Patna is located on the south bank of the Ganges River, called Ganga locally. It has a very long riverline, and is surrounded on three sides by rivers, the Ganga, Sone, and Poonpun (also spelt Punpun). Just to the north of Patna across the river Ganga flows the river Gandak making it an unique place having four largish rivers in its vicinity. It is the largest riverine city in the world. A historical city on the banks of Ganges was nomenclated by princess Sarika, daughter of king Patliputra. Patna, as most of Bihar, has a subtropical climate with hot summers from late March to early June, the monsoon season from late June to late September and a mild winter from November to February. The table below details historical monthly averages for climate variables. Highest ever recorded is 47°C,lowest ever is 0°C and annual rainfall is 1000mm.

Patna is hot and humid in summer and cold in winters. Temperature varies from a maximum of 43°C in summer to a minimum of around 5°C in the winters. Relative humidity can go up to 100% during summer. It receives medium to heavy rainfall in the monsoon.

The city stretches along the southern banks of the Ganges for about 15 kms. The main train station, airport and hotels are in the wester half of Patna, known as Bankipur, while most of the historic sites are in the older Chowk area to the east. The hub of the west Patna is at Gandhi Maidan, where Ashok Raj Path, the main market area, starts. Despite Fraser, Exhibition and Boring Roads being officially renamed Muzharul Haque Path, Braj Kishore Path and Jal Prakash Road, respectively, everyone still uses the old names.

The excellent road network links Patna with other major tourist places of Bihar. Touristplacesinindia can arrange for you all types of land transport for your comfortable journey in Patna and throughout the Indian state of Bihar.

Patna Junction is 4 km from the city centre. Patna is conveniently linked to all the major cities of India through trains. It takes 15 hours at an average to reach Delhi from here by train. Patna is also situated on the main line of the Eastern Railway making it a major railway junction. The other cities, which are connected to Patna by rail are Calcutta, Chennai, Varanasi, Amritsar, Mumbai and Lucknow.

The Loknayak Jaiprakash International Airport, Patna is 10 km from the city centre. Patna is well connected to Delhi, Calcutta, Varanasi, Ranchi and Lucknow by regular flights. There are also some flights connecting Patna to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

All the festivals of North India are celebrated in Patna, but Chatta, which is celebrated six days after Diwali, is the most famous. Pataliputra Mahotsav features parades, sports, dancing, and music.

Though geographically located in the Magadh region of Bihar, there are ample people who are natives from the Bhojpur, Mithila, Vajj and Ang regions. These are the five regions of Bihar, which differ from each other slightly. Intermarriages and cultural intemixing between the people from these five regions have always been there. Hence it may be difficult for an outsider to even discern the differences between them. Intermixing of people are wide-speard from different locations in Bihar. In many cases it goes up to village-level e.g. Gulni constitutes people from Gaya, Ganga-par etc.

Hanuman Mandir: The favourite Deity of the Patnaite. It is situated right in front of the Patna Junction, the central railway station of the City. Long winding queues can be seen at the temple on Saturdays and Tuesdays, the traditional worshipping days of the deity. 
Shershah Masjid : This is a mosque built by the Afghan ruler Sher Shah, who defeated Mughal Emperor Humanyun to rule Delhi. Locally known as Shershahi, the mosque was built in 1545, making it the oldest mosque in Patna.
 Har Mandir: The second-most important gurudwara in India, the Takht Harmandir was built by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of the Sikhs. 
Stone Mosque: Stone Mosque or Pathar Ki Masjid was built in 1621 by Parvezshah, son Emperor Jahangir , when he was the Governor of Bihar. Adjacent to Har Mandir Sahib, it is situated on the bank of the Ganga, and also called Saif Khan's mosque, Chimmi Ghat mosque and Sangi Masjid.

Kumhrar, the site of the ruins of the Ashokan Patliputra. "The unfathomable well" is said to date back to the period of Maurya emperor Ashoka, the great. It is located to the east of Patna, Bihar state, India. The well is 4.5 meters in diameter and is well framed from the outside. There are many legends associated with the well, the most ghastly one being that Ashok beheaded his ninety-nine brothers and consigned their heads into this well before he proclaimed himself the emperor. The important thing about this well ,though, is that once someone is inside, they never come back.

It  is hard to find pubs in Patna, so the best place of getting alcoholic beverages in a safe environment is in the bars of the star rated hotels.

Sonpur: Venue to the largest cattle fair in Asia, Sonpur is located just 25 km from Patna. The trip from Patna is easy and if you are visiting the city in the month of November, don't miss the fair. People from all over the country flock here to sell their livestock. A visit to the temple of Hariharnath after bathing on the confluence of Ganga and Gandak here is considered auspicious. 
Rajgir: At a distance of 102 kms off Patna, Rajgir is a well-known pilgrimage of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism alike. Before Patna, Rajgir or Rajgriha (as it was known earlier) was the capital of Magadh. The major centres of interest are the Swarna Gufa, Griddhakuta Parvat, hot springs, and Vishwa Shanti Stupa. Vaishali: A place holy to Buddhists as well as Jains, Vaishali is located around 55 kms from Patna. The place derives its name from King Visala of Ramayana. The place has the distinction of being the capital of one of the first republics in the world run by the Lichchavis.

Although, anything but a shopping mecca, Patna is one of the best places in Bihar to buy Mithila paintings. There are lots of bazaars where you can get silk sarees at bargainable rates in Patna. You can also find different kinds of paper, and high quality bed linens in the city. Do not forget to check out the tussar fabric mentioned above.

Pua', prepared from a mixture of refined wheat flour(maida), milk, ghee (clarified butter), sugar, dry fruits and honey. Pittha, steam cooked, made by powdered rice with sttufed ground gram(chana)or khoya etc. Tilkut, referred to as 'Palala' in Buddhist literature, is made of pounded 'tila' or sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) and jaggery or sugar. Chiwra, beaten rice, served with a coat of creamy curd and sugar or jaggery. Makhana (a kind of water fruit) is prepared from lotus seeds and is taken puffed or as kheer, prepared with milk and sugar .Sattu, powdered baked gram, is a high energy giving food. It is taken mixed with water or with milk. Sometimes, sattu mixed with spices are used to prepare stuffed 'chapattis', locally called as 'makuni roti'. Litti Chokha, a baked round shape, made by wheat flour with stuffed sattu(litti), the combination of smashed  Makuni,a stuffed paratha with sattu (ingredients:sattu, onion,chilli, pickles,mustard oil, salt )Paan, a dessert made out of betel nuts, spices, tobacco, and certain other ingredients, wrapped in a betel leaf and had after a meal.

Jalan Museum: The museum is situated over the ruins of the Qila House, the site of Shershah's fort. It is a private collection containing Chinese paintings and an invaluable collection of silver and jade filigree work of the Mughal period.

The Sanjay Gandhi Botanical Garden: Situated on the famous Baily road, the botanical garden has numerous attractions for elders and children alike. Birds and animals, and an artificial lake is present where boating can be enjoyed. A wooden house built on a tree also attracts visitors.

The Ganges, flows past this city with the combined waters of the rivers Ghagra, Son and Gandak. At the point where the city is located, the sacred Ganges looks more like sea than river: mighty, powerful, wide and never-ending.

Cotton clothing is ideal throughout the year in Patna. Though, woollens are required in the winter season for those who make their journey in the winters. Languages spoken at Patna are Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Magahi .So tourists can use the books  in which we can get tips for communication.

Government of India Tourist Office Sudama Palace Complex, 5th Floor, Kankarbagh Road. Patna (Ph: 0612-345776) The Bihar State Government Tourist Office Fraser Road. Patna Ph: (0612)210219 Tourist information centre Patna Tel: (0612)225295 Tourist information centre Indian Airlines Tel: (0612)223199

Syndicate Bank, Patna Kidwaipuri, 14 Aniket, I.A.S.Colony, S.K.Nagar, Patna, Bihar, India - 800 001

Do not forget to visit the Patna Museum when you are in the city. It has an unique collection of antiques and rare artifacts from around the world. Along with a fossil of a sixteen meter tree aged more than 200 million years, it has a huge collection of old coins and terracotta figurines.