The focus of the dusty 19th-century Rani Mahal (Queen's Palace), apart from its pretty garden, is the colonnaded Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience). Outside stand eight massive iron treasure chests, presumably delivered by outsized porters from the nearby hathi khana (elephant stables). The same ticket gets you entry to the Chaman Mahal.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.61 MILES
Step through the looking glass into what feels like an enchanted forest at this surreal place that is unlike any museum you will have visited before…
22.21 MILES
Emperor Ashoka's 3rd-century BC Great Stupa, and many other stupas, temples, pillars, gateways and monasteries built in succeeding centuries, stand at the…
6.59 MILES
Bhopal’s third female ruler, Shah Jahan Begum, wanted to create the largest mosque in the world, so in 1877 she set about building the Taj-ul-Masjid…
25.74 MILES
Cut into a sandstone hill 5km northwest of Vidisha are some 20 remarkable, mostly Hindu, cave shrines from the 4th century AD (Gupta period). The first…
8.55 MILES
This first-class archaeological museum spread over numerous galleries includes some wonderful temple sculptures as well as 87 10th- and 11th-century Jain…
22.16 MILES
The back-to-back lions on the pillars of the monuments compound's Southern Gateway (the oldest) were a favourite Ashokan motif and now form the state…
22.18 MILES
The breathtakingly carved figure of a yakshi (mythical fairylike beings), hanging from an architrave on the Eastern Gateway, is one of Sanchi’s best-known…
22.18 MILES
The Northern Gateway, topped by a broken wheel of law, is the best preserved of the toranas. Elephants support the architraves above the columns, while…
Nearby Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh attractions
0.11 MILES
The 18th-century Chaman Mahal combines Malwa and Mughal architecture, with pretty drooping eaves on its towers. The main attraction is the Mughal water…
4.51 MILES
Of course no museum can really re-create or translate the horrors that took place on that December night and in the days, months and years since, but the…
6.59 MILES
Bhopal’s third female ruler, Shah Jahan Begum, wanted to create the largest mosque in the world, so in 1877 she set about building the Taj-ul-Masjid…
6.77 MILES
The gold spikes crowning the squat minarets of the Jama Masjid Mosque, built in the 1830s by Qudsia Begum, glint serenely above the skull caps and veils…
6.83 MILES
Bhopal’s oldest and teeniest mosque (early 18th century; 16 sq metres inside) stands on top of an old fortification tower next to the Gandhi Medical…
7.01 MILES
This mosque was built by Sikander Jahan Begum in 1862. Similar in style to the Jama Masjid in Delhi, it's a smaller marble-faced mosque with two dark-pink…
7.05 MILES
This early 19th-century royal palace, chiefly associated with Qudsia Begum (r 1819–37), now stands empty, but its pretty courtyards, balconies and…