Tirumala Nayakan Palace: Another place of interest in Madurai from the architectural point of view, is the Tirumala Nayakan Palace, an imposing monument built in the 17th century. It is famous for the stucco work in domes and arches. This Indo- Saracenic building has massive white pillars. The main attraction is the Sivarga Vilasam which serves as an audience hall. A part of the palace has now been converted as a museum dealing with the history of Madurai, art and architecture of Tamilnadu. The sound and light show depicts the story through the epic Silappadhikaratn-
Museums: The Gandhi Museum dedicated to the memory of
Mahatma Gandhi is amidst a beautiful garden. It has several galleries depicting photographs, Khadi and Village industries and handicrafts. Some of the personal belongings of Gandhi are also exhibited here. The Government Museum is also located in the same garden. It has interesting sculptures of the Pandyan period, bronze figures of deities, paintings and many historical objects.
Other important places worth visiting are the Madurai Kamaraj University, Agricultural College and Kovalan Pottai, which has the ancient burial grounds of the Sangam period.