Lal Bagh Palace

About Lal Bagh Palace

Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar began Lal Bagh Palace, and work on it ran from 1886 to 1921. The building sits on the banks of the Khan river at the southern edge of the old city, set back behind a grand entrance and a rose garden. Its main gates were modelled on the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, which gives a fair idea of how the Holkars wanted the house to be read.

Inside, the rooms were finished by Indian and Italian artists working side by side. There are wall carvings, chandeliers, heavy carpets, marble floors and a ballroom, and the general effect is a European country house furnished by a Maratha court. The palace is now a museum, and a range of artefacts from the family and the period is laid out through the rooms. With the grounds, the property covers about 28 acres.

Rooms and grounds to walk through

The ballroom and state rooms

The formal rooms carry the bulk of the decoration: carved panelling, chandeliers overhead and marble underfoot. The ballroom is the clearest statement of how the family entertained. Allow time here, because the detail is in the ceilings and the fittings rather than in anything labelled.

The main gates

The entrance gates were copied from those at Buckingham Palace and are worth a look before you go in rather than after. They set the scale of the approach. Most visitors photograph the palace from just inside them.

The rose garden and river frontage

A garden of roses was laid out at the front of the house, and the ground falls away behind towards the Khan river. The garden is the easiest part of the estate to enjoy slowly, and it gives you the facade at a distance.

Planning your visit

Lal Bagh is on the city side of the Khan river and is easily reached by auto or taxi from anywhere central. It rewards an unhurried visit of an hour or more, since the interiors are the point.

• Check the museum opening day locally before you set out, as government museums in the city close one day a week.
• Wear shoes you can walk in; the grounds are large and the floors inside are hard.
• Photography rules differ between the grounds and the interiors, so ask at the entrance.
• Pair it with Rajwada and the Krishnapura Chhatris for a single Holkar-focused day.

Best time to visit

October to March is the comfortable half of the year in Indore and the easiest time to walk the grounds. Mornings are better than afternoons in any season, because the light falls on the main facade and the rooms are cooler. The monsoon makes the gardens and the riverside green, though the paths can be wet.