City Place Udaipur is perched on the hilltop and situated on the eastern bank of the Lake Pichola. This palace takes almost 400 years to complete and they were built by 76 generations of the Mewar Dynasty. The successors of Maharana Uday Singh makes this palace more splendid and they added several structures to it. The City Palace houses forts, Mahals, courtyards, pavilions, corridors, terraces, a large number of rooms, and hanging gardens. These forts are interlinked with each other through narrow passages, gardens, courtyards, and zig-zag pathways.
This palace is a perfect amalgamation of Rajasthani, European, Chinese, and Mughal architecture. Snuggled in the Aravalli mountain ranges and from the palace provides a majestic view of the city. The construction of the City Place Udaipur started in 1553 when the Maharana Udai Singh shifted his royal seat from Chittorgarh to City Palace after the subsequent wars with the Mughals.
This historic landmark houses many popular tourist attractions which include Lake Palace, Jag Mandir, Monsoon Palace, Jagdish Temple, Neemach Mata Temple, Fateh Prakash Palace, and Shiv Niwas Palace. All these monuments are the architectural marvels. The City Palace Udaipur complex has been entirely built using granite and marble. And the interior of the palace complexes including the balconies, towers, and cupolas are built using mirror-work, marble-work, murals, silver-work, inlay-work, and leftovers of colored glass.
Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace have converted into heritage hotels which retain the previous royal architecture. Amar Vilas consists of an elevated garden which is the highest point of the City Palace. These are the popular City Palace hotels where one can get a feel to live in the bygone era of luxury. It has a beautiful terrace, hanging gardens and fountains which intensify the exquisiteness of the palace into multiple folds. Chini Chitra Shala is an art gallery in the palace which displays the Chinese and Dutch art.
One can enter in the City Palace through the Tripolia Gate which is a triple-arched gate and then you can explore the beautifully carved palace. City Palace houses 11 small palace into its premises which are built by different rulers and still they resemble each other. The Suraj Gokhda, Dilkhush Mahal, Bhim Vilas, Krishna Vilas, Sheesh Mahal, Mor-Chowk, Surya Chopar, Moti Mahal, Shambhu Niwas, Amar Vilas, and Badi Mahal are the beautiful establishments of the City Palace.
You can get a glimpse of unique paintings, antique furniture, glass mirror, and ornamental tiles work in these palaces. In some places, you can observe the fabulous paintings that depict the real-life stories of Radha-Krishna. Mewar paintings, figures of crystals and porcelain can also be seen in a few places. The terrace and hanging garden of the palace offers a splendid view of the city. The glorious beauty of the City Palace Udaipur cannot be put into words, one needs to visit this place to witness the sheer magnificence of the history and heritage of India.
In the City Palace complex, Hindi speaking guides are also available. Their charges are INR 300. In the museum also one can get a guide as well as audio guides, which are available at INR 200.
City Palace Udaipur Timings: 7 am – 11 pm
City Palace Udaipur Entry Fee:
- Adults – Rs 30/- (entry in permitted areas only)
-
Children – Rs. 15/- (entry in permitted areas only)
