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Imposing and grand, the City
Palace, popularly known as Mysore Palace, the home
of the Wodeyar Royal Family is nearly as impressive as the Taj Mahal. It
also has much more to offer. The palace is a eclectic mix of Muslim,
Rajput, Hindu and Gothic architecture styles. There are four main rooms;
the Ambavilasa (for private audience with the King), the Doll Pavilion,
the Kalyana Mantapa (the marriage hall) and the Diwaan-e-Aam (the Public
Audience Chamber).
In these rooms you’ll find
ornately gilded columns, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel
grills, chandeliers with fine floral motifs, traditional dolls, Indian
and European sculpturing. Some of these were made in England and
Scotland
before being brought here.
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Remember to check out the
three temples outside the palace, dedicated to the Lords Shiva and
Vishnu and an avatar of Vishnu.
Though it’s impressive enough
in the day, the palace is magnificent during the autumn festival of Dusserah, when it’s lit up, and prominent Indian artists perform in
front of it. The Palace is also illuminated on Sunday evenings and other
public holidays from 7:00 pm - 7:45 pm.
Getting There
Getting to Mysore is easy with
good road and railway connectivity. Buses ply in and around Mysore pretty
frequently. A good way to spend around is local buses or to hire an all day
tourist cab. Look up the services online for Mysore travel guide.
Auto-rickshaws ply everywhere, but you'll have to insist on using going by
the meter.
Mysore Airport is
the nearest domestic airport connecting it with major cities of India. The
Airport is located about 12 km (7 miles) south of Mysore city. Air India
Regional operate in this Airport since 3 September 2015, with six weekly flights to
Bengaluru.
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