Best Palaces of Udaipur: The Royal City of Mewar

Udaipur is not only the City of Lakes, but also a city of magnificent royal palaces, the ancient capital of the proud kingdom of Mewar and its Maharanas. From the vast City Palace to hilltop retreats and island hideaways, its palaces are among the grandest and most romantic in all of India. This guide from Delhi Agra Tour Packages rounds up the best palaces of Udaipur, with what to see in each and how to visit, ideal as part of a wider Rajasthan trip within our tour packages.

I was born in Delhi and in more than 11 years planning trips across Rajasthan for Experience My India I have taken many travellers to the palaces of Udaipur. Here is the clear, practical guide.

The best palaces of Udaipur at a glance

Why Udaipur is a city of palaces

Udaipur was founded in the sixteenth century by Maharana Udai Singh as the new capital of the kingdom of Mewar, whose ruling house of the Sisodia Rajputs is one of the oldest and most honoured royal dynasties in the world. Over the centuries, the Maharanas built palace upon palace here, a great complex on the lakeshore, island retreats on the water and summer and hilltop pleasure palaces around the city.

The result is a city extraordinarily rich in royal architecture, a wonderful and distinctive blend of the Rajput and Mughal styles, full of graceful domed pavilions and chhatris, delicate balconies, pillared courtyards, glittering mirror work and richly painted halls, all speaking of centuries of royal splendour and refined taste. And in a happy turn for the traveller, several of these grand old palaces have since been lovingly converted into some of the finest and most romantic heritage hotels anywhere in the world, so that visitors to Udaipur today can not only tour and admire the royal palaces of the Maharanas but can even, if they wish, stay the night in them like royalty themselves.

City Palace

The City Palace is the grandest and most important palace in Udaipur and indeed the largest palace complex in all of Rajasthan. Rising majestically along the eastern shore of Lake Pichola, it is not a single building but a vast complex, built and added to by generation after generation of Maharanas over nearly four centuries, yet remarkably harmonious in its grandeur.

Behind its long, pale facade and its great fortified gateways lies a wonderful world to explore on foot: a fascinating maze of connected courtyards, grand halls, intimate royal apartments, hanging balconies, narrow passages and soaring towers, much of it now beautifully preserved as a superb and well-presented museum. Among its many highlights are the beautiful Mor Chowk or Peacock Courtyard, decorated with its exquisite glass-and-mirror mosaic peacocks; the richly painted and mirrored royal chambers and halls; the Sheesh Mahal, with its mirror work; the zenana mahal or women's quarters; and the high rooftop terraces and towers, which offer some of the most magnificent views to be had anywhere out over Lake Pichola, the floating island palaces and the whole of the old city. Allow a good couple of hours at the very least to explore the City Palace properly and unhurried, ideally with a guide, as it is quite rightly the great highlight of any visit to Udaipur. Remarkably, part of the royal family of Mewar still lives within one private wing of the great complex to this very day.

Lake Palace (Jag Niwas)

The Lake Palace originally known as the Jag Niwas, is perhaps the most famous and romantic palace in Udaipur, a vision of white marble that appears to float serenely upon the waters of Lake Pichola. Built in the eighteenth century as a royal summer pleasure palace, it is today one of the most celebrated luxury heritage hotels in the world.

Because it is now a hotel, the Lake Palace can generally only be visited by its guests or sometimes for a meal by prior arrangement, rather than toured like a museum. But even seen from the shore or from a boat on the lake, glowing white against the blue water, it is one of the most iconic and photographed sights in all of India, as our best lakes of Udaipur guide describes the lake it sits upon.

Jag Mandir

The Jag Mandir is the second of the island palaces on Lake Pichola, a beautiful seventeenth-century palace, garden and pavilion set on its own island in the lake. Unlike the Lake Palace, the Jag Mandir can be visited, usually as part of a boat ride on Lake Pichola, which stops at the island.

On the island are elegant domed pavilions, a garden, carved elephants and a charming café and the views back towards the City Palace and the city are lovely. With its romantic setting and its history, the Jag Mandir is a delightful place to step ashore and wander for a while during a lake cruise.

Monsoon Palace (Sajjangarh)

For something quite different from the lakeside and island palaces, the Monsoon Palace, properly called the Sajjangarh Palace, stands high on a hilltop above Udaipur, overlooking the whole city and its lakes. Built in the late nineteenth century by Maharana Sajjan Singh, it was intended as a monsoon retreat and an observatory from which to watch the monsoon clouds gather over the hills.

Though the palace itself is fairly plain and simple inside, now largely empty, its great and enduring glory is its wonderful position and its sweeping views: from its breezy hilltop terraces and balconies, the panorama out over the whole of Udaipur, its shimmering lakes, its island palaces and the rolling Aravalli hills all around, especially in the golden light of sunset, is absolutely magnificent and widely regarded as among the very finest views in all of Rajasthan. The winding road up to the palace passes through the green Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary on the hillside and the palace is a hugely popular and atmospheric spot, for locals and visitors alike, to gather and watch the sun go slowly down over the beautiful City of Lakes spread out far below.

Fateh Prakash Palace

The Fateh Prakash Palace is a grand palace within the City Palace complex, built in the early twentieth century and today one of Udaipur's finest heritage hotels. Even for those not staying there, it is well known as the home of the famous Crystal Gallery, an extraordinary collection of rare crystal furniture, dinner services, fountains and even a crystal bed ordered from England in the nineteenth century, one of the largest private collections of its kind in the world. With its grand and elegant Durbar Hall, hung with chandeliers and royal portraits and its beautiful lakeside setting within the great palace complex, the Fateh Prakash is a palace of real and memorable splendour, well worth seeing even if only for the remarkable Crystal Gallery.

Shiv Niwas Palace

The Shiv Niwas Palace is another magnificent palace within the great City Palace complex, built as a royal guesthouse for the Maharana's distinguished guests and now one of the most luxurious palace-hotels in Udaipur. With its beautiful curving crescent-shaped wing, its opulent royal suites hung with old portraits and glittering mirror work, its elegant private courtyards and gardens and its wonderful position right on the very edge of Lake Pichola, the Shiv Niwas offers a genuine taste of true royal living and is a place where many famous and distinguished guests from around the world have stayed over the years.

Bagore Ki Haveli

A little different from the royal palaces, but not to be missed, is the Bagore Ki Haveli, a grand eighteenth-century mansion or haveli, of a former prime minister of Mewar, standing right on the Gangaur Ghat by Lake Pichola. Beautifully restored over the years, it is now a fascinating museum, with its scores of rooms, balconies and courtyards displaying the everyday life, costumes, jewellery, art and curious objects of old royal and aristocratic Udaipur, including a famous collection that features what is said to be the world's largest turban. In the evenings, the haveli hosts a wonderful and much-loved Rajasthani folk dance and music show, the Dharohar show, in its atmospheric lamplit courtyard by the lake, widely regarded as one of the very best and most enjoyable cultural experiences to be had anywhere in the whole city.

Staying in a palace in Udaipur

One of the greatest joys of a visit to Udaipur is that you can actually stay in a royal palace, for several of the city's grand palaces have become heritage hotels:

• The Lake Palace (Taj): the famous white marble palace floating on Lake Pichola, now a legendary luxury hotel.

• The Shiv Niwas and Fateh Prakash palaces: grand palace-hotels within the City Palace complex itself, on the lakeshore.

• Other heritage hotels: many other old palaces, havelis and royal properties around the city and the lakes have been turned into beautiful hotels of all levels.

Staying in one of these palaces, waking to lake views and royal splendour, is one of the most memorable experiences of any trip to Rajasthan and something we can happily arrange.

Best time to visit the palaces of Udaipur

The best time to visit Udaipur and its palaces is the cool season, from October to March, when the weather is pleasant for sightseeing, for the climb to the Monsoon Palace and for enjoying the lakeside palaces and their views. The summer, from April to June, can be very hot, while the monsoon, from July to September, brings rain but fills the lakes and turns the hills green, a beautiful time for the Monsoon Palace in particular. Our best time to visit North India guide covers the seasons more widely.

How to reach Udaipur and plan your visit

Udaipur is well connected by road, rail and air and makes a wonderful base for its palaces, lakes and the wider region. It can be reached from Jaipur, as our Jaipur to Udaipur distance guide covers that journey and from the wider Golden Triangle, as our Golden Triangle with Udaipur guide shows how the City of Lakes extends the classic circuit.

Udaipur also sits amid the great forts of southern Rajasthan, such as Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh, as our best forts in Rajasthan guide covers, so the palaces pair naturally with the forts and the lakes for a rich Rajasthan journey.

Plan your trip with us

A trip to Udaipur, to explore its magnificent palaces, is easiest and most rewarding when the travel, the stays, the guiding and the sightseeing are all arranged for you. That is what we do, a comfortable private car and an experienced driver, a knowledgeable guide to bring the royal history to life, a heritage palace-hotel stay if you wish and the whole trip planned around you.

Tell us your dates and group size and we will price it honestly around your standard rather than a fixed figure. Message us on WhatsApp and Experience My India will build it for you. Many trips begin with the classic circuit on our Golden Triangle tours, extending to Udaipur and its palaces and we can build it all as a Golden Triangle tour with a Rajasthan extension.

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• Old Delhi tour: the Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk.

• Delhi day tour: the best of the capital in a day.

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