
Third Wave Coffee
17.2 km · 25 min driveOpen · till 1:00 amcoffee shop, sandwich, burger

Café (coffee shop, sandwich, burger) on Outer Ring Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Street food
McDonald's
18.7 km · 27 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmburger

Street food (burger) on ITPL Main Road in Central Bengaluru. Burger, AC, Wheelchair access.

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Restaurant
1882 Restaurant
19.0 km · 28 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmglobal

Restaurant (global) on ITPL Main Rd, EPIP Zone Brookefield in Central Bengaluru. Global, WiFi, Wheelchair access.

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Restaurant
Tiger Trail
3.9 km · 7 min driveOpen · till 3:30 pmregional

Restaurant (regional) on Park Road, Shivaji Nagar in Central Bengaluru.

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Street food
Papa John's
3.9 km · 6 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmpizza

Street food.

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Street food
Sbarro
2.7 km · 5 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmpizza

Street food. Pizza, AC.

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Restaurant
Chinita
8.2 km · 12 min driveOpen · till 3:30 pmmexican

Restaurant (mexican) on Indiranagar Double Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
The Big Barbeque
17.0 km · 26 min driveOpen · till 3:30 pmbarbecue

Restaurant (barbecue) on Outer Ring Road in Central Bengaluru. Barbecue, AC.

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Restaurant
Shanmukha Restaurant
16.0 km · 25 min driveOpen · till 4:00 pmregional

Restaurant (regional) on Near Home Town, Outer Ring Rd, Marathahalli, Bengaluru in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Onestà
8.6 km · 13 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmpizza

Restaurant (pizza) on Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Holy Flames
16.9 km · 26 min driveOpen · till 9:00 pmregional

Restaurant (regional) on Silver Springs Layout, Marathahalli, Bengaluru in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Al Khair Restaurant
9.0 km · 13 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmregional

Restaurant (regional) on 1st Main Rd, Kanaka Nagar, Hebbal, in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Sukh Sagar
10.5 km · 16 min driveOpen · till 10:30 pmregional

Restaurant (regional) on Kammanahalli Main Road, Near-Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Pākaśāla
5.4 km · 9 min driveOpen · till 10:00 pmindian

Restaurant (indian) on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
UP south
2.4 km · 4 min driveOpen · till 12:00 amindian

Restaurant. Indian, AC.

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Street food
KFC
5.7 km · 9 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmchicken

Street food (chicken) on Modi Hospital Main Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Tadka Singh
8.2 km · 13 min driveOpen · till 10:30 pmindian

Restaurant (indian) on Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Maffei Kitchen
9.1 km · 13 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmmediterranean

Restaurant (mediterranean) on 5th Cross Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Alt Pizza
9.7 km · 15 min driveOpen · till 10:30 pmpizza

Restaurant.

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Street food
Burger King
15.3 km · 21 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmburger

Street food (burger) on Whitefield Main Road, Mahadevpura, Devasandra Industrial Estate, Krishnarajapuram in Central Bengaluru.

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Restaurant
Chung Wah
4.4 km · 7 min driveOpen · till 11:00 pmchinese

Restaurant (chinese) on Vyalikaval Main Road in Central Bengaluru.

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Before you go

Freedom Park — at a glance

TimingsDaytime; may close during official events
Best timeOctober to February

Entry: Free or nominal

Getting here

How to reach Freedom Park

Gandhi Nagar near Majestic; Nadaprabhu Kempegowda metro

Getting back

If you are travelling by bus or ferry, check the return service with the operator before setting out. Leave time to reach the stop or jetty after your visit.

Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.

Getting around Freedom Park

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Freedom Park
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Freedom Park

heritageVidhana Soudha

Karnataka's monumental granite state legislature building, completed in 1956 in a Neo-Dravidian style; floodlit on Sunday evenings and viewed from outside.

1.5 km · 18 min walk
heritageCubbon Park

A 300-acre landscaped green lung in the city centre, laid out in 1870, ringed by the red-brick Attara Kacheri (High Court), State Central Library and Government Museum.

1.6 km · 20 min walk
museumJawaharlal Nehru Planetarium

A sky-theatre and science centre at the High Grounds run by the Bangalore Association for Science Education, with domed astronomy shows, a science park of interactive exhibits and a public telescope programme.

1.8 km · 22 min walk
museumNational Gallery of Modern Art

The Bengaluru branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art, in the restored early-20th-century Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, with a permanent collection of modern Indian art and rotating exhibitions in landscaped grounds.

2.0 km · 24 min walk
churchSt. Mark's Cathedral

A British-era Anglican cathedral of 1808 on MG Road, in a neo-classical style modelled on St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with a domed sanctuary, stained glass and a quiet churchyard in the heart of the city.

2.0 km · 25 min walk · straight line
museumGovernment Museum, Bengaluru

One of the oldest museums in India, established in 1865 on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, with archaeology, coins, sculpture and inscriptions, sharing its compound with the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the technology museum.

2.1 km · 25 min walk
museumVisvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum

A hands-on science and technology museum on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, opened in 1965 in memory of engineer-statesman Sir M. Visvesvaraya, with interactive galleries on engines, electronics and space and a full-scale Wright Flyer replica.

2.2 km · 26 min walk
heritageTipu Sultan's Summer Palace

An ornate two-storey teak palace completed in 1791 for Tipu Sultan, richly carved and painted, now an ASI-protected monument beside the KR Market fort area.

2.2 km · 28 min walk · straight line
museumKarnataka Chitrakala Parishath

A leading visual-arts complex and art college on Kumara Krupa Road, with galleries of Mysore traditional paintings, folk and tribal art, Nicholas Roerich’s Himalayan works and contemporary Indian art; host of the annual Chitra Santhe street art fair.

2.5 km · 30 min walk
heritageBangalore Fort

The surviving Delhi Gate and bastions of the old fort founded in mud by Kempe Gowda in 1537 and rebuilt in stone by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, beside the KR Market; scene of the 1791 British siege, and a natural pairing with Tipu’s Summer Palace.

2.7 km · 4 min drive
heritageKR Market

The Krishna Rajendra Market (City Market), the largest and oldest wholesale market in the old city — a teeming bazaar of flowers, fruit, produce and wholesale goods beside the Jamia Masjid and Tipu’s fort area.

3.0 km · 5 min drive
templeKote Venkataramana Temple

A late-17th-century temple to Venkataramana (Vishnu) built by the Wodeyars beside Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace and the old fort, in a Vijayanagara-Dravidian style with carved pillars and a gopuram.

3.2 km · 5 min drive

All 24 places to visit in Central Bengaluru →

Walking and driving times are real routed distances, except the few marked “straight line”, which are direct-line estimates and will read short.Routing: © openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT | Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

On the map

Where Freedom Park is

Good to know

Freedom Park — frequently asked

When is the best time to visit Freedom Park?

October to February; mornings and late afternoons are pleasant.

What are the entry fee and timings at Freedom Park?

Entry: Free or nominal. Timings: Daytime; may close during official events.

How do I reach Freedom Park?

In Gandhi Nagar near the city railway station and Majestic; Nadaprabhu Kempegowda / Majestic metro is close. Open through the day; some areas may be closed during official events.

How much time do I need for Freedom Park?

30 to 45 minutes.

What else is near Freedom Park?

Nearby you can pair Vidhana Soudha (1.5 km), Cubbon Park (1.6 km), Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium (1.8 km), National Gallery of Modern Art (2.0 km).

Read before you go

Freedom Park guides, stories & itineraries

We have not published a story about Freedom Park itself yet. These cover Central Bengaluru and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.

Around Central Bengaluru

These guides explore Central Bengaluru and the surrounding area. Choose a visit that fits your interests, allowing separately for travel between stops.

Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries

Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.

See all 11 Bengaluru Urban guides & stories →

Image credits

Photographs: Diham, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Wikimedia Commons.