Mysuru keeps the calm, refined rhythm the Wodeyar dynasty set centuries ago — classical music, yoga lineages, silk weaving and sandalwood are all still working traditions here, not exhibits. At its centre stands the Mysore Palace, illuminated by nearly a hundred thousand bulbs on Sunday evenings.
Devaraja Market is the city's living room — jasmine by the kilo, bananas in twenty varieties — and Chamundi Hill gives the long view over it all.
Signature Experiences
- ◆Mysore Palace state rooms and illumination
- ◆Chamundi Hill temple and panorama
- ◆Devaraja Market lanes
- ◆Brindavan Gardens' musical fountain
Optional, By Arrangement
- ◆Silk weaving and sandalwood workshops
- ◆Srirangapatna day trip
- ◆Traditional yoga session
- ◆Dasara-season cultural performances
Where We Place Our Guests
- Lalitha Mahal Palace HotelThe Maharaja's 1921 guest palace, a white Italianate landmark above the city.
- Royal Orchid MetropoleA restored colonial heritage hotel.
- Radisson Blu PlazaContemporary comfort near the palace.
The Table
- Mysore-style banana leaf meals
- Mysore masala dosa with red chutney
- Mysore pak from the original shop
Curator's Advisory
Evenings for the palace illumination, mornings for the gardens and hill — and the heritage streets reward cycling or walking over driving.
In & Around Mysuru
Mysuru sits within our Karnataka region guide.
Journeys Through Mysuru
The Journal
Related Reading
Mysore: The Palace, the Market and the Best-Kept City in the South
Mysore is orderly, green, and startlingly grand for its size. The Wodeyars ran one of India's best-governed princely states, and the city still shows it.
Tea Trails of India: Darjeeling, Assam or the Nilgiris
Misty hills, colonial bungalows, and the world's most celebrated tea. A journey along India's tea trails, from Darjeeling to the southern hills.
Hampi: India's Forgotten Empire in Stone
Among a surreal landscape of giant boulders lie the ruins of one of the greatest cities the world has ever seen. An introduction to Hampi.