Mandalay Hill, rising 750 feet above the city, is regarded as a holy place because of the legend that Buddha visited it and proclaimed that a great city would be founded at its foot. It is a good place to view sunset on the Irrawaddy and the temples below.

Mandalay Palace was almost destroyed by fire during WWII. Its surviving walls are inset by gates crowned with wooden pavilions and surrounded by a moat. Inside is a cultural museum.

There are many Buddhist sites in Mandalay including the Kuthodaw Pagoda, popularly known as "the world's largest book" for the Buddhist scriptures carved on 729 stone slabs surrounding it.