City Palace, Udaipur

The City Palace is the first of the places to visit in Udaipur: a lakeside palace complex whose courtyards form the City Palace Museum. Here are its official hours and ticket rates.

Maharana Udai Singh II began the City Palace in 1553 when he moved the Mewar capital from Chittor to the new city of Udaipur, and his successors kept adding to it for nearly 400 years. The result is a hilltop cluster of palaces, courtyards, terraces and hanging gardens behind crenellated walls on the east bank of Lake Pichola, considered the largest palace of its kind in Rajasthan.

The main entrance is through the triple-arched Tripolia, where Rajasthan Tourism says the Maharanas were weighed against gold that was given to the people. Much of the complex is the City Palace Museum, run by the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation since 1969.

Its highlights include Mor Chowk with its glass-mosaic peacocks, Kanch ki Burj lined with mirrors, the Baadi Mahal roof garden, the Zenana Mahal galleries and Rai Angan, the oldest courtyard, where the foundations were laid. Part of the complex is still the royal family's residence, and other wings are HRH heritage hotels. The balconies give views over the lake to Jag Niwas and Jag Mandir.

The museum suggests allowing at least an hour; audio guides are available in English, French, German and Spanish, and electric cars run from the gates for a small fee.