Jai Vilas Mahal

The Jai Vilas Mahal is a palace of 19th century. It was designed by late Colonel Sir Michael Filose in the year 1809. The Mahal looked like a Palazzo of Italy and was completed by 1874. It is at a very few distance from the Gwalior fort. The Palace is a glowing white building which resembles like that of a resort. H.H Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia constructed the Palace who was Gwalior's Maharaja. The palace is the residing place for members of the Scindia dynasty till now. The Palace was white like a marble in spite of being made up of sandstone.

The Palace had its architectural style of Tuscan, Italian and Corinthian architecture. The furniture of the Mahal was brought from France, Versailles and Italy. The major attractions were the two chandeliers of Belgium which were of several tones in weight called the 'Darbar Hall'. The historic swords of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb are also kept in the Palace. Some sections of the Jai Vilas Mahal are still with the Scindia family. The Palace has now been transformed in a museum. 25 such rooms have been turned into it.

History

Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia in the year 1875, bid Colonel Michael Filose to Europe on tour in order seek inspiration for its construction. When Filose returned, he carried along huge fabric, cut glass, tapestries, paintings, furniture. He also borrowed some blueprints from Buckingham palace, Italian Baroque homes, Greek ruins for the building. The end result of which was the architecture of Tuscan, Corinthian and Doric. Some parts of the palace is now divided into museum. This represented a royal lifestyle of the Maratha Dynasty and also the Indian lifestyle.

Architecture

The Palace is made up of sandstone which is carved around with figures of mythological nature and a cupola was crowned upon it. It is based on the Tuscan, Corinthian and Doric style. It had chhatris which are devoted to the Gwalior's Scindias, Jayaji Rao.
There was a 'darbar hall' inside the museum which was the most attractive feature of the Palace. The treasure includes the train of silver which had glass wagons usually of cut shape. There was a glass cradle from Italy for celebrating the festival of Janmashthami for Lord Krishna along with the swords of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Visitor's information

Jai Vilas Palace is open for six days except Wednesday. The timings of the Palace are from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Although, it is open during the festival of Diwali but remains closed on the occasion of Bhai Dhooj which falls after two days of Diwali. It is also open on public holidays following the same time duration.

The best time period to visit is during the months from October to December.

The entry inside the Palace is different for both adults and children, Rs 60 is charged for the tickets for the adults.
Pets are not allowed inside the Palace.

How to reach

Jai Vilas Palace is a very famous monument of Gwalior, so it becomes very easy to reach there by any means of transport which includes the following:

By air

Gwalior has an airport of its own which is at a distance of 8 km from the main city. In the south-west direction of the airport, Jai Vilas Palace can be seen. Several domestic and international flights run on regular basis to various cities to and fro from the airport.

By train

The Gwalior Junction is the railway station which is closest to the Palace. The palace is towards the direction of North-East from the station which is at a distance of only 2 km. A taxi or a cab could easily take to the station and almost all the trains have a halt at Gwalior.

By road

The bus station is at a distance of only 3 kms from the Jai Vilas Palace. It's easy to reach the Palace by road. There is also the facility of tourist buses for the visitors.

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