Built in the year 1557, the Dutch Palace one of the main historic sites of Kerala. Its construction has a story behind it. Actually during that time the Portuguese had destroyed the temple in Cochin and later built a palace and gifted it to the then ruler of Cochin, Veera Kerala Varma. But the intent of the Portuguese behind this wonderful gift was to earn favors from the king. Later in the year 1663 a battle was fought between the Portuguese and the Dutch, which resulted in the Portuguese defeat. This led to the control of the Dutch over the palace and they renamed it as the Dutch Palace. To beautify it more, they made new additions to it. Then they gifted it to the Cochin king.

The Palace is beautifully decorated with Indian murals depicting the scenes from the Indian mythology. The bed chambers of the palace house the most beautiful murals. The walls of the bedroom are majestically adorned with the scenes from the Great Hindu Epic, Ramayana. They clearly reflect the height of the creativity of the then artists. Also have a look at the ceilings, which have their own unique charm. One of the fascinating feature of the palace is that the floor was made from burned coconut shells, lime, charcoal, egg whites and plant juices.

The palace has two stories with sloping roofs. The palace complex houses a temple dedicated to Palayannur Bhagwati. The central hall of the palace boasts of carved wooden ceilings.

The museum of the Dutch Palace is a treasure house of a rich and rare collection of the royal objects belonging to the rulers of the bygone era. Some of the attractions are costumes, palanquins, weapons and turbans.