Udaipur: Rajasthan's city of lakes

Built around a system of artificial lakes in the Rajasthan desert, Udaipur hosts a palace that became world-famous thanks to a James Bond film.

The center is explored on foot; for the lakes a boat is recommended.

The City Palace, a complex of palaces built over four centuries by the maharajas of Mewar, dominates Lake Pichola with its marble and granite architecture.

In the middle of the lake, the Lake Palace, now a luxury hotel, appears to float on the water and was used as a location for the James Bond film 'Octopussy'.

Continuing on, you visit Jagdish Temple, a seventeenth-century Hindu temple with a richly carved tower in the heart of the old city.

Toward evening, a cruise on Lake Pichola allows you to observe the illuminated palaces reflected on the water at sunset.

Lake Palace was built in the eighteenth century as a summer residence for the maharanas, completely clad in white marble to appear, according to the original intent, suspended over the water.

Udaipur is nicknamed 'Venice of the East' for its system of artificial lakes, built over centuries to ensure water reserves in an otherwise arid region like Rajasthan.