Falaknuma Palace

Falaknuma Palace sits on a hill about 5 km from the Charminar in Hyderabad. Built for the Paigah family and later owned by the Nizam, it takes its name from Urdu words meaning "mirror of the sky", sometimes given as "like the sky". The English architect William Ward Marret designed it in Italian marble with stained-glass windows, mixing Italian and Tudor styles. In plan it resembles a scorpion, with two wings reaching north.

The Nizam's family kept it private for close to a hundred years. In 2000 an Indian luxury hotel group took it on, and about 1,000 craftsmen spent nearly ten years restoring it. Today it is a heritage hotel on some 93,970 sq m. Highlights include the State Reception Room with ceiling frescoes, a library of English, Urdu and Persian books, Venetian chandeliers, a billiards room and a hand-operated organ of about 2 tonnes in the ballroom, thought to be the last of its type. Mughal, Rajasthani and Japanese gardens surround it.