The royal family of Mewar and its mighty kingdom are believed to have descended from the Sun, Suryavanshis as they are called, tracing lineage from Lord Rama through his elder son Lav. Way prior to Udaipur being selected as the capital, several other flourishing towns served as the capital; Nagda being its oldest. Lying at a distance of twenty kilometres to the north of Udaipur, Nagda (Nagdriha), was proclaimed as capital in 626 CE by Nagaditya (r. 626-646 CE), the fourth ruler of Mewar; it remained likewise up until the early 13th century. At different points of time, the capital shifted to and fro between Nagda and Aghatpur (Ahad).

Rawal Jaitra Singh (r. 1213-53 CE) shifted the capital to Chittor, and constructed the fort wall for the first time. In the 16th century, Chittor faced several invasions; including rulers from Delhi, Malwa and Gujarat who were very ambitious and wanted to acquire Chittor for themselves. 

Maharana Udai Singh II (r. 1537-1572 CE) realized that he had to look elsewhere, someplace peaceful to establish his capital. After much wandering and deliberation, he came to this area, today known as Udaipur, named after the Maharana, in 1553 CE. The City Palace, Udaipur grew with successive reigns of the Maharanas, most of whom zealously pursued the architectural constructions and expansions of the established Palace Complex. 

In 1947, India stood as an independent, democratic nation, free from the British rule. The titles of the royals were abolished and their states were merged into the Union of India. Out of sheer necessity and to maintain these vast, beautiful and historic buildings, most of the rulers had no choice but to convert their private palaces into either Heritage Hotels or into Museums. The Palace at Udaipur too became a Museum called The City Palace Museum, Udaipur.