The layout of this royal palace on the bank of the Solo adheres to the rules of Javanese cosmology, like the palace of Yogyakarta. Also like the latter, it is still inhabited by the sunan, sultan of Surakarta and his family. The tour starts with the Swaka Budaya Museum (note the royal coaches), then you continue into the main shady courtyard, where, next to the pendopo, stands a tower the top floor of which is the sultan's meditation room.