Gwalior is not in the travel destination list of lots of people. While people often skip Madhya Pradesh for the more popular destinations like Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, and Kerala; there is a lot to see and do in Madhya Pradesh.
And among all the places in Madhya Pradesh, the city of Gwalior holds a special place in the medieval history of Northern India. Gwalior is the home to Gwalior Fort which once used to be the seat of many rulers of Central and Northern India.
Gwalior is just 320 kilometres away from Delhi which makes it a perfect weekend getaway destination. You can embark for Gwalior on Saturday, explore the city for half day on Saturday and Sunday, and begin your return journey on Sunday evening.
ALSO READ: Things to do in Gwalior
One full day is enough to explore Gwalior. The below itinerary should give you the idea on how to spend a day in Gwalior and help you plan your vacation.
Table of Contents
Gwalior Zoo
Start your day with the visit to the Gwalior zoo. It is not a big zoo and an hour is enough to explore. You will get to see a lion, beer, tiger, sambhar, ostrich, emu, and a lot more animals.
Jai Vilas Palace Museum
Jai Vilas Palace is the residency of former royal Scindia family. The palace is built with white marbles and is a fine example of European architecture. The palace is huge, but a small portion is converted into the museum. As this is a private museum, the price is a bit high, but the museum is clean and properly maintained.
There is a good collection of paintings, medieval period sculptures, carriages, and textile. You will also get to see some period rooms with the furniture in European, Indian and oriental style.
Tomb of Tansen
The tomb of Tansen is located alongside the mausoleum of his master Muhammad Ghaus. You can spend a few minutes to appreciate the architecture of the mausoleum. If you have time, you can sit in the garden and relax.
Gwalior Fort
Gwalior Fort is the most popular tourist attraction of Gwalior. There are many monuments in the Gwalior campus. It will take a full day to see each and every monument. Among them, Man Singh Palace is a must-visit monument. The palace is a labyrinth and you can hire a guide to help you navigate and learn about its history.
You can also visit the ruins of Sahastrabahu (Sas-Bahu) temple, rock cut carvings of Tirthankaras (Jain spiritual teachers), archaeological artefacts in Gujari Mahal archaeological museum. Other monuments are not that well maintained and can be skipped. The Light and Sound Show is also organized in the evening which is not that good and can be avoided.
ALSO READ: Gwalior Fort Guide
I have to gwalior fort it is just mesmeriziong, can’t wait to be there again and visit more.
Wow, I’d totally love to spend much longer than a day here, but that’s awesome that this is a doable weekend trip from Delhi. It looks like Gwalior has pretty much everything, but to me Sahastrabahu looks like the most stunning attraction. Thanks for sharing this beautiful place!
I’ve never heard of Gwalior, but it seems like an interesting place that is off the beaten track. The fort and palace look particularly fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
I always admire forts in India. So monumental, powerful and beautiful. The Gwalior Fort looks the same.
Btw, thanks for the honest review of the Light and Sound Show. 😉
Light and Sound Show was the only disappointment in an otherwise marvellous fort.
This looks like a great place for a day trip, if not longer! Seems like there is a lot to do to keep you busy there. That is one beautiful and fancy looking fort! I would definitely want to check that out! Thanks for sharing!
Haven’t been to Gwalior yet but seems like there’s so much to do and see there. I guess I should add it to my itinerary the next time I visit India.
Thanks for sharing and it was indeed a perfect with so much to see and do!
The Gwalior Fort looks special and I would to visit there and see it myself one day 🙂 @ knycx.journeying
I love visiting historic sites, so I’d love to tour the fort. I could probably spend a whole day wandering around there. The architecture and all of its gorgeous details look fantastic in your photos.
Tell me about it!! I spent the full day exploring the fort and it was an absolute amazing experience.
For some who likes history and architecture like myself, Gwalior is a great place to visit. I’m particularly interested in seeing the Jai Vilas Palace with its white marbles and fine European architecture. The Man Singh Palace is also a marvel. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it is a popular tourist attraction. I can just make out remnants of blue mosaics on outside, and getting lost in its labyrinth must be quite an experience.
Gwalior Fort and Jai Vilas Palace are the must-visit attraction of Gwalior. You can’t have two attractions that are so opposite to each other yet so beautiful.
Great photos. It inspires me to want to travel here soon.
I just read an article in Times of India today about how MP is tourist friendly and how so many movies are getting shot there. I read this article on the same day…..May be signs for me visit MP. Thanks for the info.
Then what are you waiting for!! Pack your bags and visit this amazing city.
Wow, I love the temple the architecture and details in the rocks are magnifiecent. I think I could spend days exploring.
I can see why the Gwalior Fort is the most attraction destination in the area. Those temples and the rock cut statue look very impressive. The Palace Museum looks pretty lux inside and worth the visit too.
There are lots of things to see in Gwalior Fort. One can easily spend a full day exploring the temple ruins and stunning palaces.
I admit I’ve not heard of Gwalior before, but it looks like a very interesting place! It’s cool to see the mixture of European, Indian, and Oriental at the Jai Vilas.
Frankly, not many people in India consider Gwalior as the tourist destination. Naturally, I am not surprised that you never heard about it.
Jai Vilas Palace looks really beautiful! I love visiting these kinds of palaces turned museums. There is always so much you can learn about the history of the city!
That is true. There is always a huge variety of collections in the palace turned museums. I specifically liked Jai Vilas because of how clean and well-maintained it was. It really imparts the feeling of royalty when you walk through the museum.
For a day trip, there seems to be a lot of things to do and see in Gwalior. I’d probably spend hours looking at the displays at the Jai Vilas Palace Museum and of course the Gwalior Fort.
I spent the whole day at the Gwalior Fort, But generally, most people don’t spend more than half a day at the fort. I have created this itinerary keeping them in mind. But you are right, you can definitely stretch this itinerary to 2 days.