Garh Palace (City Palace Kota)
A vast fortified palace complex beside the Chambal River, home to the Rao Madho Singh Museum and some of Rajasthan's finest miniature murals.
A colonial-era palace turned heritage hotel above the Chambal
Brijraj Bhawan is one of Kota's most graceful heritage buildings, a colonial-era palace set on a rise above the Chambal River, surrounded by lawns and old trees. With its arched verandahs, high-ceilinged rooms and antique furnishings, it captures the refined, unhurried world of Kota's royalty and their distinguished guests.
Today the palace runs as a heritage hotel, so its grand drawing rooms, dining halls and manicured gardens can be enjoyed by travellers seeking a taste of royal living. Even non-residents often come to admire the architecture, sip tea on the lawns and take in the river views that make the setting so special.
For visitors drawn to living heritage rather than ruins, Brijraj Bhawan is a delightful stop, a place where Kota's aristocratic past is preserved not behind glass but in the everyday comfort of a working palace-hotel.
Brijraj Bhawan served historically as the British Residency in Kota and later as a royal guesthouse, hosting dignitaries and distinguished visitors during the colonial and princely eras.
It is remembered in accounts of the 1857 uprising, when the Residency was caught up in the turmoil of the time, and it later became associated with the Kota royal family. In the modern era it was converted into a heritage hotel, preserving its architecture and ambience.
The palace has a gentle ghost story attached, with staff and guests over the years fondly attributing a benign, watchful presence to a long-departed British Resident said to keep a kindly eye on the house.
Your feedback helps us improve our Kota travel guides.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your experience!
A vast fortified palace complex beside the Chambal River, home to the Rao Madho Singh Museum and some of Rajasthan's finest miniature murals.
A grand, kilometres-long riverfront along the Chambal, opened in 2022-23, celebrated as the world's largest and lined with monumental stone art.
An opulent early-20th-century palace built by the Kota rulers, blending Indo-Saracenic and colonial styles, set amid landscaped gardens.