Overview

  • Features: Tudor-style palace with galleries featuring hunting trophies, family photos and paintings
  • Opening Times: 10am to 6pm, daily
  • Best Time to Visit: Any time of the year
  • Duration: 1 to 2 hours
  • Travelled By: Bus
  • Cost: Indian/foreigner Rs 225/450; camera Rs 675
  • Address: Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  • Type: Palace

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What We Liked

Architectural design of the palace exterior.

What We Disliked

‘Over-the-top’ entrance costs esp for a camera.

Summary

The private residence of the Wodeyars, erstwhile maharajas of the state, Bangalore Palace preserves a slice of bygone royal splendour for you to see. If you’re in Bangalore, this attraction should be at the top of your itinerary. Read on for some interesting facts about Bangalore Palace as well as important details to help you plan your visit here.

Bangalore Palace

 

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The private residence of the Wodeyars, erstwhile maharajas of the state, Bangalore Palace preserves a slice of bygone royal splendour for you to see. If you’re in Bangalore, this attraction should be at the top of your itinerary. Read on for some interesting facts about Bangalore Palace as well as important details to help you plan your visit here.

 

Interesting Facts about Bangalore Palace

  • Bangalore Palace was the private residence of the Wodeyars, erstwhile maharajas of the state of Bangalore
  • The palace is now owned by the Mysore royal family
  • Bangalore Palace was built in 1862 at the exorbitant cost of one million rupees
  • The palace is believed to be designed to resemble Windsor Castle; however this is not true
  • A big part of the palace has been converted into galleries featuring hunting trophies, family photos and a collection of Indian and international paintings
  • The palace grounds are now Bangalore’s hottest concert arena, having hosted rock ‘n’ roll biggies such as Iron Maiden, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Deep Purple

 

History of Bangalore Palace

Built at the exorbitant cost of one million rupees, the grand, Tudor-style Bangalore Palace (Bengaluru Palace) was believed to be modelled on Windsor Castle, complete with fortified towers and turreted parapets. The palace was built by Rev. Garrett, who was the first Principal of the Central High School in Bangalore, now known as Central College. The construction of the palace was started in 1862 and completed in 1944. In 1884, it was bought by the then Maharaja of Mysore Chamaraja Wodeyar. Now owned by the Mysore royal family, the palace has recently undergone a renovation.

It is mistakenly believed to be a replica of the Windsor Castle in England; the audio tour of the palace clearly states that there is no resemblance between the Bangalore Palace and Windsor Castle.

 

Information About Bangalore Palace

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The palace was built in Tudor style architecture with fortified towers, battlements and turrets. The interiors were decorated with elegant wood carvings, floral motifs, cornices and relief paintings on the ceiling. The furniture, which was neo-classical, Victorian and Edwardian in style, was bought from John Roberts and Lazarus. A total of 35 rooms were built in the palace with most of them being bedrooms. The renovation included addition of stained glass and mirrors, specially imported from England, besides a manual lift and wooden fans from General Electric.

 

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The ground floor consists of an open courtyard containing granite seats covered with fluorescent blue ceramic tiles. It also contains a ballroom for holding private parties. The first floor, containing an elaborate hall known as the Durbar Hall, can be reached by climbing a decorated staircase. This is a sprawling hall where the king used to address the assembly. The walls along the staircase are adorned with paintings and the Durbar Hall has a massive elephant head mounted in it.

 

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One side of the hall contains stained glass windows in Gothic style. The yellow colour is used profusely and the walls and the sofa set in the hall are in yellow. A screen on one end separates the area where the ladies used to sit and watch the assembly proceedings in relative privacy. Some paintings of Raja Ravi Verma are also displayed here.

 

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The interior walls of the palace are adorned by old paintings belonging to the mid-19th century, including some Greek and Dutch paintings. Some of the other attractions include a dining table belonging to the Diwan of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail. This table contained a mother-of-pearl inlay with Chinese lacquer work. The lavish interiors also contain galleries featuring hunting trophies, family photos and a collection of nude portraits.

 

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Narsimharaja Wadiyar worked towards renovating this palace after he obtained the right to own it. The woodwork has been renovated and the ballroom has been redone. Even the brass-fittings and lamps have been replaced and the furniture has been newly upholstered. Out of the collection of 30,000 photographs currently present in the palace, it is planned that about 1,000 of them will be restored and put up for viewing in an exhibition. A room has been converted into a boutique where silks and other garments used by the royal family will be exhibited.

 

Palace Grounds Bangalore

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Bangalore Palace stands amid undulating lawns, partly converted into a formal garden with axial paths. Spread over 13,700 sq m (147,466 sq ft), the palace fell into disrepair after 1949 when it was at the centre of an ownership dispute between the government and the ruling Wodeyars and is now rented out as a popular venue for functions such as weddings, music concerts, and film shoots. No Kannada movie is considered complete if a scene is not shot here. Many international artists have performed in these grounds.

Illumination of the palace and renovating the gardens using Mexican grass is in progress.

 

Bangalore Palace Grounds Events

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Over the past few years, the Bangalore Palace grounds have been hosts to major artists like Aerosmith, Backstreet Boys, Elton John, Deep Purple, Textures, Amon Amarth, Lamb Of God, Mark Knopfler, Akon, Black Eyed Peas, The Rolling Stones, Michael Learns to Rock, Roger Waters, Guns N’ Roses, The Prodigy, No Doubt, Scorpions, Enrique Iglesias, Machine Head, Cradle of Filth.

Iron Maiden’s performance in 2007 was a historic gig named Eddfest in the sub-continent. Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida performed in Palace Grounds on 22 September 2011 for the opening ceremony of the Champions League T20. Metallica performed at Palace Grounds on Oct 30, 2011 as part of the Rock N India festival, their first show in India.

 

Bangalore Palace Timings

The Bangalore Palace visiting hours are 10 am to 6 pm daily. The best time to visit is in the morning before the tourist crowds arrive.

 

Bangalore Palace Entry Fee

Tickets for a self-guide tour of Bangalore Palace can be purchased inside the palace itself. The entry fee is Rs 225 for Indians and Rs 450 for foreigners; an additional camera fee of Rs 675 is required if you plan to use your camera inside the palace or around the palace grounds. The guards are very strict about camera usage and you will need to show your camera ticket before being allowed to take photos around the grounds.

The entry fee for foreigners includes a nifty audio guide available in several languages.

 

Bangalore Palace Location

How to reach Bangalore Palace? Entry to Bangalore Palace is from Palace Road near the railway overbridge. The best way to get here is to take an auto rickshaw or taxi which will drop you right in front of the gate. Getting to Bangalore Palace by bus is not straightforward as the bus drops you on the main road near Palace Road. From there, it’s a decent walk under the railway pass to the palace.

 

Bangalore Palace Address

Palace Road,

Vasanth Nagar,

Bangalore,

Karnataka,

India

 

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