Every Sunday evening at 7pm, something extraordinary happens in the city of Mysuru. A palace the size of a small neighbourhood switches on 100,000 lightbulbs — and the sky above southern India turns gold. Most people outside India have never heard of it. That is about to change.
Mysore Palace receives around six million visitors a year. Only the Taj Mahal sees more. Yet when travellers list the world’s great royal palaces, this one rarely makes the conversation. It deserves to.
A palace born from catastrophe
The original palace at Mysore was made of wood. In 1897, it burned to the ground during the wedding celebrations of the princess. A decade later, a new palace rose from the ash — and this time, it was built to last.
The Maharaja commissioned British architect Henry Irwin to design the replacement. Irwin created something that blends Hindu, Mughal, Rajput, and Gothic styles — an approach that should feel chaotic but somehow reads as coherent, even magnificent. The building was completed in 1912 and named Amba Vilas Palace.
Three domes crown the roofline, the tallest rising 45 metres above the ground. The exterior is finished in pale grey-green granite quarried from the nearby hills. Carved arches, sculpted columns, and inlaid stonework cover almost every surface. It is a building that rewards slow looking.
What you’ll find inside
The Public Durbar Hall is where the palace makes its strongest impression. The painted ceiling soars above cast-iron columns that were imported from Glasgow. Peacock motifs — the symbol of the Wadiyar dynasty — appear in the stained glass, the oil paintings, and the inlaid marble floors.
The elephant throne deserves special attention. It is solid gold, studded with jewels, and dates to the 19th century. During the Dasara festival each autumn, it is brought out and placed in the durbar hall for ten days of royal ceremony.
Paintings by the celebrated Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma hang throughout the palace. European chandeliers illuminate rooms filled with artefacts from 600 years of Wadiyar rule. It takes a full two hours to see everything properly — and most visitors still feel they’ve rushed it.
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The royal family who never left
The Wadiyar dynasty ruled Mysore for more than 600 years. Their kingdom, at its height, was larger than many European countries. They built a reputation for good governance, investment in education, and generous patronage of the arts.
When India became a republic in 1947, the royal family retained ownership of the palace. Parts became a museum. Parts remained a private residence. Today, the descendants of the Maharajas still live in the private wings — a royal family in a working palace, carrying forward a 600-year story that hasn’t ended yet.
This continuity is part of what makes Mysore Palace so different from most royal monuments. Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is a museum frozen in time. Mysore Palace is still breathing. The family attends Dasara in full ceremony each year. The gold throne still comes out.
The Sunday light show
Those 100,000 bulbs come on every Sunday evening at 7pm and stay lit until 7:45pm. They also illuminate the palace on national holidays, during Dasara, and on special occasions throughout the year.
The effect is difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t seen it. The palace blazes gold against the dark sky. The lake nearby catches the reflection. Locals spread blankets on the surrounding lawns and bring food. They have seen it hundreds of times. They still stop talking when the lights come on.
The best spot is on the broad avenue leading to the main gate, where the full facade is visible from end to end. Arrive by 6:30pm on Sundays — the grounds fill quickly, and a good position makes the difference between a photograph and a memory.
The Dasara festival
If you can visit in October, Dasara is the experience of a lifetime. The ten-day Hindu festival marks the victory of good over evil, and Mysore has celebrated it in royal style for centuries.
The palace lights up every night of the festival. A grand procession winds through the city on the final day, led by a caparisoned elephant carrying a golden howdah. Hundreds of thousands of people line the route. The scale is almost impossible to comprehend until you’re standing in it.
Mysore’s Dasara is one of India’s largest cultural events — and one of the most accessible for first-time visitors to the country. The city is used to welcoming strangers.
Planning your visit
Mysuru lies about three hours south of Bengaluru (Bangalore) by road or rail. An overnight trip gives you enough time to visit the palace, explore Devaraja Market nearby, and catch the Sunday light show if your timing allows.
The palace is open daily except Tuesdays and public holidays. Opening hours are 10am to 5:30pm. The interior closes promptly — arrive by 4:30pm at the latest to see everything without rushing. Entry for foreign visitors is currently around ₹200 (less than £2).
The palace sits in the heart of the old city. Most hotels are within walking distance. Guides are available at the entrance and genuinely worth hiring — the stories behind the paintings and artefacts are as remarkable as the objects themselves.
If palaces are your passion, the world’s great royal palaces each have their own extraordinary stories — but few can match Mysore for sheer theatrical spectacle.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Mysore Palace lights turn on?
The palace is illuminated every Sunday from 7pm to 7:45pm, and also on national holidays and during the Dasara festival in October. Arrive by 6:30pm on Sundays to secure a good viewing position on the palace grounds.
Can you go inside Mysore Palace?
Yes. The public sections of the palace — including the Durbar Hall, art galleries, and exhibition rooms — are open daily except Tuesdays and public holidays, from 10am to 5:30pm. Private wings where the royal family resides are not accessible to visitors.
How do I get to Mysore Palace?
Mysuru is easily reached from Bengaluru by train (approximately 2.5 hours) or bus (3 hours). The palace is in the centre of the old city, walkable from most hotels in the area. The nearest major international airport is Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.
Is Mysore worth visiting for a non-Indian traveller?
Absolutely. Mysuru is one of southern India’s most visitor-friendly cities — well-organised, relatively calm by Indian standards, and enormously proud of its heritage. The palace is the centrepiece, but the silk markets, sandalwood workshops, and café culture are all worth a day of your time.
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Six million people visit Mysore Palace every year. Most of them live in India. The rest of the world is missing one of the great royal experiences on earth — a living palace, a golden light show, and a 600-year dynasty that refuses to be history.