City Palace

The City Palace was built concurrently with the establishment of Udaipur city by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559 and his successor Maharanas over a period of 300 years. Forced to flee the Mughal invasion in the Mewar Kingdom of Chittor, Udai Singh established the new capital in Udaipur, which was well-protected by lakes and forests (the city palace sits on Lake Pichola and can be seen from the Taj Lake Palace and Oberoi Udaivilas). Udaipur was one of the few Rajasthani cities that fended off Muslim invaders and thus has a rich Hindu influence and history. The current Maharana and his family still live in a section of the palace, considered the largest royal complex in Rajasthan.