Bhubaneswar, The modern capital of Orissa, is known as the "Temple City" because of around five hundred temples still standing. Many more have been destroyed. It is said that Bhubaneswar had thousands of such temples. These marvellous pieces of architecture tell the story of the history of Orissan style of temple building - the Kalinga style, spreading over 7th century to 16th Century A. D. History of the temple city is quite obscure before this period. It is interesting to note that evidence of its contact with the Roman Empire has been found while excavating the remains of Sisupalgarh (beleived to be the ancient capital of Kalinga), only a short distance from Bhubaneswar.

The most famous of the temples is the Lingaraj Temple. This temple is dedicated to Shiva and the linga is known as Lord Lingaraj. To the north of the Lingaraja temple lies a lake called Bindusarobar. Of the best preserved of the oldest temples is the Parasuramesvara temple - probably built during the first quarter of the 7th century A.D. Nearby, is the temple of Mukteswar, otherwise refered to as "poetry in stone" because ot its strikingly beautiful carvings and sculptures. The later Siddheswar temple, built at a later period is in the same compound. The nearby temple complex of Kedar-Gouri houses the famous "Kunda" or well whose water is said to have healing properties. Raja Rani temple is aesthetically unique, sculpted with graceful feminine figures. However, this temple is no longer used for worship as there is no deity installed. The 8th-century Vaital temple has a reputation of being a powerful tantrik center. Inside the temple stands the mighty Chamunda (Kali), wearing a necklace of skulls with a corpse at her feet. Tantriks find the dimly lit interior of the temple an ideal place for absorbing age-old currents of power that emanate from this spot.

To the west of Bhubaneswar are the twin hills of Khandagiri and Udaygiri. The Udayagiri Caves were occupied by the Buddhist monks as early as the 2nd century BC. Dhauligiri (or better known as Dhauli) has Ashokan edicts carved on rocks at its foothills. These date back to 2nd century BC. There is a beautiful Buddhist temple built with Japanese collaboration. The open air Nandan Kanan Zoo is famous for viewing the Royal Bengal Tiger and white tigers along with some rare species from the animal kingdom like the Urang Utang, 6-inch monkey and the Capybara. Pipli (at a junction on the road to Puri) is a village famous for its applique work, originally only made for the temple Gods. The Sun Temple at Konark is a magnificent 13th century monument. What remains now is little but one can get an ides of the massive structure which once stood. The ruins have sculptures detailing every aspect of human life. It also has a beautiful beach at Chandrabhaga.

The State Museum has a collection of sculptures, coins, exhibits from the pre-historic age, rare manuscripts, traditional and folk musical instruments which are worth seeing and provides to the visitor, a glimpse into ancient history of Orissa.

Bhubansehwar is famous for the handicraft items too. The hand woven cotton saris (popularly known as katki) are quite popular. There are stone decorative pieces and items of brass built by local sculptors and artisans, delicately and exquisitly made.