The City Palace dominates the Eastern shore of the lake. The architecture is a blending of Raiput  military with Mughal style decoration.  Today, the palace is a combination museum and luxurious hotel. There are many 5 * hotels including a floating one. All this was considered when including Udiapur in an elite list of  world cities in 2010, according to our guide. You don’t need to be in $1000+ a night hotel room to enjoy this magical city. We weren’t and we did!

The City Palace perched on the top of the hill is most notable as the site for some of the filming of  the Bond film ” Octopussy.”  Note the pictures of the students in a café for dinner.The food was “sketchy”, the service slow and  we saw ” Octopussy” which we  voted  as the worst Bond film ever made!  But we crossed a lighted bridge, wandered through the narrow dark streets of the old town, gazed at the illuminated castle  lit up as a beacon, while continuing to dominate the area even in the darkness.  You can see pictures from the boat ride the next day when the students sketched  and David and I strolled.

Udiapur is a city complete with marble palaces, a lake with romantic hotels and gardens, picturesque Ghats, ancient temples, and a lively bazaar inside the walls of the old city. A must see for a journey through India . . .you can write your own fairy tale…….