What to expect
Highlights
- Gothic architecture, stained glass and a tall spire.
- Its status as one of India’s few minor basilicas.
- The September St Mary’s Feast and procession.
St. Mary's Basilica
St Mary’s Basilica in Shivajinagar is the oldest church in Bengaluru, tracing its origins to a small chapel of the 1810s that grew into a grand Gothic-style church in the 1870s. In 1973 it was raised to a minor basilica, one of only a handful in India.
Practical guide
Plan St. Mary's Basilica
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Before you go to St. Mary's Basilica
Specific rules not verified for this site. Kerala churches generally welcome visitors of any faith outside service times. Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered), keep quiet during Mass, and ask before photographing people or the altar. We have not verified this church's specific rules.
We report each site's own published rules neutrally, and only where we can source them.
Typechurch
Nearest baseCentral Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February for a quiet visit
Time needed30 minutes
EntryFree
Places to visit24→Listed businesses49→The church is known for its slender spire, stained-glass windows and colonnaded interior, and above all for the St Mary’s Feast each September, when a great procession and nine-day festival draw enormous crowds of many faiths.
Getting there
How to visit
- In Shivajinagar near Commercial Street; autos, buses and MG Road metro (Purple Line) are close.
- Open to visitors outside Mass times; the September feast is spectacular but extremely crowded.
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 for a quiet visit; the St Mary’s Feast is in September.
Weather in St. Mary's BasilicaSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at St. Mary's Basilica
Sunrise6:09 am
Sunset6:31 pm
Golden hour best light5:31 pm–6:31 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:31 pm–6:56 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 278°
Moon tonight🌖 Waning gibbous · 74%
South-west monsoon. June to September is the south-west monsoon in Karnataka. Expect heavy showers, mostly in bursts rather than all day — carry rain cover, allow extra time for getting around, and note that ferries and open-air sites are the first things affected.
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 entry; a working church — dress modestly and keep quiet during services.
Photos
St. Mary's Basilica in pictures
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near St. Mary's Basilica
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around St. Mary's Basilica — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
1 place to stay near St. Mary's Basilica
45 places to eat near St. Mary's Basilica
1 sight to see near St. Mary's Basilica
3 places to shop near St. Mary's Basilica
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The Yard, Whitefield
Where to eat
Top pick
Restaurant
The Yard, WhitefieldRestaurant (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
Where to eat
Top pick
Restaurant
Absolute BarbecueRestaurant (barbecue) on Outer Ring Road in Central Bengaluru. Barbecue, AC.
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Copper + Cloves @ the organic world
Where to eat
Top pick
Café
Copper + Cloves @ the organic worldCafé (plant based) on 12th Main, 7th Cross Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar in Central Bengaluru. Plant Based, WiFi, AC.
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Third Wave Coffee
Where to eat
Top pick
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McDonald's
Where to eat
Top pick
Street food
McDonald'sStreet food (burger) on ITPL Main Road in Central Bengaluru. Burger, AC, Wheelchair access.
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1882 Restaurant
Where to eat
Restaurant
1882 RestaurantRestaurant (global) on ITPL Main Rd, EPIP Zone Brookefield in Central Bengaluru. Global, WiFi, Wheelchair access.
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Tiger Trail
Where to eat
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Papa John's
Where to eat
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Sbarro
Where to eat
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Chinita
Where to eat
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The Big Barbeque
Where to eat
Restaurant
The Big BarbequeRestaurant (barbecue) on Outer Ring Road in Central Bengaluru. Barbecue, AC.
S
Shanmukha Restaurant
Where to eat
Restaurant
Shanmukha RestaurantRestaurant (regional) on Near Home Town, Outer Ring Rd, Marathahalli, Bengaluru in Central Bengaluru.
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Onestà
Where to eat
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Holy Flames
Where to eat
Restaurant
Holy FlamesRestaurant (regional) on Silver Springs Layout, Marathahalli, Bengaluru in Central Bengaluru.
A
Al Khair Restaurant
Where to eat
Restaurant
Al Khair RestaurantRestaurant (regional) on 1st Main Rd, Kanaka Nagar, Hebbal, in Central Bengaluru.
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Sukh Sagar
Where to eat
Restaurant
Sukh SagarRestaurant (regional) on Kammanahalli Main Road, Near-Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar in Central Bengaluru.
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Pākaśāla
Where to eat
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UP south
Where to eat
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KFC
Where to eat
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Tadka Singh
Where to eat
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Maffei Kitchen
Where to eat
A
Alt Pizza
Where to eat
B
Burger King
Where to eat
Street food
Burger KingStreet food (burger) on Whitefield Main Road, Mahadevpura, Devasandra Industrial Estate, Krishnarajapuram in Central Bengaluru.
C
Chung Wah
Where to eat
Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
Ranked
The best of Central Bengaluru, ranked
St. Mary's Basilica sits in Central Bengaluru, and these rank everything verified across the town rather than this one spot — built from the same listings shown above, ordered by the strength of the source evidence behind each entry rather than by anyone's star score. Every card shows how many places are really on it. Nobody pays to appear.
Across the whole of Central Bengaluru
Ranked guides
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1.5 km · 18 min walk
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2.0 km · 26 min walk
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1.7 km · 21 min walk
One of the largest and oldest lakes in the city, in the Ulsoor (Halasuru) neighbourhood near MG Road, dotted with small islands and offering boating, a lakeside promenade and a Ganesha temple on its bank.
museumVisvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum
1.3 km · 16 min walk
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.
museumHAL Aerospace Museum
India's first aerospace museum, opened in 2001 by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited near the old HAL airport, displaying vintage fighter aircraft, helicopters, aero-engines, a flight simulator and the story of Indian aviation.
museumJawaharlal Nehru Planetarium
1.5 km · 19 min walk
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.
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St. Mary's Basilica — at a glance
Timings6:00 AM - 6:00 PM (outside Mass times)
Best timeOctober to February; feast in September
Entry: Free
Getting here
How to reach St. Mary's Basilica
Shivajinagar, near Commercial Street; MG Road metro (Purple Line)
Getting back
Work out your return before you settle in for the sunset. Public transport here thins out sharply in the evening, and St. Mary's Basilica is easier to reach than to leave. We do not publish departure times: there is no official live feed we are permitted to republish, and a wrong time here would strand you. Check the operator directly on the day.
- KSRTC — the Karnataka state bus operator; route and schedule enquiries. Online booking.
- Indian Railways — live running and seat availability for the nearest railhead, named under “Getting here” above.
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 St. Mary's Basilica
We have not assessed physical access at this place yet. Across India, step-free routes, handrails and accessible toilets are the exception rather than the rule, and pavements are often interrupted — if step-free access matters to you, contact the site or a local operator before committing to the trip.
If you need help at St. Mary's Basilica
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
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Where St. Mary's Basilica is
Good to know
St. Mary's Basilica — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit St. Mary's Basilica?
October to February for a quiet visit; the St Mary’s Feast is in September.
What are the entry fee and timings at St. Mary's Basilica?
Entry: Free. Timings: 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM (outside Mass times).
How do I reach St. Mary's Basilica?
In Shivajinagar near Commercial Street; autos, buses and MG Road metro (Purple Line) are close. Open to visitors outside Mass times; the September feast is spectacular but extremely crowded.
How much time do I need for St. Mary's Basilica?
30 minutes.
What else is near St. Mary's Basilica?
Nearby you can pair Jumma Masjid (280 m), Commercial Street (540 m), St. Mark's Cathedral (1.0 km), Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum (1.3 km).
Read before you go
St. Mary's Basilica guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about St. Mary's Basilica itself yet. These cover Central Bengaluru, the town it sits in, and the wider district.
Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Photographs: Tinucherian (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), Johnchacks (CC BY 3.0), Tinucherian (CC BY-SA 3.0), Ajith Kumar (CC BY 2.0). Wikimedia Commons.
Image credits
- St. Mary's Basilica:Tinucherian (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0