Recreation and Sightseeing Taj Residency Resort, Cochin

The hotel has its own boat & boat jetty for sunset & cocktail cruises.

Sightseeing
Bolghatty Palace - Once a mansion of the British Resident and now a hotel, is in palm fringed Bolghatty Island.

Mattancherry Palace
The palace (Dutch Palace) was built by the Portuguese in 1557 and presented to the Cochin Raja, Veera Kerala Varma. The Dutch renovated it after 1663, and hence the palace has another name, 'Dutch Palace'.

The most important feature of Mattanchery Palace is the murals in the bedchambers and other rooms, which depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranic legends connected with Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kumara and Durga. These murals are some of the most beautiful and extensive, and are one of the wonders of India. The Shiva temple in Ettumanur ( near Kottayam) has similar murals. Interior of Jewish Synagogue

Jewish Synagogue
Constructed in 1568, this is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth. A stone slab from Kochangadi synagogue (built in 1344, and has then disappeared), inscribed in Hebrew, can be found on the inner surface of the wall.

The synagogue has hand-painted, willow pattern floor tiles brought from China.

ST. Francis Church
The oldest European church in India, St. Francis Church was built in the early 16th century. Today, it stands as the pride of Fort Cochin. It was here that the great explorer Vasco da Gama was first buried in 1562 before his mortal remains were taken back to Portugal by his son 16 years later.