Bhavnagar, in the Indian state of Gujarat, is a port city on the coastal region of the Saurashtra peninsula abutting the picturesque Gulf of Cambay. Once the capital of the princely state of that name, Bhavnagar was founded in 1743 by a Rajput prince, Bhav Sinhji and was lucky enough to have successive rulers who contributed to the development of their kingdom in a major way, to the extent that it became a highly progressive society. Bhav Sinhji, the founder of the city established educational and judicial institutions. Later rulers commissioned European architects to build palaces and administrative buildings. So aware and progressive were the rulers that Bhavnagar was amongst the first of the princely states to join the Indian Union after independence in 1947.

The main places of interest in Bhavnagar are the markets in the old city, alive and full of character, with overhanging wooden balconies and sections reserved for specific trades such as the cloth bazaar, the silver bazaar and so on; the Takhteshwar Temple, which lies on top of a hill from where you get excellent views over the city and the Gulf of Cambay; Ganga Devi Mandir and the Gandhi Smriti Museum. The Gaurishankar Lake, with its well laid out park, is a popular picnic spot.