En route to my hostel from Kinkaku-ji, the bus went pass the imperial palace which I decided to stop off at. The Palace was move to Tokyo a while ago which meant the Kyoto palace was open to visitors. The size of the grounds and the palace itself was enormous, its hard to quite explain how big it really was.
As I went around the side of the palace, there was an entrance where I went in and the imperial guard (yes it sounds like something from Star Wars) were looking after the place. It was free entry and they also did guided tours although I preferred to wander through the area on my own.
There were several cartridge houses and overall massive and impressive buildings and architecture throughout. Definitely worth the visit if you have the time.