Umaid Bhawan Palace can qualify for several firsts: the largest private residence in the world, the finest extant example of art-deco, the only palace to have paintings from the Ramayana painted by a Polish artist, the first to use air-conditioning, electricity and elevators, and the most impressive for its size and dimensions. Yet, that should be hardly strange, for the architect, H.V. Lancaster, who planned it, wanted it to rival the Viceregal Lodge (now Rashtrapati Bhawan) then being planned by Sir Edward Lutyens in the new capital at New Delhi, also then under construction.

This is known as Umaid Bhawan Palace because of the particular type of sandstone used, to build it - which is not weathered. Portions of the Umaid palace have been converted into a hotel and a museum. The palace was also built with superficial intentions of providing employment to famine stricken farmers. The Palace now is a five star deluxe palace hotel. The museum of the palace is highly recommended for its display of weapons, an array of stuffed leopards, a huge banner presented by Queen Victoria and an incredible collection of clocks.

Situated on a rocky cliff 400 feet above the town of Jodhpur, Mehrangarh Fort is one of the main attractions of the city. The fort's ramparts, which are hewn out of the rock face, are 130 feet high in places, and are protected by a battery of medieval cannon. The entrance is fortified by seven gateways which provide a series of locks along the main access to the fort. Several gates are often strung together, each a short turn to the next, creating a zig zag approach to the fort. The main gate is heavy and spiked. Outside the Loha Pol or Iron Gate is a wall with the hand prints of fifteen royal satis who immolated themselves on the funeral pyres of their dead husbands.

The palace complex within the fort is constructed around a series of interconnecting courtyards. First built in 1459, it has been added to over the centuries by successive generations of maharajas. It is divided into three areas:

• The outer court which contains the stables and kitchens;
• The durbarhall (reception rooms) and maharajas' palaces;
• The zenana or queen's palaces.