Places of interest
The Chintamani Jain Temple — The exquisite wooden carvings and paintings are the major attractions of the temple. The temple actively maintained and visited by the city's Jains is situated in the Shahpor area and dates back to 15 century and houses some extremely rare paintings of the Jain monk Acharya Hemachandra, and of the Solanki King Kumarpal. Any visit to the city would be incomplete without a visit here especially for Jains.
Dutch Garden — The ancient Dutch gardens, the Dutch cemetery and Makaipul, the ancient original port from where the ships sailed to other parts of the world are other attractions.
Surat Fort
The Old Fort — The Old Fort was built by Muhammad bin Tughluq in the 1546 to fortify the defence against the Bhils. It is now used for municipal offices.
The Sardar Patel Museum — Established in 1898, and origially called the Winchester Museum;, this museum has a collection of over 10,000 specimens of arts and crafts.
Clock Tower
Rangupavan — It is an open air theater with a 18 meters by 10.5 meters stage and a capacity of around 4000 spectators. This is one of the biggest theaters in the country. Rangupavan was recently closed.
Gaurav Path — A well planned and well-built major road in New Surat area of the city. Home of multiplexes, shopping malls, show-rooms, restaurants and much more. This expressway connects Surat with its airport and Port of Magdalla sea port. SVNIT is also located on it as well as the beautiful 'Lake View Garden'. A plan to stretch this expressway to Dumas.
Choppati — This is also a very popular place in the city. It has a large garden and provides Indian fastfood like Paav Bhajee and Pani puri.
Udhana - An large Industrial town only 7kms south of Surat hosts more than 3000 industrial units and corporates. Also known as industrial hub of Surat. Also Gateway of South Surat.
Saputara is a hill station in the Sahyadri Hills only 150 km from Surat at an altitude of 1500 metres above sea level.The nearest Hill-Station of Surat. Lying at a higher altitude Saputara has a cool climate and dense forest. Also known as the Nilgiris of Gujarat.
Vansda National Park — It is situated in the Navsari district and is home to leopards, tigers, panthers,pythons and wild boars. The best time to visit is between July and January.
Beaches — There are a number of beaches near Surat. Only 16 km away, Dumas is a popular resort with locals. Suvali is 28 km from the city and Ubhrat is 42 km out, while Tithal is 108 km away and only five km from Valsad on the Mumbai to Vadodara railway line. Suvali has two wells with water rich in iron and sulphur. Suvali beach is fringed by feathery casurina trees.
Thirty-nine kilometres south of Surat, Navsari- The Twin City of Surat has been a headquarters for the Parsi community since the earliest days of their settlement in India. Udvada, only 10 km north of Vapi, the station for Daman, has the oldest Parsi sacred fire in India. It is said that the fire was brought from Persia to Diu, on the opposite coast of the Gulf of Cambay, in AD 700. Sanjan, in the extreme south of the state, is the small port where the Parsis first landed; a pillar marks the spot.
The Dutch Cemetery — Located near Kataragam Gate, this impressive mausoleum is that of Baron Hendrik Adriaan Van Rheede tot Drakenstein, who died in 1691. A massive Dome, beautiful pillars and the huge gallery make it a very outstanding monument.[13]
Science City — It is being developed by the Surat Municipal Corporation in City Light area and will be one of the most attractive places in the city in the near future.
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