Huzoor Palace, Porbandar

Strung along Porbandar's breezy Arabian Sea shoreline, Huzoor Palace is one of the most photographed relics of the town's princely age — a rambling, cream-hued royal residence raised by the Jethwa Rana rulers of Porbandar in the early twentieth century.

• Set where the land meets the open water, it was conceived as a seaside retreat for the ruling family, and its long, ornamented facade still gazes out over the waves much as it did a century ago.
• Most travellers take it in from the seafront road, since the grounds are generally not open to the public, but even a slow walk past the perimeter rewards you with a vivid sense of Kathiawar's vanished court life.
• Architecturally, the palace is a confident blend of European and Indian sensibilities that was fashionable among Gujarat's princely states of the era.
• Deep verandahs, arched openings, decorative balustrades and a symmetrical, mansion-like plan speak to the cosmopolitan tastes of the Porbandar rulers, who, like many of their contemporaries, imported ideas from far beyond Saurashtra.
• By tradition the palace is associated with Maharaja Natwarsinhji, under whom Porbandar's seafront acquired several of its grandest buildings.
• Whatever the exact commissioning date, the structure remains an emblem of the small coastal kingdom that also gave the world Mahatma Gandhi, born a short distance away in the old town.
• Come in the golden hour of the late afternoon, when the sea light softens the stonework and the west-facing coast turns amber before sunset, a favourite window for photographers.
• Pair a visit with Porbandar's other seafront landmarks and the nearby Gandhi heritage sites for an easy half-day of unhurried, image-free wandering along the Arabian Sea.
• For food, Porbandar is comfortingly vegetarian-friendly.
• Look for pure-veg Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses along MG Road and around Sudama Chowk, where unlimited thalis arrive with rotla, shaak, dal, kadhi and jaggery; the town's bazaars also brim with fresh farsan, dhokla and sweet shops.
• Stick to the pilgrim-belt pure-veg bhojanalayas near the temples for a wholesome, alcohol-free meal after your seafront stroll.