City Palace and Jantar Mantar
Sawai Jai Singh II was a ruler, astronomer and town planner, and these two sites show all three. The City Palace grew from the 1720s around a series of courtyards and gates; the Chandra Mahal at its centre is still a home of the royal family. The museum galleries hold royal textiles, arms, carriages and paintings, and the Pritam Niwas Chowk courtyard has four painted gates representing the seasons.
Jantar Mantar, next door, is the largest of five observatories Jai Singh built in north India. Its 19 instruments, many in stone and plaster, measure time, track the sun and stars and predict eclipses. The Samrat Yantra, a giant sundial, tells local time to about two seconds. A good guide makes the instruments make sense; without one they look like sculpture.
We visit Jantar Mantar first, before the sun is high, then the palace, and finish with a walk to the Hawa Mahal across the road. For guests with a special interest, the City Palace sometimes offers private tours of rooms not open to the general public. Check current status before you travel.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
Is the Jaipur royal family still living in the City Palace
Yes. The Chandra Mahal, the seven-storey palace at the centre of the complex, remains a residence of the royal family, while other parts are a museum open to the public. When the family is in residence, a second flag flies above the Chandra Mahal.
Do I need a guide at Jantar Mantar
We strongly recommend one. The instruments are hard to understand on their own, and a guide who can show how the shadow on the Samrat Yantra tells the time, or how the zodiac instruments work, turns 45 minutes of walking among shapes into the best history lesson in Jaipur.
How long does the City Palace take
About 1.5–2 hours for the courtyards and museum galleries, longer if you add a private tour of the inner rooms. Jantar Mantar needs about 45 minutes to an hour. Together with Hawa Mahal across the road, plan a full morning.
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