Four times the size of Buckingham Palace and still home to the Gaekwad royal family of Baroda, Laxmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara is one of Gujarat’s most impressive heritage landmarks. Built in 1890 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, it blends Indian, Islamic and European architectural styles into a single sprawling estate that includes a museum, gardens, a golf course and even a small zoo section. Here is a complete and updated guide to Laxmi Vilas Palace Ticket Price, timings and everything else worth knowing before your visit in 2026.
Location and Address
Laxmi Vilas Palace is located in central Vadodara, easily reachable from both the railway station and the airport, making it a convenient stop whether you’re passing through the city or making it a dedicated destination.
Address: Laxmi Vilas Palace, Palace Road, Vadodara, Gujarat
The palace is roughly 4 kilometres from Vadodara Railway Station and about 7 kilometres from Vadodara Airport, keeping it well within easy reach regardless of how you arrive in the city.
Laxmi Vilas Palace Ticket Price 2026
Entry to Laxmi Vilas Palace covers the public sections of the palace along with the on-site museum, and every ticket includes a complimentary audio tour guide available in English, Hindi and Marathi.
| Category | Ticket Price |
|---|---|
| Indian citizens | ₹200 to ₹250 |
| Foreign nationals | ₹400 to ₹525 |
A few sources report a slightly lower Indian visitor rate of around ₹200, while more recent listings point to ₹250 as the current standard, so treat this as the figure most consistently confirmed across updated sources. Foreign visitor pricing shows a similar spread, generally falling between ₹400 and ₹525 depending on the source and whether the audio guide is itemised separately. Since ticket prices at heritage properties like this are occasionally revised, it’s worth confirming the exact current rate at the entrance counter on the day of your visit.
What’s Included in the Laxmi Vilas Palace Ticket Price
The base entry ticket is fairly comprehensive for a heritage property of this scale, and most of what makes a visit worthwhile is bundled into the single admission price.
| Inclusion | Details |
|---|---|
| Palace public sections | Selected rooms and halls open to visitors |
| Audio tour guide | Included, available in English, Hindi and Marathi |
| Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum | Located inside the palace complex |
| Darbar Hall viewing | Featuring Venetian mosaic flooring and Belgian stained glass |
Photography inside the palace is not permitted, so it’s worth keeping your camera for the exterior architecture and gardens instead. A typical guided tour, aided by the audio commentary, takes around an hour to complete.
Laxmi Vilas Palace Timings
Laxmi Vilas Palace is open daily from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with Monday set aside as the weekly closure day. A few sources also mention that the palace remains closed on public holidays, so it’s worth double-checking if your visit falls near a major holiday date.
Best Time to Visit
October to March is widely recommended as the ideal window, since Vadodara’s weather during these months is considerably cooler and more comfortable for exploring the palace’s extensive grounds and gardens on foot. Weekends tend to draw noticeably larger crowds than weekdays, so if you’d rather avoid the rush and enjoy a more relaxed pace through the Darbar Hall and museum sections, a weekday visit is the better choice. Arriving earlier in the day, closer to the 9:30 AM opening, also helps you beat both the heat and the crowd, particularly during the cooler winter months when tourist footfall tends to be at its highest.
How to Reach Laxmi Vilas Palace
Given its central location within Vadodara, the palace is one of the more convenient heritage sites to reach in Gujarat.
- By train: Vadodara Railway Station is approximately 4 kilometres from the palace, easily covered by auto-rickshaw or taxi.
- By air: Vadodara Airport is around 7 kilometres away, with taxis readily available for the short drive into the city.
- By road: Well connected by Gujarat’s highway network, making it accessible by private vehicle or bus from other major cities in the state.
- Parking: Available at the palace complex for visitors arriving by private vehicle.
History of Laxmi Vilas Palace
The story of Laxmi Vilas Palace begins with Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, who envisioned a residence grand enough to match the stature of the Baroda state and his own position as a visionary, reform-minded ruler. Construction was commissioned to British architect Major Charles Mant, with additional design input from Robert Fellows Chisholm, and the project took roughly 12 years to complete, finally finished in 1890 at a cost of around ₹27 lakhs, an enormous sum for the era. The result was a palace built in the Indo-Saracenic Revival style, blending Indian, Islamic and European architectural elements into a structure that remains, by most accounts, four times the size of Buckingham Palace. Remarkably, the palace has remained the official residence of the Gaekwad royal family ever since it was built, making it one of the rare Indian royal residences still lived in by descendants of its original owners rather than existing purely as a museum or public monument.
What to See Inside
The Darbar Hall stands as the undisputed centrepiece of any visit, featuring an elaborate Venetian mosaic floor, vintage chandeliers, Belgian stained glass windows and richly detailed wooden accents, all coming together under an unusually striking ceiling design. The palace houses the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, home to a notable collection of paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, alongside royal memorabilia, European sculptures, and a personal collection of swords, weapons and headgear gathered by the king himself. Beyond the main palace building, the estate includes the Moti Baug gardens, a banquet and convention hall, a 10-hole golf course, and a small zoo section currently home to crocodiles and peacocks, giving visitors considerably more to explore than just the palace interiors alone.
Facilities Available
The palace complex offers guided and audio tours, a museum, a cafeteria for refreshments, souvenir shops and a dedicated parking area for visitors. Water and other cold beverages are available for purchase inside, which is worth knowing given how much ground you’ll likely cover walking through the estate’s expansive grounds. Since the palace is genuinely large, spanning anywhere from 500 to 700 acres depending on the source, comfortable walking shoes are a practical addition to your visit.
Tips for a Smooth Visit
Since photography is not permitted inside the palace, it’s worth setting aside time to properly appreciate the interiors without rushing to capture photos, and instead focusing your camera on the exterior facade and gardens. The complimentary audio guide is genuinely worth using in full, since it adds meaningful historical context to what would otherwise just be an ornate but unexplained walkthrough. If you’re planning to visit both the palace and its museum sections thoroughly, budgeting a little more than the standard hour-long tour duration is a good idea, particularly if you’re also interested in the Moti Baug gardens or the golf course grounds. Weekday visits during the cooler months remain the most comfortable option overall, both for crowd levels and general walking comfort.
Latest Update
This article was last checked and updated in 2026 to reflect the most recently reported ticket pricing for both Indian and foreign visitors, along with current timing details for Laxmi Vilas Palace. Since ticket prices at heritage properties of this scale are periodically revised, and figures across different sources show some variation, it’s a good idea to confirm the exact current rate directly at the entrance counter before finalising your visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the audio tour included in the ticket price?
Yes, every entry ticket includes a complimentary audio tour guide available in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Is photography allowed inside the palace?
No, photography inside the palace is not permitted, though visitors can photograph the exterior architecture and gardens.
Is Laxmi Vilas Palace open every day?
No, the palace remains closed on Mondays and, according to some sources, on public holidays as well.
Does the royal family still live in the palace?
Yes, Laxmi Vilas Palace remains the official residence of the Gaekwad royal family of Baroda, with only select sections open to the public.
Conclusion
Laxmi Vilas Palace remains one of India’s most remarkable royal residences, offering visitors a rare chance to walk through a home that’s still lived in by descendants of the family that built it, while taking in genuinely striking architecture, art and history along the way. With a reasonable ticket price and a complimentary audio guide included, it’s an easy and rewarding addition to any Vadodara itinerary.
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