Ubud has a population of about 8,000 people, but it is becoming difficult to distinguish the town itself from the villages that once surrounded it. Ubud gets it name from the balinese word ubad (medicine).
Tourism on the island developed when Walter Spies came to Ubud, an ethnic German born in Russia who taught painting and music, and dabbled in dance. Spies and foreign painters Willem Hofker and Rudolf Bonnet entertained celibrities including Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, H.G. Wells and Vicki Baum. They brought in some of the greatest artists from all over Bali to teach and train the Balinese in arts, helping Ubud become the cultural centre of Bali. A new burst of creative energy came in the 1960s in the form of Dutch painter Arie Smit (1916-), developing The Young Artists Movement. There are many museums spread all over Ubud, including Museum Rudana.
The main street is Jalan Raya Ubud, which runs east-west through the center of town. Two long roads, Jalan Monkey Forest and Jalan Hanoman, extend south from Raya Ubud. Puri Saren Agung is a large palace located at the intersection of Monkey Forest and Raya Ubud roads. The home of Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati (1910-1978), the last "king" of Ubud, his descendants currently live there and dance performances are held in its courtyard. It was also one of Ubuds first hotels, dating back to the 1930s.
