Marble Palace - Kolkata, India

Marble Palace, the elegant 19th century mansion, is a unique building in Kolkata city of India. As the name indicates, the building is built completely of marble.

The Marble Palace was built in 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick, a wealthy Bengali merchant with a passion for collecting works of art. The three storey structure has open courtyards, tall pillars, ornamented verandas and decorated roofs. There is not even a small space in the entire palace which is without any artifacts. Hundreds of objects, be it Chinese and Japanese chandeliers, urns, old clocks, huge mirrors, busts of British royal families and importantly a lot of paintings - some by-notable painters. There is even a big clock made completely out of gold and a giant mirror. Most of the paintings and small marble statues depict naked/half-naked women.

There is a small zoo located outside the palace. It's not very easy to visit this privately held museum. One has to get permission at least one day in advance. Photography is strictly prohibited even from outside the building. The most atrocious fact is that one cannot wander around the palace on his own. The guide from the palace will definitely accompany the visitor whether he likes it or not, and he will ensure that the visitor doesn't spend his time exploring the objects. :(

I personally feel this place should be made easily accessible to the public. You might get a feeling as if on some brave mission in a haunted palace.

Don't forget to add this lovely place in your Kolkata travel itinerary.

Happy travelling

Fast Facts:
Site Name: Marble Palace
Site Type: Palace turned museum
Location:  Kolkata city, West Bengal state, India 
Highlights: One of the important tourist sites in Kolkata; a palace turned museum; a palace full of rare paintings and statues
Nearest Railway Station: Kolkata - well connected from the cities/towns all over India

Nearest Airport: Kolkata has both national and international airports
How to reach: Easily reachable from Kolkata
Hotel: Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Kolkata
Restaurants: All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Kolkata city

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