The palace consists of the Royal Abu Bakar Museum. The official entrance to the palace museum grounds is through a gateway facing the High Court building on Jalan Air Molek. You can also exit/enter the palace museum grounds by walking down/up the grassy slope to/from the main road - Jalan Tun Doktor Ismail. The museum is closed when there are official functions and ceremonies. Entry US$7/3 (payable in ringgit at a poor exchange rate) for foreign adults/children, RM5 for Malaysian and Singaporeans, and only RM1 for Malaysian children. Last ticket sale is at 16:00. Definitely Johor Bahru's top attraction, this is the opulent former residence (Istana Besar or Grand Palace) of the Sultan of Johor. It is still used for royal and state ceremonies and functions. 53-hectare garden (free admission). The adjoining Zaharah Botanical Garden lies about 300 m northwest of the palace museum complex centred about a roundabout. The palace complex was first completed in 1866 but has been extended and refurbished many times since. It was built in the neoclassical style by local artisans under the supervision of a European architect. The original furniture of the palace was made in England and ordered by Sultan Abu Bakar in 1866. The museum is housed in two of the three white buildings (all with blue-tile pitched roofs) in the complex and consists of 4 parts: the Dewan (in the west building); the Throne Room, the Treasure Rooms and the Hunting Room (in the central building). The east building is not open to the public. The scale of the palace is suitably grandiose. Photography inside the museum is forbidden.