The Best Palaces in India

Hilltop fort-palaces

Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur is a hilltop sandstone fort above the blue houses of the city, founded by Rao Jodha in 1459 and entered through a series of large gates. Inside are palaces, carved courtyards, a museum of weapons and royal objects, a temple, cannons and views over the city. Amber Palace, a hilltop fort-palace above Maota Lake in Amer near Jaipur, was built in a mix of Rajput and Mughal styles. Visitors walk through gateways, courtyards, an audience hall, frescoes and mirror mosaics, and look out over the lake and surrounding hills.

Palaces of ruling families

City Palace in Udaipur is the palace complex of the Mewar rulers on the bank of Lake Pichola, and part of it is still home to the royal family. Mysore Palace, a large Indo-Saracenic palace with towers and domes in the centre of Mysuru, was once the seat of the Wodeyar dynasty. Hazarduari Palace, a Neoclassical palace on the Kila Nizamat campus beside the Bhagirathi River in Murshidabad, was built from 1829 to 1837 for Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah.