Undoubtedly the most popular and prime tourist attraction of Cooch Behar is the Cooch Behar Palace, also called Victor Jubilee Palace or Rajbari locally. Designed and built on the model of Buckingham Palace of London, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan in 1887, this magnificent palace is an architectural marvel. The palace once used to be the dwelling of the ruling family of Cooch Behar, is now protected and looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The fact that tourists are allowed inside the palace makes it all the more popular.
This brick-built double storied palace with marked influence of the classical European style of architecture during Italian Renaissance have more than fifty massive halls, which include the bedrooms, dressing rooms, billiard room, kitchen, dining hall, dancing hall, library and the ladies gallery. The large and spacious rooms deserve special attention for their beautiful Royal paintings that adorns the ceiling and the interior wall along with the traditional royal wooden furniture that speaks highly of the rich royal legacy.
The light and sound show, organized every Friday and Saturday, by the cultural dept of West Bengal, just beside the palace in a well maintained garden is a fascinating experience. The show starting with the fall of evening and continuing till 8 o’clock at night is an immensely popular event among tourists.
