Laxmi Vilas Palace

Sprawling over an area of 700 acres, Laxmi Vilas Palace is the popular tourist destination in Vadodara and one of the finest example of Indo-Sarcenic style of architecture.  This official residence of the Maharajas of the territory was constructed by Maharaja Sayaji Rao III between the years 1878 and 1890. The interiors of the palace is beautifully adorned with a collection of old armour as well as bronze and marble sculptures, fine stone and valuable furnishings. The place is decorated with the fine works of the Italian artist, Fellicci. The major attraction of Laxmi Vilas Palace is the magnificent Darbar hall having Italian mosaic floor and walls.

Within the palace premises, there is a museum named Fateh singh Rao Museum containing various art works and articles belonging to the royal family and a zoo that was is inhabited by a number of crocodiles and peacocks. Today nothing remains in the zoo except a pond

Darbar Hall

The Darbar Hall in Laxmi Vilas Palace, was the court room of the Gaekwads, where musical programs were performed by musicians to entertain the royal family. The hall has Italian mosaic floor and walls are adorned with mosaic decorations. The beautiful jharokhas, the magnificent chandeliers and the intricate work on the glass windows enhance the beauty of the hall. There is also a picture gallery that exhibits the excellent collection of original works of distinguished British painters like Turner and Constable. Even today classical music concerts are held here. Outside the Darbar Hall, there is an Italian style courtyard of water fountains. 

Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum
Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum located in the Laxmi Vilas Palace compound was established in the year 1961. The building was originally constructed for the educational purpose of Maharaja’s children and later converted to a museum. The museum has the royal collection of art treasures and works of old masters like Raphael, Titian and Murillo as well as modern western and Indian paintings, Graeco-Roman exhibits, Chinese and Japanese art, and a large collection of contemporary Indian art. It also houses portraits of the royal families, beautiful sculptures made of bronze and marble, art works by renowned artists etc. Among the paintings displayed here by various European and Indian artists, Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma deserve special mention.

Timings:
April to June: 9.00 am to 12.00 noon 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm
July to March: 9.00 am to 2.00 noon 3.00pm to 6.00 pm
Closed Mondays and government holidays.

Hazira Maqbara

Constructed around the year 1586, Hazira Maqbara is the tomb built in the memory of Qutub-Ud-Din, the army general of emperor Moghul King Akbar. This Safavi-Persian styled monument is considered to be one of the oldest and only existing Mughal monument in the city. The mausoleum was built on a high octagonal platform with smaller gates on the cardinal directions and five arches on each side. The real grave is located in an underground chamber and the false grave is in the tomb chamber.  The lower portion of cylindrical dome surrounding the tomb was covered with thick plaster of brick red colour. An old step well surrounding the tomb was was perhaps used for supplying the water to the garden.

Sayaji Baug Zoo
 

The zoo located in Sayaji Baug was opened for the visitors in the year 1879. It houses around 35 types of mammals that include tiger, lion, panther, deer etc; 122 types of birds including blue crown pigeon; 10 types of reptiles including alligators, ghadials and many more. Asiatic lions are the major attraction of the zoo. 

The aquarium within the zoo premises is one of the oldest zoos in India that was built in 1900. It has around 45 species of fish and some among them are Chinese 'magoor', 'kissing' and 'chicklet' species, 'oscar', 'koika' etc

Sardar Patel Planetarium

The Sardar Patel Planetarium with a seating capacity of around 200 people is a vast building located near the main gate of Sayaji Baug park. The planetarium conducts many audiovisual programs on the movement of celestial bodies in space and earth's planetary system apart from showing the enormous progress of India’s space program. It functions six days a week and runs three shows daily in different languages such as Gujarati ( 4.00 p.m.), English (5.00 p.m.) and Hindi (6.00 p.m.). Special shows for the educational institutions are also arranged here on requests. It is closed on Thursdays. A latest digital telescope has been introduced in the planetarium. The study of the moon, planets, comets and natural satellites becomes easy with the help of this digital telescope. From this one can also explore and able to see the deep sky objects, every event related to the sun like solar flares and sun spots.

Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery
Located at Sayajibaug, Baroda Museum with an impressive collections of art and archeology, natural history, geology and ethnology was founded by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad in 1887. Designed by the English architectures R.F. Chisholm and Major R.N. Ment on the lines of Victoria and Albert and Science museums of London, the museum building which was constructed in 1894 is a fine example of Indo-Sarcenic style of architecture. The art gallery was later introduced in 1914, but it was opened during 1921 due to the delay in transporting the collection of European paintings to Baroda because of World War. The museum and the picture gallery, having an area of 40,000 sq. ft each, are located in two separate two-storied building that are connected by a covered bridge passage.

The museum houses a collection that belongs to the Maharaja Sayajirao. The general outline of the museum is of traditional Maratha architecture with wooden framework filled with brick wall and the ground floor is of pure European brick style. The artifacts are displayed in variety of rooms such as Michel Angelo, Graeco-Roman room, European Room : 7th-18th centuries AD (pre-industrial period), 18th-20th centuries AD (industrial period), special exhibition halls, Japanese Gallery, Tibet-Nepalese gallery, Egypt-Babylonian Gallery, Chinese Gallery, Greater Indian room, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Malaya, Indo-China, Indonesia and so on.

The art gallery has a rich collection of European old masters, Veronese, Giordano, Zurbaran, some Flemish and Dutch school paintings, Turner and Constable, a collection of Mughal miniatures and valuable palm-leaf manuscripts of Buddhist and Jain origin. The main attraction of the museum are the skeleton of a blue whale and an Egyptian mummy. It also has an excellent collection of art objects and paintings, including the famous Akota bronzes dating from 5th Century A.D. Other treasures include a full-fledged gallery of Tibetan Art.

Contact Address:
Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery
Sayajibaug, Vadodara 390 018
Phone: +91-265-2793801.
Fax: +91-265-2791959
E-mail : Contact Now

Nazarbaug Palace

Located near Mandvi Clock Tower at a distance of 3 km away from the city center, Nazarbaug Palace is the oldest palace built in old classic style by Malhar Rao Gaekwad in the year 1721 A.D. Earlier, the palace was used by Gaekwad Royal family on their ceremonial occasions. Now it houses the royal family heirlooms and works of old masters such as Raphael, Titian and Murillo. It also has a good collection of Indian paintings, Graeco-Roman, Chinese and Japanese arts. Nazarbaug contains a ‘Sheesh Mahal’, a glass palace that exhibits solid gold and silver guns weighing over 100 kg each.

Pratap Vilas Palace at Lalbaug
Built as the residence of the royal family, the Pratap Vilas Palace spread over an area of 720 acres is an extravagant and flamboyant building in the Indo-Saracenic style. The palace houses a remarkable collection of old armory and sculptures in bronze, marble and terracotta. Designed by Mr. Stevens, the palace is noted for its architectural grandeur, comprising columns and arches, which are a fine blend of South Indian, North Indian and Islamic architecture. The entrance is beautifully adorned with rich carvings and stuffed tigers and within the premises there is a beautiful garden and a golf course. The Darbar hall of the palace has seven domes, 12 chandeliers, intricately sculpted cedar balconies and a silver throne.

Now the palace accommodate the Railway Staff College which is the main training center of Indian railways. The college is equipped with a beautiful mini-railway model room showing different types of railway operations including track signaling.

Makarpura Palace

This royal palace of Gaekwad was built in the year 1870 by Maharaja Khende Rao and was extended and renovated by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. Designed in Italian style, the Makarpura palace is now used as a training school by the Indian Air Force. A deer park is located near to the palace and a summerhouse is also there.

Aurobindo Society

Aurobindo Society, located in Dandia Bazar area, is the house of the well-known freedom fighter and philosopher Maharshi Aurobindo Ghosh. Lived during 1894-1906, he was the private Secretary to Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad and later became the Vice Principal and Professor of Baroda College. Surrounded by a well-manicured garden, the society is open to all for yoga and meditation and it houses a small museum which exhibits the relics of Shri Aurobindo. It also contains a library, study room and sales emporium.
Contact Address :
Secretary, Sri Aurobindo Society, Sri Aurobindo Nivas, Dandia Bazar, Vadodara - 390001
Phone: 91-265-2412685
E-mail : Contact Now