City Palace Jaipur: Timings, Tickets and Visitor Guide

I was born in Delhi, and in 11 years running the Golden Triangle for Experience My India, the City Palace is the stop where I do the most explaining, because it is not a museum like the others. Part of it is still the home of Jaipur's former royal family, and it is run privately, which changes how the tickets work and what you can see. Get the timings and the ticket choice right and it is one of the richest hours in the whole Pink City. So let me start there, then walk you through what is inside.

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City Palace Jaipur timings in 2026

Unlike Delhi's monuments, the City Palace is open every day of the week, and it also opens in the evening, which many visitors do not realise.

Day and night viewing

Day viewing runs from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with the last entry shortly before closing, and there is no weekly closing day, so you can visit any day of your trip. Separately, the Palace by Night opens the courtyards in the evening, roughly 7:00 to 10:00 PM, beautifully lit and far quieter, on its own ticket. Since timings can shift on royal occasions and festivals, it is worth confirming on the day if your schedule is tight.

Tickets and the royal-ticket options

This is the part that confuses people, so it is worth getting straight. The City Palace is owned and run by the royal family's museum trust, not the government, which means it has its own separate ticket and is not covered by the Jaipur composite ticket that includes Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. Budget for it on top.

There are broadly two levels of ticket. The standard museum ticket gets you into the main courtyards, the museums and the famous painted courtyard, and costs more for foreign visitors than for Indians, as at most Rajasthan sites. Above it sit the premium royal tickets, sold under names like Royal Grandeur, which include a guide and take you up into parts of the Chandra Mahal, the private royal residence, that the standard ticket does not reach. These cost considerably more. Because the trust revises its prices from time to time, check the current rates before you go, and decide in advance whether the royal experience is worth it for you; for most first-time visitors, the standard ticket is plenty.

What to see inside the City Palace

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II began the City Palace in 1729 when he founded Jaipur and moved his capital down from Amber, and his successors kept adding to it, so it is a layered blend of Rajput, Mughal and European design. These are the parts to look for.

Mubarak Mahal

You enter near the Mubarak Mahal, the Auspicious Palace, a graceful reception building that now houses the textile and costume museum. Its royal robes and shawls include the vast garments said to have belonged to Sawai Madho Singh I, a giant of a man, which alone are worth the stop.

Chandra Mahal and Pritam Niwas Chowk

The heart of the palace is the Chandra Mahal, the seven-storey Moon Palace that still flies the royal flag when the Maharaja is in residence and remains the family's private home. Its inner courtyard, Pritam Niwas Chowk, holds the palace's most photographed treasure: four exquisitely painted doorways representing the seasons, of which the blue Peacock Gate, dense with peacocks, is the famous one, alongside the Lotus, Green and Rose gates. Standing among them is the single best moment in the palace.

Diwan-i-Khas and the silver urns

The Diwan-i-Khas, the hall of private audience, holds two enormous sterling silver urns, recorded as the largest silver vessels in the world. They were made to carry holy Ganges water all the way to England when Maharaja Madho Singh II sailed there for the coronation of Edward VII, so that he never drank foreign water, a story that tells you everything about the world this palace came from.

Diwan-i-Am and the armoury

The Diwan-i-Am, the hall of public audience, is now an art gallery of miniature paintings, royal manuscripts, carpets and portraits, while the Maharani Palace houses one of the finest collections of royal arms and armour in India. Together they round out the picture of a living court rather than a dead monument.

How long you need, and the best time to visit

Give the City Palace two to three hours, more if you take a royal ticket into the Chandra Mahal. Come in the morning soon after it opens, both for the light in the courtyards and to beat the tour groups, and visit between October and March when Jaipur's weather is kindest. Still photography is allowed in most areas, though some galleries and the private apartments restrict it. If you would rather see it lit up and uncrowded, the Palace by Night is a lovely alternative on a warm evening.

How to reach the City Palace

The City Palace sits right in the heart of the walled Pink City, next door to Jantar Mantar and a short walk from Hawa Mahal, so the three are easily done together. The Badi Chaupar metro station on the Pink Line is close by, and autos and cycle-rickshaws reach the gates easily through the old-city lanes. Cars cannot go far into the crowded bazaars, so expect to walk the last stretch.

Want the City Palace and the rest of the Pink City planned into a smooth Jaipur day with a licensed guide? Message me on WhatsApp with your dates and Experience My India will set it up.

Combining the City Palace with the rest of Jaipur

The City Palace is one stop in a compact walled city, so pair it with Jantar Mantar next door and Hawa Mahal round the corner in a single morning. Our guide to the best places to visit in Jaipur covers them all, and for a full day-by-day plan follow a 2 to 3 day Jaipur itinerary. Most travellers see Jaipur as the third corner of the classic circuit, so it also slots into the full Golden Triangle itinerary with Delhi and Agra.

If you would rather have it all arranged, our Golden Triangle tour links Delhi, Agra and Jaipur with a car, driver and licensed local guides, or you can compare durations on our Golden Triangle tours page and browse all our Delhi Agra tours to build the trip your way.

 Experience My India. He has personally hosted 50,000+ travelers and the service he leads is rated 4.9 from 2,600+ reviews, operating since 2015. Delhi Agra Tour Packages is a unit of Experience My India.