CITY PALACE

The maharajah Padmanabh Singh still occupies a whole part of the palace, closed to the public. In the first courtyard stands the Mubarak Mahal (Palace of Welcome), built under Madho Singh II (reigned 1880-1922) to accommodate distinguished guests. This graceful pavilion houses a collection of royal garments, gold-spun silk saris, pashmina (Kashmiri goat wool) and shatoosh (Himalayan antelope wool, now protected) scarves. Among the main curiosities, notice the imposing tunic of the maharajah Madho Singh I (reign from 1750 to 1768) whose weight would reach more than 200 kg! The pavilion also displays a collection of musical instruments played at court (sitar, dilruba, percussion).

At the back, on the left of the first courtyard, the Maharani Mahal (Queen's palace) contains a beautiful collection of weapons, swords and daggers set with precious stones, kattar (fearsome daggers held by a grip and not by a handle) and guns. A small cannon from the Amber fortress is among the earliest pieces of artillery in all of India.

Leave the first courtyard through the Lion Gate, Singh Pol, protected by two white elephant statues and guards in red turbans with beautiful moustaches.

In the center of this new courtyard lined with fine jali (openwork screens) stands the Diwan-i-khas, the hall of private audiences where the sovereign received his visitors. You will not miss the two immense silver jars. Maharajah Madho Singh II had them made before going to London for the coronation of Edward VII in 1901. He had them filled with water from the Ganges and loaded onto his ship... He couldn't think of performing his ritual ablutions in the impure water of the Thames!

To the left of the courtyard, a door opens onto the Pritam Niwas (courtyard of the Beloved), decorated with sculpted peacocks doing cartwheels. At the back, the Chandra Mahal (Palace of the Moon) is decorated with delicate floral motifs. The upper floors are occupied by the royal family.

The other exit from the Diwan-i-Khas leads to the Diwan-i-Am, the hall of public hearings or darbar. The maharajah used to gather his court in this huge hall, now transformed into a rich museum. Illuminated by sumptuous Bohemian crystal chandeliers and embellished with bas-reliefs and murals, it exhibits superb collections of miniatures (including a famous evocation of the Holy Family, an unusual subject in the rajput context of the 17th century), manuscripts, howdahs (gondolas for riding elephants) and imposing Persian rugs.