Auto-rickshaws are the most suitable mode of transport for exploring the back lanes of Fort Cochin. Your English-speaking driver-guide will lead you through the area’s historic highlights, from the Church of St Francis to the house where Vasco Da Gama lived, via an atmospheric Dutch cemetery and the local ‘dhobi ghat’, or open-air laundry. The tour winds up with a visit to the elegant royal palace and richly decorated Jewish synagogue in Mattancherry.

You can add this experience to any tailor-made itinerary that includes a night in Cochin.