Rated Attractions & Places to Visit in Jaipur

One look at the Jal Mahal, and you might think you're seeing a mirage. The graceful palace seems to float atop the twinkling Man Sagar Lake — a calm sight compared to the rest of the frenzied city.

When the founders of the beloved Indian jewelry brand Amrapali Jewels started collecting antique jewelry in the late 1970s, they realized that some of these one-of-a-kind treasures deserved to be preserved and displayed. And so the Amrapali Museum was born, instantly becoming one of the top places to visit in Jaipur.

Sources of water can be few and far between in the desert state of Rajasthan. So it's no wonder that when people discovered a natural spring in a mountain pass in the Aravalli Hills, they honored it by building the Hindu temple Galta Ji.

When it comes to sightseeing around Jaipur, the views don't get better than what you'll find at Nahargarh Fort. Also known as Tiger Fort, this nearly 300-year-old attraction overlooks the entire city from atop the Aravalli Hills — a prime location for the structure to defend the city against enemies many years ago.

In a city that seems to be dipped from top to bottom in pink, the stark white marble Birla Mandir stands out — big time. The Hindu temple pays tribute to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and purity, and Vishnu, one of the religion's main deities. It's one of the best places to visit in Jaipur for tourists and Hindu devotees alike.

When English writer Rudyard Kipling visited the Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur, he wrote that it was a "rebuke to all other museums in India from Calcutta downwards." That's high praise coming from the son of a curator, and fitting for this renowned institution.

Jaipur is home to one of India's most-visited forts: Amber Fort. Built in the year 1592, the sandstone and marble monolith stands atop a small hill roughly 20 minute's driving distance northeast of the center of Jaipur. This attraction is best known for being a pristine example of Rajasthani architecture.

If you had any preconceived notions about how the buildings in Jaipur look, they probably came from Hawa Mahal (Palace of Breeze). A top place to visit in Jaipur, this structure has all of the distinctive architectural features that appear in postcards of the city, from the salmon-pink, honeycombed facade, built to resemble the crown of the Hindu god Krishna, to the geometric accents and rows of tiny windows.

At first glance, Jantar Mantar may look to be nothing more than a bunch of larger-than-life abstract sculptures. But this is not an art gallery — this attraction contains a special collection of astronomical tools started by Rajput ruler Jai Singh II to measure the heavens nearly 300 years ago.

City Palace has stood at the heart of the Old City of Jaipur for nearly three centuries, shortly after Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II decided to relocate his court from the city of Amber. Protected by huge guard walls, the fairy-tale-like structure is still the home of the city's modern-day royal family and endures as one of the top places to visit in Jaipur.