Travel Guide to Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum Vadodara

After visiting Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara, we visited the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum as well. This museum primarily has a vast (and I mean really vast) collection of paintings and sculptures. Perhaps you are the type who is not really interested in this kind of art, and would prefer to skip visiting the museum entirely and thus not buy the combo ticket of the Palace-Museum tour. However, I would encourage you to visit the museum because the detailing on the sculptures and in the paintings is extraordinary, not to mention some really beautiful artefacts. It is not surprising that this museum won the 'Best Museum' prize awarded by the Department of Tourism of Gujarat in a competition in 2017, with a well-curated collection on display.

First things first - the location. Located about 20 minutes walking distance from the gate of the Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the entrance gate of the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum takes you down a road that goes past the entry gate of the Golf Club. No, you cannot take a short cut through the gate to the other side, where the museum is located!  

The road is really in a bad state and we could see motorists taking great care to stick to the further side of the road away from the stony, bumpy parts in the middle. Note that, as mentioned in this useful travel tips post, if you are walking from the Lakshmi Vilas Palace after the tour there and then coming here to the museum, you may find it exhausting. 

So from the gate, we walked down the road....

And seeing the sign board, thought the museum was somewhere just a little ahead...

But that was deceptive, as we had to walk some more, and on the way, an unexpected playful resident... 

Then another sign board...

And finally, finally...

At the entrance of the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum is a souvenir shop where you have to deposit your bags, umbrellas and other paraphernalia, including your mobile phones. Even bottles of water are not allowed inside, but small handbags are permitted. There is also a plaque embedded in the wall, mentioning that the premises was earlier a school.

When you enter the museum, you will likely just walk straight past the kneeling marble sculpture titled 'Ruth'. Pause, though, and look at the superb detailing - the buttons on the garment, the splayed toes of the foot at the back, the facial features. 

Moving ahead and through the museum, you will see more detailing in the sculptures of various Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses, head busts of famous people such as Julius Caesar, and of the young princes of the royal family. Don't miss the magnificent sculpture of Mercury, nearly brushing the beautiful chandelier above. As for the paintings in Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum, those of European Renaissance artists dominate. Note the equally superb frames in which the paintings are displayed. A major collection is that of miniature paintings by Raja Ravi Verma.

Other than the sculptures and paintings, there is a beautiful collection of old Wedgewood crockery and the conch shells with cameos on them are really jaw-dropping artistic displays in themselves. There are also Japanese and Chines porcelain collections. Upstairs there is a colourful collection of headgear (pagdis) which include those worn by bridegrooms and people of different trades from various States of India.

Walking back from the museum to the gate is not as much an effort, though, and there is plenty of greenery around.

Timings of Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum 
Time: 10 a.m. to 5. 30 p.m.
Days of the week: Tuesday to Sunday.
Closed on: Mondays and important holidays.

Admission ticket price of Maharaja Fatesingh Museum 

1. Adult: Rs.150/-. 

2. Children below 12 years: Rs.100/-.

3. Overseas visitors and foreigners: Rs.350/-.
4. Group ticket for a batch of 20 school students: Rs.1000/- for the entire group, collectively.

Rules and regulations

• You are not permitted to take photographs on any device. If you are found doing so, you will be fined Rs. 500/-.
• Eating, drinking beverages, and smoking is strictly prohibited.
• Do not create any disturbance and loud noise.
• Do not lean against the displays or touch any display or the glass fronts of cabinets.

Address of Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum

Lakshmi Villas Palace Estate,
J.N.Marg,Baroda-390001
Ph: (91-265) 2426372.Email:museum@lvpalace.co.in.