With kids · Udaipur · India
Udaipur with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Jstplace, Public domain
Quick answer
Udaipur is a gentle introduction to India for families, with boat rides, palaces, gardens, puppet shows and lakeside promenades. The heat and traffic are the main challenges, so plan around the cooler hours. Top picks: Lake Pichola boat ride, Saheliyon-ki-Bari and Fateh Sagar Lake. Families usually base themselves in Fateh Sagar Lake.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Fateh Sagar Lake
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- November–January
Best things to do with kids
Experience · Lake Pichola
1.Lake Pichola boat ride
Boats leave from the City Palace jetty and circle Lake Pichola past the bathing ghats, the white Lake Palace on its island and the façade of the City Palace, usually with a stop at Jag Mandir. The sunset departures are the most popular, when the palace walls glow gold.
Take a sunset trip for the light on the City Palace, and sit on the side facing the palace on the return leg.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Couples
- Views
- Photo spot
- Kids
Garden · Fateh Sagar Lake
2.Saheliyon-ki-Bari
The 'garden of the maidens' was laid out in the 18th century for the royal women of the court, with lawns, lotus pools, marble elephants and fountains fed by water from Fateh Sagar Lake. A small museum displays royal items.
Visit in the morning when it is cooler and quieter, and look for the fountain courtyard, the garden's centrepiece.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Couples
- Kids
- Photo spot
Waterfront · Fateh Sagar Lake
3.Fateh Sagar Lake
Udaipur's second big lake, north of Pichola, is ringed by hills and a lakeside road where families gather in the evening for snacks, boat rides and the sunset. Boats run to Nehru Park, an island garden in the middle of the lake.
Walk the Rani Road promenade at sunset and try snacks from the stalls along the shore.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Views
- Outdoors
Museum · Lal Ghat
4.Bagore Ki Haveli
An 18th-century mansion on Gangaur Ghat built for a prime minister of Mewar, now a museum of restored rooms, costumes and puppets. Each evening its courtyard hosts the Dharohar show of Rajasthani folk dances, including women balancing stacks of pots on their heads.
Arrive early for the evening dance show to get a seat on the cushions near the front.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- After dark
- Art
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Fateh Sagar Lake
5.Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal
This folk-art museum and cultural institute displays Rajasthani puppets, masks, costumes and musical instruments, and stages puppet shows that keep alive the region's string-puppet tradition.
Time your visit for one of the puppet shows, a highlight for children.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Kids
- Rainy day
Viewpoint · Doodh Talai
6.Karni Mata ropeway
A cable car climbs from the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park at Doodh Talai to the Mansapurna Karni Mata temple on Machla Magri hill, giving views over Lake Pichola, the City Palace and the old city.
Ride up in the late afternoon and stay for sunset at the top, then walk down to the Doodh Talai gardens.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Kids
- Photo spot
Historic site · Western outskirts
7.Shilpgram
A rural arts and crafts village a few kilometres west of the city with reconstructed traditional houses from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, craft demonstrations and folk performances. It hosts the large Shilpgram Utsav crafts fair each December.
Visit during the Shilpgram Utsav in late December for hundreds of craftspeople and performers from across India.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Kids
- Shopping
- Outdoors
Rainy-day ideas
- Bagore Ki Haveli — Arrive early for the evening dance show to get a seat on the cushions near the front.
- Vintage and Classic Car Collection — Combine it with the Gulab Bagh gardens next door, and visit in the afternoon heat as it is indoors.
- Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal — Time your visit for one of the puppet shows, a highlight for children.
Where families should stay
$$ · Best for families, quiet stays and food lovers
Fateh Sagar Lake
Around Fateh Sagar, the lakeside Rani Road promenade is where local families walk in the evening, with snack stalls, boating to Nehru Park island and the Moti Magri hill with its Maharana Pratap memorial. Newer hotels, cafés and the Fatehpura residential district lie nearby, with Saheliyon-ki-Bari a short ride away.
- Good
- More space and calmer traffic; Lakeside promenade; Close to gardens
- Watch out
- Auto-rickshaw needed for the City Palace; Fewer heritage buildings
- Nearby
- Saheliyon-ki-Bari, Moti Magri, Nehru Park, Sajjangarh
Family travel tips
- Stay near Fateh Sagar Lake for calmer streets and space to walk.
- Sightsee in the morning and late afternoon, resting during the midday heat.
- Bring hand sanitiser and stick to bottled water.
- Hold children's hands in the old city lanes, where motorbikes pass close.
- The puppet shows at Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal and the dance show at Bagore Ki Haveli are hits with children.
Day trips for families
- Kumbhalgarh Fort (About 2–2.5 hours by car) — A 15th-century hill fort built by Rana Kumbha, part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan UNESCO World Heritage Site, with massive walls that run for about 36 km along the ridges.
- Mount Abu (About 3.5 hours by car) — Rajasthan's only hill station, with the marble Dilwara Jain temples, famed for their carving, and Nakki Lake.
When to go with children
The best months overall are October–March. November–January are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Udaipur good for kids?
Udaipur is a gentle introduction to India for families, with boat rides, palaces, gardens, puppet shows and lakeside promenades. The heat and traffic are the main challenges, so plan around the cooler hours.
+What can kids do in Udaipur?
Lake Pichola boat ride, Saheliyon-ki-Bari, Fateh Sagar Lake, Bagore Ki Haveli and Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal.
+Where should families stay in Udaipur?
Fateh Sagar Lake: A wider lake north of the old city with promenades, parks and cafés.