Jaipur is the sort of city that actively resists all charges of second-tier, small-town identity laid at its door. There’s something about the city, above the familiar jumble of telephone poles, dusty sidewalks and chaotic traffic common to all of urban India, that can make any considerations of fashionable metro-ness seem quite irrelevant. For a town overlooked by the Aravallis, bordered by the craggy beauty of Amber and Jaigarh forts, studded at practically every street corner with reminders of a gorgeous and dramatic history, fashion can only ever be secondary to style. And Jaipur has always been about style.

To outsiders, that inimitable visual appeal may have linked itself largely to the image of Jaipur as a tourist city – one where, more often than not, locals were only seen in the background of visitors’ photographs, and recreation or leisure was pretty much centred around what visitors wanted. India’s ‘high’ style, loved and congratulated by the world at large, has often been at odds with its modern realities.

But even the most touristy of cities has its own fiercely-loved local hotspots, made by and meant for the people who keep its engines turning through their own creative connections with the land. In the last 10 years, no city has benefited more from that creativity than Jaipur. Its already robust artistic legacy has already given it a strong base to work with, and the idiom of the new Jaipur has been all about bringing the past and the present together with sensitivity and flair. It is a vitality all its own, and in four very different hotspots, the new Jaipur makes itself seen and felt right alongside the more antique charms of palaces and royal kitchens. The designs celebrate Jaipur’s inheritance. The vibe, though, is all right now.

Albert’s 1589
Comfort station at Jaipur’s Albert Hall museum
It used to be a fusty little corner of a fusty little museum, its treasures quite neglected by all but the most determined history nerds. Then, as Albert Hall came back to life a couple of years ago, its Egyptian treasures and priceless Indian art restored to glorious displays, the museum refurbished and ready to open its doors, the spot by the ticket counter underwent a metamorphosis, too. Today, it’s an airy, sunlit space, part old-fashioned colonial, part quirky neo-Indian, all beautifully balanced out. The little open-air terrace at the back of Albert’s completes its charms – it’s the best setting in which to look up at the sky and gaze at the gorgeous, iconic museum dome. The good old-fashioned food is set off nicely by the contemporary spin on craftwork, sourced from city craftspeople, bordering off one corner of the restaurant in its own little primary-coloured patch of hip Rajasthan. It’s a great, thoroughly modern space, often used for book readings, and has the same open feel as the rest of the place; where anyone who visits the museum can come in for a soothing cup of tea or a comfort snack. Glocal to the last crumb of your light, crispy bhatura.

Tablu
Rooftop revelry at Hotel Clarks Amer

Cricketers, musicians, artists, actors: Jaipur is full of celebrity itinerants at any given time, and there’s no place in the city they love quite like they do Tablu. With good reason: the minute you step in, the evening sky deepens to a more vivid shade of cobalt, the stars above you suddenly remind you of diamonds, and the wind carries ineffably exotic scents as it brushes your cheek gently. And all this before you’ve had a chance to hit the bar. Situated at the top of the storied old Hotel Clarks Amer, Tablu marries Mediterranean charm to Jaipur hospitality. The white-and-blue themes and Corinthian motifs blend well with the breezy hedonism in the air, and the quaint wrought-iron fixtures are all Eastern Europe. But this is no pseudo-Mykonos; as you examine the tables, you notice the Jaipur tiles inlaid into the marble, the Indian touch to the furnishings, all in harmony with the Greek accents. This pleasing confluence of cultures only makes it all the easier to relax with your delicious mezze platter and drink and let Jaipur’s hippest set the mood around you. The mellow charm of spontaneous concerts, passionate conversation, and some of the city’s most legendary cocktails: it’s where you’re most likely to meet the sort of people who, like Tablu itself, bring the city more fully into the global moment. No wonder all those celebrity itinerants always linger, looking very much like they want to stay.

1135 A.D. Amber
Fine dining on the ramparts of Amber fort

Amber fort, the former Kachchwaha capital, was around before Jaipur was a speck in the royal eye, and can make most of Rajasthan’s other imposing, marvellously-engineered forts look like sweet little cottages in terms of sheer, breathtaking scale. 1135 A.D. Amber takes that legacy of royal grandeur to quite another level, high up near the old palace of the fort. Visual and culinary grandeur are expected in Rajasthan, but the fact that 1135 A.D. out-lavishes most other restaurant experiences in the state isn’t even the most striking thing about the restaurant: it’s the fact that it recreates old Rajputana magic – the sort that most outsiders crave for when they think of the region – in an almost miraculous way. It was delicately, painstakingly crafted out of the rubble of the old part of the fort, neglected for years until the Rajasthan government decided to revamp it. Then, craftsmen from almost every part of the state spent over a year rebuilding and restoring it to something close to its medieval sumptuousness. Today, the old reliefs and stone modelling gleam again in the moonlight, complemented by incredible reworkings of glass artifacts, silver and gold furniture and rich wall hangings. The restaurant complex has little kitchens tucked away in corners to serve individual terraces or tables, and the food is the last word in shahi style. It is the oldest of old Jaipur, brought back to life with all the vibrancy and power of new creativity.

Flow
Ambience ahoy at the Diggi House

According to Fiona Caulfield, the author of travel guide Love Jaipur, it’s the best place for a lunchtime rendezvous in the whole city. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from going to Flow at all times of the day. Accompanied by a miniature, tasteful art gallery, with displays going up on Flow’s austere white walls, the restaurant also has a tiny shop area on a vertiginous upper level, usually displaying chic Jaipur keepsakes for wardrobes and walls back home. Nestled in a corner of the Diggi Palace gardens, overlooked by great flowering banks of bougainvillea, Flow is a slice of pure low-fi chic embedded in the stately grandeur of the old palace-turned-hotel. Already a cult favourite of the hordes who throng the Jaipur Literature Festival -- held over the last couple of years at the Diggi Palace – the café, like the festival, offers a unique glimpse into boutique Jaipur. Simplicity and funk face off each other in its cosy, inviting décor. Ambience is everything: in the day, the flowering trees and soothing music shield you from the glare of the North Indian sun. After dark, as you watch the night flowers bloom around you, sipping on Flow’s legendary spiced cider, listening to the music (as often as not a live set), the point is not that you could be anywhere in the world – the point is that it’s so contemporary, so eclectic, and yet so very Jaipur.

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