Umaid Bhawan Palace

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About

One of the largest private residences in the world — three hundred and forty-seven rooms in Jodhpur's yellow sandstone. Ground was broken in November 1929 and the building was finished in 1943, and it was a famine-relief scheme as much as a palace: it was commissioned to put a drought-stricken region back into paid work. It is named for Maharaja Umaid Singh and is still the principal residence of the Jodhpur royal family. Part is run as a Taj hotel and part is a museum, which is the only section open to visitors — the rest is a private home, and reads like one.