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Shopping in Bengaluru

Shopping in Bengaluru offers a wealth of choice, from handmade arts and crafts to beautiful silk saris.

Key areas: 

For Karnataka specialities there is an abundance of handicraft shops in and around MG Road and the Commercial Street area. Silk, carvings of sandalwood and rosewood and Lambani tribal jewellery, and to a lesser extent soapstone sculptures and brassware can be found here.
Commercial Street is renowned for its excellent tailors for both men and women who are able to create a suit or copy one you already have in a matter of days. Opticians will also make up prescription glasses in a few days.
More general handicraft stores are Central Cottage Industries Emporium, 144 MG Road and The Cauvery, 49 MG Road .

Markets: 

City Market (KR) mostly sells fresh products like fruit, vegetables and flowers. Russell Market is more centrally located, near Commercial Street. It is worth a visit to these markets to get a real feel for the places where locals do their food shopping.

Shopping centres: 

Bengaluru got its first indoor air-conditioned shopping mall with multi-storey parking - the Forum - in 2004. It is now one of several malls selling European and American branded goods as well as many well known Indian chains. Other malls have followed suit, including The Garuda Mall, Bangalore Central and more recently, the Total Mall chain.

Opening hours: 

Most shops and particularly the handicraft shops open late and close late with no absolute set times but 1000-1100 to 2000-2100 are typical opening hours throughout the week.

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