I had a clear plan when I arrived in Mysuru or Mysore, visit the palace, photograph it properly, and move on to the next stop on a longer Karnataka itinerary. It was everything that I imagined, but it was not the palace itself that I thought of afterwards. It was all of the things around the palace: the city itself, the market, the tiny cafes, and daily life, where I found my fondest memories from Mysuru.
The Mysuru Palace Itself
Why It Lives Up to the Reputation
Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas Palace) was home to the Wadiyars, the last royal family of India, and is one of India’s most popular sites after the Taj Mahal. The present-day palace was built in 1912 from plans drawn up by English architect Henry Irwin, following the destruction of the original wooden palace by fire in 1897. The interior of the palace is quite impressive and features two noteworthy components: Durbar Hall and Kalyana Mantapa (Ceremonial Hall), which have enormous room sizes with magnificent stained glass and painted ceilings.
The Sunday Illumination
If you have an opportunity to return on a Sunday evening, try to see the palace lit up by approximately 100,000 bulbs, which is definitely worth the time and effort to arrange. The time between sunset and the end of illumination is a very short window, and the atmosphere in which people congregate to view this spectacle is very festive compared to that of the daytime.
Mysuru’s Devaraja Market
A Working Market, Not a Photo Opportunity
Devaraja Market, just north of the palace, is where my actual interest in the city began. This is a working fruit, flower, and spice market that has operated from the same site since the late nineteenth century, and it functions primarily for the people who live here rather than for visitors. The flower section in particular, with vendors stringing jasmine and marigold garlands at speed for the morning’s temple offerings, is worth timing your visit around. Early morning, before 9 am, is when the market is at its most active and least crowded with tourists.
The Spice and Sandalwood Stalls
Mysuru’s association with sandalwood is well known, and several stalls in Devaraja Market sell sandalwood oil, soap, and incense at prices considerably better than the more tourist-oriented shops near the palace. The spice section is equally worth a slow walk through, even if you are not buying, simply for the concentration of colour and smell packed into a relatively small space.
The Filter Coffee Culture in Mysuru
Why Mysuru’s Coffee Stands Apart
Mysuru sits close enough to Karnataka’s coffee-growing regions that the filter coffee culture here runs deeper than in most South Indian cities. The decoction is generally stronger and the preparation more deliberate, and several of the older coffee houses in the city have been serving the same recipe for decades.
Mylari, near the palace, is best known for its masala dosa, but the filter coffee served alongside it is just as much a reason to visit. The queue here forms early and moves quickly, and the simplicity of the setup, a handful of tables and a menu with barely four items, says something about how seriously the city takes getting a small number of things right.
A Slower Cup at the Smaller Cafes
Away from the more famous spots, smaller family-run coffee houses scattered through the older residential lanes serve a version of filter coffee that comes without any ceremony attached, just a steel tumbler and a dabarah set down quickly by someone who has made the same drink several hundred times that morning. These were the moments of the trip that slowed me down the most, somewhat unexpectedly.
Around the City
Chamundi Hill
Chamundi Hill, with the Chamundeshwari Temple at its summit, sits a short drive from the city centre and offers a clear view back across Mysuru. The thousand-step climb is an option for those who want it, though most visitors drive up given the heat through much of the year.
Jaganmohan Palace and Art Gallery
A quieter alternative to the main palace, the Jaganmohan Palace houses an art gallery with a notable collection of Raja Ravi Varma paintings. It receives a fraction of the visitors the main palace does, which makes it a good stop for anyone wanting a calmer museum experience.
Where to Stay in Mysuru?
There are hotels in Mysuru across a wide range, with a useful concentration near the palace and around the Devaraja Market area that puts you within easy walking distance of both. Staying centrally makes the early morning market visits and the short walks to the better coffee houses considerably easier to fit into a short trip.
What I Would Tell Someone Visiting Mysuru Next?
Give the palace the time it deserves, but do not let it consume the whole day. Mysuru’s markets and coffee houses operate on their own schedule, mostly mornings, and missing them because the afternoon was spent entirely at the palace would mean missing the part of the city that, for me, turned out to matter just as much.