Mattancherry is the old spice-trading quarter of Kochi, immediately south of Fort Kochi, and gives a more commercial, less touristic picture of the city. The main lane — Jew Town Road — is lined with antique shops, spice merchants, and wholesale warehouses dealing in pepper, cardamom, and other Kerala spices. The smells are extraordinary.
The Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue are both in this neighbourhood and can be visited together in a half-day walk. The antique shops are genuinely interesting — old bronze lamps, wooden furniture, maps, and colonial-era curiosities jostle for space in narrow shopfronts. Bargaining is expected.