Where to stay in Mysore: the best neighbourhoods (2026)
In Mysore, nobody told the palace that kings had gone. Every Sunday evening and through the ten nights of Dussehra its façades light up all at once to the crowd's applause, as the court was once lit; the Wadiyar family still occupies a wing, and the whole city was drawn around it, broad avenues, parks, covered market and university arranged like the pieces of a single stage set. You come to see a palace and find a capital that never closed.
What remains is choosing which stage to sleep in front of, and the contrast surprises: the centre puts everything within walking distance, the Sunday illumination included; Nazarbad lines up its modern hotels to the east, by the zoo; and the Chamundi heights offer the grand version, a white palace and gardens, three kilometres from the honking. A simple room in the centre goes for 15 to 35 EUR, a good modern address for 35 to 70, and a night in a former palace runs around 100. The three sectors that follow take the order of the marks left address by address on Avygeo.
Compare hotel prices in Mysore
In a hurry? Find the best accommodation deals in 3 clicks.
Compare live deals from Booking, Expedia, Agoda and other partners.
At a glance: our picks by traveller type
Pick the profile that suits you to head straight to the recommended neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood map in Mysore
Get your bearings on the neighbourhoods and must-see sights before choosing where to drop your bags. Click a name to jump to its description.
The centre and the palace Around the palace and the market
for a first visit, everything on foot
The Amba Vilas palace and its walls hold the heart of the city, and all the rest radiates from it: the Devaraja market with its flower garlands sold by the thousand, which Avygeo members call a temple of fruit and vegetables, the Jaganmohan palace turned art gallery, St Philomena's church, as tall as a cathedral. You step out of the hotel and you are there, no transport, and the Sunday-evening illumination is reached on foot. The flip side: the commercial heart honks and bustles all day, and the streets around Sayyaji Rao Road feel short of air at rush hour.
What to see & do in the area
Where to stay in this area
Royal Orchid Metropole Luxury
A former guest house the maharaja built in 1920 for his British visitors, on JLB Road a kilometre from the palace: arcades, groomed gardens and a pool, a century of history within walking distance of the market and the illumination.
Grand Mercure Mysuru Mid-range
Faultless modern comfort on Sayyaji Rao Road, right on the Dussehra procession route: a pool, a restaurant, and both the palace and the flower market a few minutes on foot.
KSTDC Hotel Mayura Hoysala Budget
A bungalow run by the Karnataka tourism board on JLB Road, two steps from the Metropole: simple, clean, terrace and breakfast included, the cheapest address next to the palace.
Pros
- Palace, market and galleries within walking distance
- The Sunday illumination reached on foot
Cons
- The commercial heart honks all day
- Little air around Sayyaji Rao Road
Nazarbad To the east, by the zoo and the Mall
for modern comfort and families
East of the palace, the quarter where the city modernised: the zoo, one of the best kept in the country according to Avygeo members, Karanji lake and its aviary, the Mall of Mysore and the big international hotels with parking and pools. Here you find the comfort the historic centre lacks, a rickshaw from the monuments. The flip side: nothing of the royal setting, busy avenues, and a quarter of an hour on foot or by road to get back to the palace and the market.
What to see & do in the area
Where to stay in this area
Radisson Blu Plaza Mysore Mid-range
A modern five-star on MG Road, next to the Mall of Mysore and nine hundred metres from the zoo: a pool, spacious rooms and international comfort, a rickshaw from the palace.
Sandesh The Prince Budget
A practical address on Nazarbad Main Road, pool and parking, three kilometres from the centre: short on charm but comfortable and well kept, close to the zoo and Karanji lake.
Pros
- Zoo, Karanji lake and the Mall at your feet
- Modern hotels with pool and parking
Cons
- No royal setting, busy avenues
- Palace and market a rickshaw away
The Chamundi hill The heights, to the south-east
for a palace, gardens and deep quiet
To the south-east the city climbs towards the Chamundi hill and its temple, reached by taxi or rickshaw, from where the whole plain lies below. It is up here, on the heights, that you find the grand version and the silence: the white Lalitha Mahal palace and the resorts tucked into the greenery at the foot of the hill, far from the centre's honking. The flip side: you sleep three kilometres and more from the monuments, a car or rickshaw becomes essential in the evening, and the choice comes down to a few grand addresses.
Where to stay in this area
Lalitha Mahal Palace Luxury
An all-white Italianate palace, built in 1921 by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV to house the Viceroy, a hotel since 1974: a ceremonial staircase under a dome, terraced gardens and a view over the city, on the heights on the way to Chamundi.
The Windflower Resort & Spa Mid-range
A resort and Ayurvedic spa at the foot of the Chamundi hill, villas with private plunge pools and a sunken pool in a garden: deep quiet away from the honking, with the temple perched above.
Pros
- A white palace and gardens on the heights
- Deep quiet and the view over the plain
Cons
- Three kilometres and more from the monuments
- Car or rickshaw essential in the evening
Our tips for booking the right place
- The illumination falls on Sunday evening : The Amba Vilas palace lights up all at once every Sunday evening and through the ten nights of Dussehra: thousands of bulbs trace its outline to the crowd's applause, as the Avygeo members who were there recount. It is the event not to miss, but it comes round only once a week: set your first evening on a Sunday if you can, and sleep in the centre so you can walk back rather than hunt a rickshaw in the crush at the end.
- Srirangapatna and the gardens, a full day : Fifteen kilometres north, the island of Srirangapatna keeps Tipu Sultan's fort, his summer palace of Daria Daulat Bagh with its intact frescoes, the temple of Sri Ranganathaswamy and the family mausoleum; right beside it, the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary is visited by boat, among birds and crocodiles, as Avygeo travellers point out. Add the Brindavan Gardens at the KRS dam and, further east, the Hoysala temple of Somnathpur: enough to fill a day out of Mysore, in a car or rickshaw hired by the day.
- Sandalwood, silk and the flower market : They say you smell Mysore before you see it: the city has lived off sandalwood and silk since the maharajas. The Devaraja market, which Avygeo members describe as a temple of fruit, vegetables and above all flowers sold in garlands by the thousand, is best walked in the morning; for locally woven silk and sandalwood, the state emporiums beat the touts. You haggle everywhere else, never in the fixed-price shops.
- Gokulam if you have not come for yoga: this north-western quarter runs to the rhythm of the ashtanga schools and their students settled in for months, with plenty of rooms in family homes, but it is four kilometres from the palace. Wonderful for practice, it is a daily rickshaw ride if your stay revolves around the monuments.
- A room right in the Devaraja market or on Sayyaji Rao Road if you sleep lightly: the commercial heart honks and bustles all day. A street back, or the calm of JLB Road, keeps the centre within walking distance without the din.
- Nazarbad or the Chamundi heights while counting on doing everything on foot: the big eastern hotels and the white palace are three kilometres from the centre, cut off from it by busy avenues. You sleep there for the quiet and the grand version, not to step out of the lobby onto the palace; plan for a rickshaw.
FAQ: where to stay in Mysore
Which area to choose for a first visit to Mysore?
Where to stay in Mysore on a budget?
Does Mysore suit families?
Where to go out at night in Mysore?
Do you need a car in Mysore?
How much does a hotel night cost in Mysore?
About the author
Keep exploring
Discover everything in Mysore
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!