Surrounded with green hills and placid lakes and having a salubrious climate, Pune is known as the Queen of the Deccan and Oxford of the East. This cultural capital of Maharashtra is among the greenest urban areas in India. Being witnessed the ups and downs of the Maratha Empire and its great ruler Shivaji, Pune has lot to narrate about its historic past.

Pune is now a center for Marathi theatre, education, crafts, culture and art. The city has one of the India's oldest universities that attract students both from India and abroad. In coarse of time, Pune is becoming a commercial hub for Maharashtra state next to Mumbai with the investors and MNCs showing interest to this city.

Here, one can enjoy the narrow but historic lanes of the walled city as well as the spacious and dazzling streets of the new city. Pune offers both traditional Maharashtra as well as the up-to-date and lively new look Maharashtra. Enjoy!

Entertainment

Being a modern city, Pune offers a lot to culture and music buffs, food and fashion lovers. Discotheques and pubs are there in the Cantonment area. 'Rain dances' and beauty pageants are held regularly in summer months.

Western music performances and rock shows too are organized for music lovers throughout the year. Annual festivals offering a gamut of Western and Indian music competitions, fashion shows and fun games are organized by most of the colleges in this city.

Gandharva Mahotsav is a music concert that attracts serious music lovers. It is held in every December. Here one can hear great performers of Indian classical music at a very nominal price.

Empire Cinema, Connaught Road and West End Cinema on Moledina Road both screen good English movies. But West End screens Bollywood movies as well in the afternoon. The Film and Television Institute of India, Law College Road is known for its many famous alumni and offers more serious movies, though you have to be a member. Nehru Memorial Hall, in the Cantonment area, and Bal Gandharva Theater, Jangli Maharaj Road, stage performances of Indian drama, music and dance.

Sports

Tennis courts can be rented for sports. Deccan Gymkhana, Ladies Club and WIE complex has table tennis and badminton courts. One can also enjoy swimming here. Panshet Dam offers water sports like kayaking or wind surfing. There are special facilities for speedboats and water scooters.

Discotheques

Cyclone
Market Yard, Above Fulora Restaurant, Pune

Ten Downing Street
2nd Floor Gera Plaza Boat Club Road Nr City Point Pune-411001

Club Polaris
Blue Diamond 1 Koregaon Park Pune

Crystal Ball
M G Road Pune

Havana
Kamala Arcade J M Road Pune

Pegasus
San Mahu Complex Opp Poona Club Pune

Scream
Hotel Le Meidien Raja Bahadur M Mill Rd Bh Pune Railway Station Pune

Pubs

Ten Downing Street
2nd Floor, Gera Plaza, Boat Club Road, Nr City Point, Pune-411001

Thousand Oaks
2/17 East Street Camp, Pune-411001

Carzonrent
Abc Farms Koregaon Park Pune-411001

Hi Tide
Sagar Plaza 1 Bund Garden Road Pune

Pub Carousel The Lobby Pub
Hotel Holiday Inn Pune-411001

How To Reach
Indian Airlines and other private airlines are providing regular flights to Pune from Delhi. Three different flights arrived from Mumbai daily. There are four flights a week to Chennai and Bangalore. Pune city is only 12 km from the Airport

Pune can also be reached by train. Deccan Queen, Deccan Express, Indrayani, Pragati and Shatabdi are the regular trains that run between Pune and Mumbai everyday. It takes nearly 4-5 hours.

Pune is easily accessible by bus from any of the major cities of Maharashtra. Government and private buses run regularly between Mumbai and Pune. Tourists can also hire taxis.

Quick Tips

Weather
September to June is the best time to visit Pune. The winters are fairly cool and the monsoons have heavy rains. Visiting Lonavala and Khandala are best during this season, which is not far from Pune.

Getting around
Auto-rickshaws and taxis are available to hire in the city. But remember to pay the auto-rickshaws by the metre card. Government buses run within the city and suburbs on scheduled routes.

Shopping

Tulsi Baug is a noisy and unorganized market area with temporary stalls and lined shops. But here, tourists can get household items; jewellery, Maharashtrians traditional wares, pearl nose ring, necklace and the nine-yard sarees from this busy market.

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Deccan Gymkhana) is so small market place on the other side of the river Mutha that one can easily cover within 15 minutes. This area has full of shops for fruit, leather items, gifts, food, shoes, and furniture. There is a lane called Hong Kong lane that sells trinkets, cosmetic jewellery, cassettes and flowers. Sweetshops of this marketplace are famous for its sweet pedas, barfis and amrakhanda as well as spicy bhakar wadis and saurali wadis.

Juna Bazaar or Old Market is a place for accessories like necklaces, screwdrivers and door hinges. Antique coins are casually sold here. Even many of the denizens of Pune are unaware of this, but foreigners and amateur coin collectors are familiar with this street. Worn out trousers, old silk saris and even second hand floppies are available here. Juna Bazaar runs every Wednesday and Sunday on a part of the Vir Santaji Ghorpade Path, near Maldhaka Chowk.

Laxmi Road is mainly famous for its garment shops for all weathers and its purses. It is said that a visit to Pune is incomplete if you have not visited Laxmi Road once. This place too is a very busy and noisy place. The market road is nearly 4 km long. It starts from the Alka Talkies Square and runs right through the old city terminating at the Cantonment area. Laxmi Road is not opened on Mondays and in the afternoons.

Mahatma Gandhi Road is a place with big stores. There are also temporary road stalls mostly selling garments along these big stores. If visitors feel hungry, there are also plenty of food stalls and ice cream parlours on this road as well as in nearby areas. Mahatma Gandhi Road, like Laxmi Road is also one way. This place is favourite for evening hangouts. It is closed on Sundays and in the afternoons.