Captivate the Beauty of City Palace in your Memories

Udaipur is a city of Rajasthan having lakes all round. Due to the large number of lakes, it is called as “A Lake City” or “City of Lakes”. Many majestic palaces are located near the lakes. City Palace is one of the palaces located near the Lake Pichola. Maharana Uday Singh initiated the construction of this palace but till the end of the construction many succeeding Maharanas added several palaces and structures to the complex and finally left a surprising uniformity of the design. It has a wonderful blend of European, Arabic and Roman architecture.

The entry to the palace is from the Hati Pol i.e. the Elephant gate. The Bari Pol or the Big gate brings you to the Tripolia i.e. the Triple gate. In the medieval times, it was a custom that the Maharana had to weigh under this gate in gold and silver, which was distributed among the citizens of the nearby village. Now it is a main ticket office. Balconies, cupolas and towers capped the palace to give a marvelous view of the lake and the city.

Suraj Gokhada or the balcony of the sun is the place in the palace where the Maharana would assist the public audience in their difficult times. The Mor Chowk or the peacock square which gets its name from the vivid blue mosaic in glass of a peacock that decorates its walls is also very elegant.

The main part of the palace is now conserved as a museum presenting a large and diverse pattern of artifacts. To the down steps from the entrance, there is an armory museum showing a large number of collections of protective gear, weapons including the fatal two-pronged sword. Now after visiting that, the museum is then entered through the Ganesh Deori meaning the door of Lord Ganesha. Further this leads to the Rajya Angan, the royal courtyard, a spot where Maharana Udai Singh met a sage who told him to build a city here. The rooms of the palace are preciously decorated with mirror tiles and paintings. Amar Vilas is the highest point of the palace.

Manak Mahal or the Ruby Palace has a delightful collection of glass and mirror work while Krishna Vilas display a rich collection of minute but exquisite paintings. Moti Mahal or the pearl has graceful mirror work and the Chini Mahal has adorned tiles all over. The Surya Chopar or the sun square illustrates a large sun signifying the sun dynasty to which the Mewar dynasty belongs. The Bari Mahal is another location of the palace having a central garden with a serene view of the city. Some more exotic paintings can be seen in the Zenana Mahal or the ladies cell, which leads to Lakshmi Chowk which is  a beautiful white canopy.

This palace is used as a museum and also as a marriage ceremony hall. Film and television shooting also take place here. In the 1985, the palace was used as a hotel for the James Bond film Octopussy. In 1991, a documentary film called Jag Mandir shot here. Lots of Marriage ceremonies of big stars either they are Indian or Foreigner took place here. So this grand palace used in a different way by different persons due to its.

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