Top 10 Royal Palaces of India: History, Styles and What to Know

Ten of India’s grandest royal palaces are Mysore Palace, Umaid Bhawan Palace (Jodhpur), the City Palaces of Udaipur and Jaipur, Hawa Mahal, Laxmi Vilas Palace (Vadodara), Jai Vilas Palace (Gwalior), Taj Falaknuma Palace (Hyderabad), Amer Palace and Mysore’s Jaganmohan Palace. Most are Indo-Saracenic or Rajput in style, and they date from the 16th century to 1943. Amer Palace is part of the UNESCO-listed Amer Fort; Mysore Palace, despite its fame, is not on the World Heritage List.

Updated 8 October 2026. “Top 10” is an editorial choice, in no particular order: palaces with well-documented histories, spread across regions. Every palace below has its own photo carousel with outside and inside views. Visiting rules, fees and which parts are open change, so check locally.

The top 10 royal palaces of India at a glance

Palace	Location	Built	Known for
Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas)	Mysore, Karnataka	1897–1912	Indo-Saracenic design; about four million visitors in 2023–24
Umaid Bhawan Palace	Jodhpur, Rajasthan	1929–1943	347 rooms; part residence, part Taj hotel, part museum
City Palace, Udaipur	Udaipur, Rajasthan	Begun in the 16th century	A lakeside complex on Lake Pichola, built over nearly four centuries
City Palace, Jaipur	Jaipur, Rajasthan	1732	Built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the old city
Hawa Mahal	Jaipur, Rajasthan	1799	A pink sandstone façade with 953 jharokhas
Laxmi Vilas Palace	Vadodara, Gujarat	1890	Gaekwad palace blending Indo-Saracenic, Mughal, Hindu and Gothic forms
Jai Vilas Palace	Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh	1874	Italianate palace of the Scindias with a giant pair of chandeliers
Taj Falaknuma Palace	Hyderabad, Telangana	Nizam era	Former residence of the Nizams on a hill above the city
Amer Palace	Jaipur, Rajasthan	Part of Amer Fort	Former home of Rajput maharajas; UNESCO-listed in 2013 with the Hill Forts of Rajasthan
Jaganmohan Palace	Mysore, Karnataka	1856–1861	Now the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, open since the 1915 conversion

Which royal palace is the largest in India?

It depends on how you measure, and guides disagree. Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur has 347 rooms and is described as one of the world’s largest private residences. Another guide calls Laxmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara the largest private residence in India. Treat “largest” claims as marketing unless a source defines the measure.

Mysore Palace: the Indo-Saracenic showpiece

Mysore, Karnataka · 1897–1912 · Indo-Saracenic

Mysore Palace, also called Amba Vilas, was rebuilt after a fire destroyed the old wooden palace in 1897. The architect Henry Irwin, working with Edwin Wolleston Fritchley, designed it, and construction ran from 1897 to 1912. The style is Indo-Saracenic, mixing Indo-Islamic, Rajput, Hoysala and Gothic elements. It is about 44 metres high, and the central five-storey tower carries a gold-plated onion dome.

Inside, the first floor holds two durbar halls. The public hall, the Diwan-e-Aam, is about 47 metres long with carved granite pillars, frescoes and paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, while the private Diwan-e-Khas has teak doors and marble inlay. The Kalyana Mantapa, the marriage hall, is an octagonal pavilion under a stained-glass dome on cast-iron pillars made by Walter MacFarlane & Co. in Glasgow.

During Navaratri, about 100,000 bulbs light the palace on each of the nine nights, and the palace drew about four million visitors in 2023–24. It is shared between the Wadiyar family and the Government of Karnataka, though the legal question of ownership was still before the Supreme Court as of 2025.

Umaid Bhawan Palace: the Jodhpur landmark built in the 20th century

Jodhpur, Rajasthan · 1929–1943 · Indo-Deco

Umaid Bhawan Palace was designed by Henry Vaughan Lanchester together with Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob. Foundation work began on 18 November 1929, and the palace was completed in 1943. Maharaja Umaid Singh commissioned it partly to give work to farmers suffering from drought and famine in the 1920s. The cost is estimated at about Rs 11 million.

It is built of golden-yellow sandstone, with Makrana marble and Burmese teak woodwork inside. The style blends Rajput-Saracenic, Classical Revival and Art Deco forms, often called Indo-Deco, and the inner dome rises to about 103 feet (31 metres). The palace has 347 rooms.

Today it is divided into three parts: the royal family’s residence, a Taj hotel, and a museum on the Jodhpur royal family’s 20th-century history. The residence is private, so check which parts are open to visitors before you go.

City Palace, Udaipur: a lakeside complex of eleven palaces

Udaipur, Rajasthan · begun in the 16th century · Mewar and Mughal styles

Maharana Udai Singh II founded the City Palace when he moved the Mewar capital from Chittor to Udaipur. Sources give the start as 1553 or 1559, so this guide says only “16th century”. Building then continued for nearly 400 years across 22 generations of Sisodia Rajputs, which is why the complex mixes Mewar and Mughal styles.

It stands on a ridge on the east bank of Lake Pichola. The façade is about 244 metres long and 30 metres high, and the complex includes 11 smaller palaces. Mor Chowk, a courtyard, has three peacock figures made from about 5,000 pieces of glass, said to represent summer, winter and the monsoon. The Crystal Gallery in the Fateh Prakash Palace holds crystal furniture ordered in 1877 by Maharana Sajjan Singh, who died before it arrived.

The Badi Pol, the main entry from the city, dates from 1600, and the triple-arched Tripolia Pol from 1725. Part of the palace, including the Zenana Mahal, the women’s quarters, became a museum in 1974, while other parts have been converted into heritage hotels.

City Palace, Jaipur: the heart of the Pink City

Jaipur, Rajasthan · 1732 · Rajput architecture

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built the City Palace in 1732 as part of the planned city of Jaipur. It is not one building but a complex of courtyards, gardens, gateways and pavilions in red and pink sandstone, set in the old city.

The tall Chandra Mahal stands above the complex, and guides describe part of the palace as still being used by the royal family while other sections operate as a museum. Decorated gateways around the inner courtyards are among the most photographed details, which is why this gallery focuses on gates, arches and courtyards.

The City Palace sits beside Jantar Mantar, the observatory also built by Jai Singh II, and a short walk from Hawa Mahal, so most visitors combine all three on one day.

Hawa Mahal: the palace of winds

Jaipur, Rajasthan · 1799 · Rajput architecture

Hawa Mahal was completed in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh and designed by the architect Lal Chand Ustad. It is five storeys of red and pink sandstone, but very shallow in depth, which is why it feels more like a sculpted screen than a palace.

Its 953 small latticed windows, called jharokhas, let royal women watch street processions without being seen, and the pattern of openings draws a steady breeze through the building, hence the name “hawa” (wind). From the street it looks like a honeycomb; from inside, the view reverses and you look out through the lattice.

Visitors enter from the back, through a courtyard, and climb ramps rather than stairs to the upper floors. The best light for the street-side façade is in the early morning.

Laxmi Vilas Palace: the Gaekwads’ Vadodara palace

Vadodara, Gujarat · 1890 · Indo-Saracenic

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III built Laxmi Vilas Palace in 1890. It combines Indo-Saracenic, Mughal, Hindu and Gothic forms, which show in its minarets, domes, arcades and tall clock tower. Some guides call it the largest private residence in India, a claim worth treating cautiously.

The palace stands in extensive grounds with a golf course, lawns and gateways. Its details include carved stone façades and decorated panels, and the gallery here shows the front, the gates, the mural and the stonework. The freely licensed photographs available for this palace are mostly exteriors, so this carousel concentrates on façades, gates and details.

Part of the estate still serves as the family residence, and parts have been opened to visitors, so check which sections are accessible before you travel.

Jai Vilas Palace: Gwalior’s Italianate showpiece

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh · 1874 · Italianate

Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia had Jai Vilas Palace built in 1874 to a design by Lt Col Sir Michael Filose. The cost is recorded as Rs 1 crore at the time. The three storeys follow three Western orders: Tuscan on the first, Italian-Doric on the second and Corinthian on the third. The palace covers about 124,771 square feet.

The Durbar Hall is about 30 metres long and 12 metres high, furnished in gilt and gold. It holds two chandeliers, each about 12.5 metres tall and weighing 3.5 tonnes, described as the largest pair in the world. In the dining room, a model silver train once carried brandy and cigars around the table.

Most of the palace is the Jiwajirao Scindia Museum, open to the public since 1964, with carriages, sculpture and art on display. A portion is still a residence for descendants of the Scindia family.

Taj Falaknuma Palace: Hyderabad’s palace above the city

Hyderabad, Telangana · Nizam era · hilltop palace

Falaknuma Palace stands on a hill overlooking Hyderabad and was built in the late 1800s by a noble of the Nizam’s court and later became a residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad. The name is commonly translated as “mirror of the sky”.

It is now a hotel operated under the Taj name, and that is the main way to see the interior: the historic photograph in the carousel shows how its rooms once looked, while the modern images show its stained-glass doors, terrace pavilion and viewing balcony. The palace gets its character from the contrast between its white European-style façade and the Indian city below.

Because access is mostly through the hotel, check current visiting arrangements before planning a trip.

Amer Palace: the Rajput palace inside Amer Fort

Jaipur, Rajasthan · from 1592 · UNESCO-listed with Amer Fort

Amer Palace is the royal residence inside Amer Fort, begun in 1592 under Raja Man Singh I with additions by later Kachwaha rulers. It forms part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, inscribed by UNESCO in 2013, so the fort and palace share that listing. For the fort itself, see our top 10 forts of India.

The palace is a sequence of courtyards, halls and pavilions in sandstone and marble, with carved ceilings, mirror-work rooms and terraces that look over the hillside and Maota Lake. The Ganesh Pol and the Sheesh Mahal are the best-known highlights, and the images here show the buildings, a carved ceiling, an open terrace and carvings.

Many visitors climb to the fort on foot or by jeep, and guides recommend going early to avoid crowds.

Jaganmohan Palace: Mysore’s royal art gallery

Mysore, Karnataka · 1856–1861 · now an art gallery

Jaganmohan Palace was built between 1856 and 1861 for Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. When the old Mysore Palace burned in 1897, the royal family lived here during the rebuilding, and the palace also hosted ceremonies and durbars, including the first Mysore Representative Council session in 1907.

In 1915 Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV converted it into an art gallery. In 1950 it was placed under a trust and opened to the public, and in 1980 it was renamed the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery. The collection includes more than 2,000 paintings, many by Raja Ravi Varma.

Notable exhibits include the “Lady with the lamp” by Sawlaram Haldenkar, displayed alone in a dark room, paintings on grains of rice that you view through a magnifier, and a French clock with a parade of miniature soldiers. Photography rules inside the gallery may be restricted, so check at the entrance.

Which palaces show European and colonial-era influence?

Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior is the clearest example, with its Tuscan, Doric and Corinthian storeys. Laxmi Vilas Palace and Mysore Palace blend Western ideas with Indian forms in a style called Indo-Saracenic, while Umaid Bhawan Palace adds Beaux-Arts and Art Deco influences. Taj Falaknuma Palace is the most European-looking in its façade.

For more heritage ideas, see our guide to the complete list of India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which also includes Jaipur City and the Jantar Mantar.

Photographs are from Wikimedia Commons under the licences stated beside each image; click “file page” for the photographer and exact terms, and click a photo to open it larger. Sources used for this article: Wikipedia’s entries on Mysore Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Jai Vilas Mahal, Umaid Bhawan Palace and City Palace, Udaipur; Travel Triangle, Tour My India, Indian Panorama, Trawell, Travel Earth and Travel Dham’s lists of royal palaces; and Wikipedia and UNESCO for Amer Fort’s World Heritage status. Where sources differ, the text says so. The timeline illustration is original.

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