City Palace, Jaipur

The City Palace sits in the middle of Jaipur's old city, about 4 km from the railway station, and is still the home of the former royal family. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II began it in the late 1720s together with the new city of Jaipur, when he moved his capital down from Amer, which had grown crowded and short of water. Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya was among his planners, and later rulers kept adding buildings, so the complex is now a chain of courtyards, halls and galleries in a blend of Rajasthani and Mughal styles.

Visitors come in by the Virendra Pol into a courtyard dominated by the Mubarak Mahal, a cream-coloured former reception building that now houses a section of the museum named after Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. The marble Rajendra Pol leads on to the Diwan-e-Khas, with its chandeliers, marble floors and red stone arches. The palace temples host festivals that draw the whole city: Teej brings a procession carrying an idol of Parvati, Gangaur honours Gauri, and at Dussehra the royal armoury is worshipped.