Patiala is one of the highly reputed cities of Punjab due to its rich royal heritage, the effects of which are very prominent even now. It is the city ruled by the Royals of the Patiala dynasty in past and the current generation of them also follows the important rituals and help the government in the management of the city. The royal family of Patiala was highly valued by the British as they had friendly relations with them. Patiala is popular for a lot of things which attract global recognition, these are the Patiala Jutti (a kind of traditional footwear), Patiala Salwar (traditional bottom wear for women), Patiala paranda (to decorate the braids) and the most famous Patiala Peg (a measure of the alcohol). People across India as well as the world love buying these things for special occasions. Other than that, there are many tourist attractions also in the city which include the very famous Kali Mata Mandir which is the temple built by the rulers to protect the city from floods in the old times and it is believed that the deity protects the city from getting flooded. The Sikh temple Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib is also present in the city where devotees come in large numbers.  Bahadurgarh Fort and Qila Mubarak are few historical monuments which attract tourists to the city.

Patiala is ahead in terms of education too, that is the reason there are some prestigious educational institutes here, the prominent ones are the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, LM Thapar School of Management, Punjab Sports University, Punjabi University, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Government Medical College, Patiala, Thapar Polytechnic College and Govt. Bikram College of Commerce which is one of the premier commerce colleges of India.The city has high percentage of the educated youth due to these institutions. It is also a center for trade and industries, mainly cotton and distilleries. Along with that, there are many small scale businesses producing the traditional items which are supplied in India and also exported abroad. As the British had a lot of influence on the place due to their relations with the King, the people were also impacted by it. Thus, every second person wished in past to go to a foreign country, especially the UK (London) and European countries as it was considered the best place. This trend has not faded yet and youth even today aspires to go to the UK for either education or work, some even choose it for tourism. As a result there is a good number of immigration consultants in Patiala including the best one, the Abroad Gateway which helps these residents to accomplish their dreams.