Baroda is the third most-populated city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is one of four cities in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot and the two cities listed above. It is also known as the Sayaji Nagari Vadodara or Baroda, formerly the capital city of the Gaekwar State, is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri, a river whose name derived from the great saint Rishi Vishwamitra. It is located southeast of Ahmedabad, 139 km from state capital, Gandhinagar. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District.

Vadodara is home to almost 1.6 million people , the beautiful Lakshmi Vilas Palace and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda  which is the largest university in Gujarat. Its famous for various faculties and departments, including the Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Technology, Management, Psychology, Social Work, Law and Medicine streams. It has a high literacy rate by Indian standards of 78% . Major industries include petrochemicals, engineering, pharmaceuticals, plastics and Forex. Famous companies such as ABB, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro, DuPont, Bombardier, ERDA, General Motors Chevrolet, IPCL, ONGC, Sun Pharmaceuticals, GSFC, Alembic, Apollo Tyres, Suzlon, CG Glass and JCT Electronics all have a strong presence in this city, also it has presence of IT multi-national companies.

The summers can get rather hot so the best time-frame to travel to Vadodara is after October and before March. During these months, the weather is not only pleasant, but October has the added advantage of being the time for the Navratri festivities. Winters (November–February) are cool and pleasant in Vadodara.

By Air: Vadodara houses a domestic airport, which connects it to Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Daman, and Pune.

By Train: Vadodara is a major railway junction located on the Western Railway, which connects it with Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.

By Road: State transport buses and private luxury coaches connect Vadodara to various towns and cities of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.