The City Palace of Jaipur is a major tourist attraction in Rajasthan. The City Palace or the main palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthani and Mughal art and architecture. The City Palace complex houses several palatial structures constructed by many legendary rulers. Sawai Jai Singh was resposible for making many edifices within the complex and later on additions in the structure were made by his successors. The city palace is divided into two parts- one houses Sawai Man Singh museum and other is still the residential palace of the former maharaja.
The complex consists an excellent museum, an armoury, sprawling gardens, buildings and several fine halls. The museum of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II has an extensive collection of art, carpets, enamelwares and 15th century weapons.
Other significant attractions within the City Palace complex are the Textile, Art Gallery, Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Badal Mahal, Sukh Nivas & Shobha Nivas, Chhavi Nivas & Mukut Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple.
Mubark Mahal
Mubark Mahal is an enchanting building inside the City Palace Complex, built by Maharaja Madho Singh in nineteenth century. It has a beautifully carved marble gate with heavy brass doors on either side of this gate. Some other interesting sections in the palace are the Diwan-i-Am or hall of public audiences including decorations and manuscripts in Persian and Sanskrit, the Diwan-i-Khas or hall of private audiences with a marble paved gallery.
Chandra Mahal
The Chandra Mahal, or the Moon Palace is the centre of the palace, which provides a fine view of the gardens and the city. On the fourth floor of the Chandra Mahal is the 'Shobha Nivas' or "Hall of Beauty" with mirror encrusted walls having exquisite blue tiled and mica decoration. The Shobha Nivas and the Sukh Nivas is still occupied by the present Maharaja.
Chhavi Nivas
The fifth floor is the 'Chhavi Nivas' or "Hall of Images", with a polished floor of blue and white painted walls, the maharajas retreat in the rainy season. The sixth floor has rows of double columns with mirrored ceiling through which one can have a magnificent view of the rugged hills.
Mukut Mahal
The uppermost storey is called the 'Mukut Mahal' or the Crown Building. Opposite the Chandra Mahal lies the 'Badal Mahal' and the Govind Devji Temple stands between the Chandra Mahal and the Badal Mahal. In the middle of Chandra Mahal and the Badal Mahal, a very delightful system of fountains is placed.
A perfect amalgamation of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture, The City Palace is situated in the heart of the city. A major section of the palace has been converted into a museum while the royal family still lives in one section. The museum has different sections devoted to different subjects like arms and ammunitions, textile and costume, art gallery alongwith palaces like Mubarak Mahal, Diwan-e-Khas, Chandra Mahal and Diwan-e-Aam.
A delightful blend of Mughal and traditional Rajasthani architecture, the City Palace sprawls over one-seventh of the area in the walled city. It houses the Chandra Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum.
In the heart of the old city, the City Palace occupies a large area divided into a series of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The outer wall was built by Sawai Jai Singh, but other additions are more recent, some dating to the start of the 20th century. The palace is a blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture. The son of the last Maharaja and his family still live in part of the palace.
Before the palace proper lies the Mubarak Mahal (Welcome Palace), built in late 19th century by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II as a reception center for visiting dignitaries. It now forms part of the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Museum and contains a collection of royal costumes and superb shawls including sanganeri block prints, royal shawls. Kashmiri Pashmina (goat's wool) shawls, folk embroideries and Banaras saris.
At the heart of the complex is the seven - tiered Chandra Mahal where erstwhile royal family is still in residence, though only a small part of the apartments are occupied. However, it is only the buildings around Chandra Mahal that are open to the public, and these also form a part of the museum.
