I would highly recommend this sightseeing tour if you are interested in history and culture. I took an organized tour through Indian Travel Agency and it cost me rs-245, which is around $6. The bus from Bangalore took about three and a half hours to Mysore, but we stopped twice on the way to eat for lunch and to stretch our legs. On this tour we visited Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace. The gardens are amazing and the palace itself is unbelievable. I could not see one bit of wall or ceiling that hadn't been painted with the past history of India. Every door frame was carved by hand, and the building has been well restored to its orignal beauty.
On this trip you also visit the second oldest Christian church in India. It is very peaceful and when we visited there were a lot of people here worshipping. You can visit two temples where you have to walk in bare feet (beware, the ground is vey hot and I nearly burnt the soles of my feet). You can be blessed by an Indian priest and at the same time it gives you a chance to pray in front of an Indian god called Ganesha (half elephant and womens face).
The whole experience is very cultural, I doubt that I will ever experience this again. The temples are fascinating, and the buildings are again all hand carved and are situated at the top of a mountain where you can see spectacular views over the whole of Mysore City - a very memorable experience.
The trip also gives you a chance to shop, and we visited the Mysore Silk shop (this is famous in India). You can buy silk ties, silk saris, silk material, anything that can be made in silk you can buy here and the prices are very reasonable. There are people selling things on the streets outside here, from sandle wood to wooden mirrors, but do not buy any of it, it is all fake!
Mysore Palace is beautiful. We looked all around the palace, upstairs and downstairs. The paintings are everywhere, again from the walls to ceiling and all paintings show the prince and his family, along with some Indian History. If you are lucky, you will be able to see the whole palace in lights. This is on Sundays only, so try and visit on this day, you will be amazed by the sight.
The last place we visited last was the Krs Gardens, where they will put on a show of musical fountains. This was not as good as seeing the temples and palaces but was a nice end to the day. It was very relaxing and peaceful just to sit on the grass and watch as the waters dance to the music!