Coimbatore is a major industrial city in Tamil Nadu, often likened to being the Manchester or Detroit of Southern India. It's famous for the manufacture of motor pump sets and varied engineering goods.
About
Coimbatore is known for its various industries, engineering goods, textile mills, educational institutions, health care facilities, pleasant weather, friendly culture and hospitality. There is a significant minority of people of North and West Indian origin in Coimbatore which gives it a cosmopolitan outlook. The Tamil spoken here is called Kongu Tamil. Other languages spoken include English, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. Very friendly & courteous people in South India. Except for early summer it otherwise has a very pleasant climate throughout the year, similar to a resort town. It's one of the upcoming Information Technology Hub with new initiatives from the State Govt. Has the pride of having the world's second tastiest water "Siruvani Water" after Nile. Coimbatore is an orthodox city. It has developed in terms of wealth, however the general populace is still down to earth. People here don't have a flashy lifestyle, they are generally very content. Most of all the Coimbatoreans are known for the respect displayed in language towards everyone.
Talk
Tamil is the mother tongue of majority of the people in Coimbatore though there are people who speak Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. Unlike other cities in India, very few people in Coimbatore can speak Hindi. English is understood and spoken by most of the people in the City.
How to Reach
The city has six major arterial roads and three National Highways, NH-47 (Kanyakumari-Salem), NH-67 (Nagapattinam-Ooty) and NH-209 (Bangalore-Dindigul) passing through the city. The city has a civil airport at Peelamedu and an Airforce base at Sulur. Broad Gauge trains connect to all parts of India. A by-pass tollway was built recently to avoid unnecessary traffic into the city.
Coimbatore Airport is approximately 7 kilometers from the center of the city, connections are mainly done with airport's own prepaid cabs. The airport currently has two operational terminals one for departure and one for arrival. Coimbatore airport has regular flights from many Indian cities and some international destinations like Singapore and Sharjah.
DOMESTIC
INTERNATIONAL
Coimbatore Junction, the major station in the city is well connected by trains from all major cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram. Other train stations in the city include Podanur Junction and Coimbatore North Junction.
There are five major bus stations in Coimbatore from where bus services are available to all major places in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh. All the bus stations are inter connected with local bus services all through the day.
Get around
Getting around Coimbatore is easy. There are public transport buses, auto rickshaws and plenty of taxis available. Minimum charge for Cabs is 40 INR and 16/12 per KM for different operators. The Public transport is available through Buses operated by State Owned TNSTC and other private operators.
See
Temples in and around Coimbatore are:
Do
Buy
ATMs are available in most parts of the city with most concentrated in the commercial areas like R.S.Puram, Trichy Road and Avanashi Road.
Shopping in Coimbatore is concentrated in the areas of RS Puram, Cross-Cut Road and the Town Hall Area (Oppanakara St, Big Bazaar St, Raja St). Coimbatore, known as the Manchester of South India, is famous for textiles. Visitors to Coimbatore must not miss the dazzling array of shops selling Kanchivaram, Benares and designer sarees at Cross-Cut Road. Coimbatore is also known for its numerous jewelry stores situated along Cross-Cut Road and Town Hall Area. Leading global brands like Lee, Arrow, United Colors of Benetton, Levi’s Reebok, Adidas, Puma, Crocodile etc., have retail outlets in D.B.Road. There are several huge textile showrooms in the city (RmKV, Pothys, The Chennai Silks, Shree Devi Textiles, Sri Ganapathy silks, Kalyan Sarees) that sell ethnic wear, catering to the needs of the entire family.
Brookefields Mall in Brooke Bond Road is the biggest shopping mall in Coimbatore consists varieties of branded shops for cloths, apparels, foot wears, eateries (including KFC), cloth showrooms (RmKV), etc. It has six screen multiplex cinema.
Nilgiris is South India’s leading chain of retail stores. They have an outlet in R.S. Puram and another at Trichy Road. They stock most of the up-market food items like frozen and tinned foods, offering a wide range of grocery, general merchandise and personal care products. They also stock gourmet cheeses like Gouda, Colby, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Havarti, Feta, Haloumi and Camembert made by Acres Wild Cheesemaking Farm which is located in Coonoor.
Sri Krishna Sweets, that specializes in Indian sweets, is famous for its Mysurpa (a sweet made from lentil flour and ghee).
Eat
When you vist Coimbatore don't forget to taste the Food & Siruvani Water. Coimbatore is an ideal stop if you want to take some rest while on the way to Ooty, Bangalore or Kerala. Don't forget to taste the best of South Indian Idlis, Dosas, Vada, Chutney and Vegetarian rice meal from the Annapoorna Chain of Veg Restaurants, Aaryaas Veg Restaurant and Non-vegetarian food from Kovai Biriyani Hotel, Angannan's, Anjappar, Sampoorna, Rayappas and Thalappas restaurants. Try Krishna Sweets too, the sweets chain had their origins in this town. The strong influence of the west has prevailed and resulted in numerous coffee pubs and fast food outlets.Chains like Subway,Domino's pizza,Pizza Hut,Baskin Robbins Ice cream,Marry Brown,Barista,Cafe Coffee Day,Boomerang etc., have made their presence felt among the city's elite and emerging middle class.
Reproduced from Wikipedia
