The city of Jaipur was founded by the King of Amber, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II on 18 November 1727, who ruled from 1699 to 1743. He planned to shift his capital from Amber, 11 kilometres (7 mi) to Jaipur to accommodate the growing population and increasing scarcity of water. Jai Singh consulted several books on architecture and architects while planning the layout of Jaipur. Under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, Jaipur was planned based on the principles of Vastu Shastra and Shilpa Shastra. The construction of the city began in 1726 and took four years to complete the major roads, offi ces, and palaces. The architecture of the city was heavily infl uenced by the 17th century architectural renaissance during Mughal rule in Northern India. Hence much of it resembles architecture styles from around the Muslim world. The city was divided into nine blocks, two of which contained the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge ramparts were built, pierced by seven fortifi ed gates.

During the rule of Sawai Ram Singh I, the city was painted pink to welcome HRH Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII, Emperor of India), in 1876.[18] Many of the avenues still remain painted in pink, giving Jaipur a distinctive appearance and the epithet Pink city.

Large areas of the city including the airport were fl ooded in August 1981, resulting in the death of eight people and much damage to the city's Dravyavati River. The fl oods were caused by three days of cloud burst that produced more rain than the annual average.

Jaipur is located in the northeastern part of Rajasthan and covers a total area of 467 square kilometres (180 sq mi). The city is surrounded by fertile alluvial plains to the east and south and hill chains and desert areas to the north and west. Jaipur generally slopes downwards from north to south and then to the southeast.The city is surrounded by the Nahargarh hills in the north and Jhalana in the east, which is a part of the Aravalli range.

Dravyavati river is the primary drainage channel which by 2014 had degenerated into an untreated sewage nallah. To address this issue, a contract for the rejuvenation of the river was awarded to a consortium comprising Tata Projects and the Shanghai Urban Construction Group by the JDA. A 13-km stretch of Dravyavati riverfront out of 47.5km was opened for residents in 2018and the remaining project was completed in 2022.

Jaipur has a monsoon-infl uenced hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classifi cation BSh) with long, extremely hot summers and short, mild to warm winters. Annual precipitation is over 63 cm, falling mostly in July and August due to monsoon, causing the average temperatures in these two months to be lower compared to drier May and June. During the monsoon, there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but fl ooding is not common. The highest temperature ever recorded was 49.0 °C (120.2 °F), on 23 May 1994. The city's average temperature remains below 20 °C or 68 °F between December and February. These months are mild, dry, and pleasant, sometimes chilly. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −2.2 °C (28.0 °F) on 31 January 1905, 1 February 1905 & 16 January 1964. Jaipur, like many other major cities of the world, is a signifi cant urban heat island zone with surrounding rural temperatures occasionally falling below freezing in winters.

Jaipur is a major tourist destination in India forming a part of the Golden Triangle.In the 2008 Conde Nast Traveller Readers Choice Survey, Jaipur was ranked the 7th best place to visit in Asia.According to TripAdvisor's 2015 Traveller's Choice Awards for Destination, Jaipur ranked 1st among the Indian destinations for the year. The Presidential Suite at the Raj Palace Hotel, billed at US$45,000 per night, was listed in second place on CNN's World's 15 most expensive hotel suites in 2012.

Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC) is Rajasthan's biggest convention and exhibition centre.It is famous for organising events such as Vastara, Jaipur Jewellery Show, Stonemart 2015 and Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit 2015.

Visitor attractions include the Birla Auditorium, Albert Hall Museum, Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, City Palace, Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Birla Mandir, Galtaji, Govind Dev Ji Temple, Garh Ganesh Temple, Moti Dungri Ganesh Temple, Sanghiji Jain temple and the Jaipur Zoo.The Jantar Mantar observatory (The Jantar Mantar is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments remarkable at their time.) and Amer Fort are one of the World Heritage Sites.Hawa Mahal is a fi ve-storey pyramidal shaped monument with 953 windows that rises 15 metres (50 ft) from its high base. Sisodiya Rani Bagh and Kanak Vrindavan are the major parks in Jaipur.Raj Mandir is a notable cinema hall in Jaipur.