Looking southeast from Mehrangarh, you'll spot the towering domes of the Umaid Bhawan Palace (9414478461; adult/student ₹250/150, guides from ₹250), home of the present head of the Rathore clan, Gaj Singh II. Built in 1929 for Maharaja Umaid Sing, it reveals a royal family moving with the times. Fusing Indo-Saracenic and art-deco features, the palace was designed by British architect Henry Lanchester and reportedly took more than 3000 workers 15 years to complete at a cost of around ₹11 million.
The building is mortarless, and incorporates 100 wagon loads of Makrana marble and Burmese teak in the interior. Apparently its construction began as a royal job-creation program during a time of severe drought.
Several wings are occupied by the lavish, Taj-operated Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel, but you can admire the maharaja's fleet of cars, including a gleaming Rolls-Royce Phantom I and Phantom II and chrome-covered 1940s American saloons, before entering the palace museum.
Inside, rooms display mirror-covered furniture, fancy clocks and other royal heirlooms. Don't miss the elegant Oriental Room, with scenes from the Ramayana, painted in a glorious, part-Indian, part-art-deco style by Polish artist Stefan Norblin.
It's 3km southeast of the old city; take an autorickshaw.
