One of India's most romantic cities, Udaipur is unfailingly beautiful and is centred around Lake Pichola in Rajasthan. The city is named after its founder Udai Singh. Udaipur has been considered as the most glorious chapter in Mewar's history and offers a fascinating blend of sights, sounds and experiences. The city has been a source of inspiration for umpteen poets, writers and painters. Udaipur is a kind of place where one can enjoy lazing about or aimlessly wandering the streets of the old quarter. Sound so much like a fairytale, isn't it?

See & Do

City Palace Complex - This palace is located along the Eastern bank of Lake Pichola. It is a complex of beautiful buildings in granite and marble. It has two wings namely- Shiv Niwas and Fateh Prakash which have been turned into hotels.

The Palace Museum - The older portions of the palace have been converted into a museum. One can see Maharana Pratap's exploits and few other artefacts such as the rana's coat of mail and the amusing ' elephant mask put on his horse Chetak.

Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandir - An excellent museum of folk arts. Also hosts great puppet shows in its auditorium.

The Crystal Gallery -One can see the royal sofas, beds, thrones and chairs made of solid crystals with the barest metal support where necessary. Dinner sets, flywhisks, decanters, juicers, wine glasses, even lawn sprinkles made of pure crystal can be viewed.

Vintage Cars - About 2 km away from the City Palace complex lies the Vintage and Classic Car Collection. There are about two dozens vehicles on display in the garages. A 1934, Rolls Royce Phantom II, a 1939, Cadillac convertible can be enjoyed.

Jag Mandir - This island in the Lake Pichola, which is known for its beautiful garden courtyard. Shah Jahan took refuge here while revolting against his father.

Kankarwa Havelli - Located on the banks of Lake Pichhola is a beautiful Haveli with a grand terrace overseeing the lake recently converted into a hotel.

Pichola Lake - One can enjoy the ferry ride around Lake Pichola with a stopover at Jagmandir Island Palace. The Gol Mahal in Jagmandir is a slight replica of the Taj Mahal.

Things to enjoy

• Visit Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal Museum and relish the rare collection folk dresses, ornaments, puppets, masks, dolls, folk musical instruments and paintings.
• Explore the city with Camel Safari. Climb on camel's back with a whole caravan of tent pitchers, helpers, cooks and camel men and see the life of various tribes of Rajasthan .
• Elephant Safari - A ride on these slow and lumbering creatures gives us an enriching experience and the best view of the city is also enjoyed.
• Take a journey on the Palace Of Wheels
• See the Rajasthani Folk performances
• Go Trekking

Go Shopping

Shopping in Udaipur is a must thing to do. The streets around the City Palace and Jagdish Temple is lined with shops selling embroidered or block- printed fabrics, jewellery, leather items, pottery, puppets paintings and carved wood artefacts. One can take back home a jumble of things ranging from funky and trendy clothes to traditional style antique jewellery. Udaipur is basically famous for its local crafts, particularly miniature paintings in the Rajput Mughal Style.The main shopping areas are Hathipol, Chetak Circle, Clock Tower, Palace Road, Bapu Bazaar and City Market. The Rajasthan Government Handicraft Emporium is a shopper's delight.

Jagdish Chowk Road- This bazaar is popular with tourists visiting Udaipur, featuring locally made crafts and jewellery.

Ghanta Ghar Road - Featuring fabrics made in Udaipur and Rajasthan in general, this bazaar is a fabric-lover's paradise.

Bapu Bazaar Located in downtown Udaipur, one can find carpenters in side alleys making wooden toys in the traditional manner. Puppet makers paint huge eyes and a long Rajput nose on the wooden puppets.

Shilpgram - The crafts village, located north west of udaipur, is a must see place for those who want to see the cultural heritage of India, its handicrafts etc. Shilpgram hosts crafts fair every year which is one of the biggest in India, people from different states in the country hold their stalls showcasing their art and crafts work.

Dinning Delight

The restaurants of Udaipur caters to the food needs of every class of people.

There are a plenty of rooftop restaurants in and around Lal Ghat. Theses restaurants offer standard Indian, Chinese and Continental fare. On the Hanuman Ghat side lies Ambrai which is an excellent open-air option . It specialises in Rajasthani dishes including mutton soweta, a dish that uses corn. The Santosh Daal Baati Bhojanalaya at Suraj Pol specialises in Daal Baati and churma. The Garden Hotel serves great veg thali which is prepared without onion and garlic. Ideally situated on a terrace overlooking Lake Pichola is the Sunset View Terrace that offers a range of western snacks like pizzas, burgers and milk shakes. Good vegatarian Meals can be found throughout the city and one of the best restaurants serving it is Hotel Natural.

Changing Mercury

Udaipur experiences a desert type of climate. The summer is very hot and rainfall is scarce which is not favourable for a pleasant holiday in Udaipur. Sometimes the mercury touches to the height of 47 degree. The lakes that encircle the city of Udaipur make the climate pleasant during summer. In summers Udaipur has temperature between 28.8° C to 38.3° C and during winters the temperature ranges between 11.6° C to 28.3° C