India

Udaipur

Separated from the harsh landscapes and blistering heat of the Thar Desert by the Aravalli Mountains, laid-back Udaipur is an easy city to love. Travelers have fallen for it for decades, which means it’s a well practiced host — with good infrastructure, great food, fantastic hotels and impeccable vibes.

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Udaipur owes at least some of its easygoing attitude to its surroundings. Encircled by glittering lakes and green hills, its focal point is Pichola Lake, where you’ll find luxurious hotels, sunset boat cruises, bathing ghats and twinkling island palaces — as well as Rajasthan’s biggest royal pile: Udaipur City Palace.

A mistake many visitors make is not giving Udaipur enough time in their itineraries. City Palace may be the only big-ticket sight (and it is a doozy) but Udaipur is really about the atmosphere. This is the perfect place to stop for a few days and throw your checklist out of the window.

Squeeze between overflowing baskets in cramped markets, watching cross-legged vendors weigh out spices on old-fashioned scales. At the bathing ghats, watch kids splashing in the water, while old men play sarangi music and huge flocks of bats descend to drink. Head to the eerie, abandoned Monsoon Palace for the best views of the city, then catch a showing of Octopussy — filmed here in Udaipur — at a café where it’s been shown every night for 20 years.

There are atmospheric aarti prayers at Jagdish Temple. There’s the Haveli Museum, with its amazing traditional folk dance demonstrations. In the daytime there are European-style cafés and in the evenings there are lively bars and restaurants. If you prefer a quieter nightlife, the outskirts have some fabulous hotels in close proximity to lovely countryside.

Somehow, Udaipur manages to be wonderfully tourist-friendly without being unpleasantly tourist-y, which a difficult balance to strike. Give yourself plenty of time to relax, soak up the lakeside vibes, and take a break from the rougher, more challenging parts of India.

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