Best Government Museum & Memorials to Visit in India
30 Best Government Museum & Memorials to Visit in India
Sabarmati Ashram Gujarat Science City National Rail Museum Nehru Planetarium National Science Center Nehru Center BM Birla Science Museum Government Museum Connemara Public Library Albert Hall Museum Hill Palace Museum Victoria Memorial Indira Gandhi Planetarium State Museum Museum of Folk and Tribal Arts Raman Science Center Narrow Gauge Rail Museum National Defence Academy Central Museum Calicut Planetarium Krishna Menon Museum Bapu Museum INS Kursura Submarine Museum Phool Bagh and Kanpur Museum Taj Museum Gass Forest Museum GeDee Car Museum Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library Patna Museum Assam State MuseumSabarmati Ashram, India
Sabarmati Ashram is popularly known as Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, 4.0 miles from the town hall. Experience the tranquil sanctity of the Ashram as you watch the beautiful pictures on the wall depicting the history of Gandhi and India’s freedom struggle. See Magan Niwas, Hriday Kunj, Nandini, Udyog Mandir, Vinoba-Mira Kutir Somnath Chhatralaya, Upasana Mandir, and Gandhi Memorial Museum and get an insight into the philosophies, values, and teachings of Gandhi.
Gujarat Science City, India
Located at SP Ring Road in the bustling area of Hebatpur, Ahmedabad, Gujrat Science City houses several exciting attractions that are engaging and mind-blowing. It houses an IMAX 3D theatre and a wonderful display of dancing musical fountains. Embark on an exciting adventure with Thrill Rider or spend some breathtaking moments listening to the sweet jingles of Asia’s largest Musical Fountain. Enjoy the planetarium, a thrilling earthquake experience ride, and explore Hall of Science, Hall of Space, Life Science park, and Energy Park.
National Rail Museum, India
National Rail Museum is a perfect place to discover the history of Indian railways. It is located at Chanakyapuri and came into existence on 1st February 1977 and spreads over an area of 10 acres. The collection present in the museum exhibits nearly 163 years of history of Indian Railways. More then 5 lakh people visit this place every year. The museum comprises of nearly 80 life-size outdoor displays that include locomotives, carriages, and few of the special coaches of different gauges. All the displays are unique in itself and have a lot of historical importance and every piece has an exceptional story associated with it.
Weekend: Adults (per person) - ₹100/-, Child (Age between 03 years upto 12 years) - ₹20/-
Nehru Planetarium, India
The Famous Nehru Planetarium in the capital city of New Delhi is found in the green environs of the Teen Murti Bhawan, which was an official dwelling of India's former and first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It has now been converted into a museum in his memory. This Planetarium offers an opportunity to explore the cosmological system in the sky like a theatre with a dome-like screen that is created out of glass fiber and approximately 265 people can watch it together. Events related to the astronomy like quiz contests, lectures, workshops keep taking place over here.
With 3D show: Adults (per person) - ₹300/-, Child (Age between 04 years upto 12 years) - ₹150/-
3D English Language show timing is 02:00 AM, 06:00PM and in Hindi is 06:00PM
National Science Center, India
The National Science Centre came into existence in the year 1992 and is an amazing science museum in the capital city of India, Delhi. It falls under the ministry of culture and is situated at Pragati maidan close to Gate No 1, overlooking the famous Purana Qila. The National Science center has given birth to some of the most intelligent science scholars. It has been the source in developing technical minds and the younger generation has tremendously benefitted from it. It is an extremely absorbing place which explains the science in a logical way and that too in a very attention-grabbing way. The scientific achievements of this place will surprise you with its wonders.
Nehru Center, India
This is an impressive memorial to the erstwhile prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. The main aim of this center is to promote the ideals and philosophy of Nehru. Many interesting educational as well as cultural programs, are organized regularly. Nehru Center is an outstanding hub of numerous scientific, and educational activities along with performing arts, such as dance, drama, and music in Mumbai. The massive complex spread over a large area harbors Nehru Planetarium, an auditorium with a capacity of almost 1000 people, experimental theatre with modern facilities, a well-maintained library art galleries, and research centers. It also houses two well lit and air-conditioned exhibition halls.
BM Birla Science Museum, India
Birla Science Museum is a captivating and popular tourist attraction in Hyderabad, both amongst youngsters and adults. Its main aim is to transfer scientific knowledge and information to everyone, in an interactive way. Birla Science Museum is a haven for people with a strong interest in science, as learning becomes a fun-filled process. It has different sections for presenting an amazing set of specialized fields including Interactive Science Archaeology, Electronics, etc. It houses a lovely doll museum, Nobel Gallery, Dvaraka Diorama, Antarctica Diorama, Birla IEEE, Nirmala Birla Art Gallery,NRSA, and Dinosaurium.
Government Museum, India
The Government Museum famed as Egmore Museum or the Madras Museum is the second oldest museum in India. It offers a peek into human history, tradition, art, and culture. Its exceptional collection of coins, archeological splendor, the biggest collection of bronze idols, and the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe make it the third-largest museum in the world. The museum is located in Pantheon Complex which also houses a Public library and a National Art gallery. The Government museum owes its roots to a museum that was planned by the Madras Literary Society in 1846. The museum complex has six buildings and nearly fifty galleries dedicated to different branches of studies like anthropology, archeology, zoology, contemporary art, geology, and others.
Still Camera - ₹200/-, Video Camera - ₹500/-
Ticket Will be issued till 4:30PM
Connemara Public Library, India
Connemara Library Named after the former governor of Madras Lord Connemara the library is a part of the majestic Madras Museum Complex on the Pantheon Road, Egmore. With a humungous collection of over 600,000 books, it has been declared as the National Depository Library by the Central Government of India. It has tall pillars inlaid with intricate designs and impressive interiors that leave one and all mesmerized. The library has a repository of centuries-old publications,including1608 Bible. With the addition of a new three-storied building it now has a textbook section, a periodical hall,a reference room, a video room, an IAS study center, and an entire floor dedicated to books on Indian languages.
Albert Hall Museum, India
Also known as the Central Museum, it is a wonderful building exhibiting the age-old beauty of Indo-Saracenic architecture with beautifully carved arches and domes. The galleries of this grand museum houses an eclectic collection of tribal dresses, magnificent sculptures, statues, lovely miniature paintings, handcrafted carpets along with an array of old musical instruments. The star feature of this museum is an Egyptian mummy. You can explore the magnificent museum to get a peek into the rich culture of Rajasthan. The museum is lit at night, thus presenting a spectacular view. Placed in Ram Niwas Garden at Kailash Puri, Adarsh Nagar in Jaipur.
Hill Palace Museum, India
This is the largest archeological museum that is located in the state of Kerala. It was constructed in 1865. It was the official residence of Maharaja of Cochin. It also served as the imperial administrative office. The palace comprises of 49 buildings. It is spread across an area of around 54 acres. It demonstrates the traditional style of architecture. There is a children’s park also located inside the palace. The entry fee for adults is INR 30 and for children is INR 10. Various things that can be seen inside the palace are murals, oil paintings, sculptures, and the different belongings of the royal family of Kochi.
Victoria Memorial, India
Scattered in an area of approximately 56 acres, the place is a must visit for all the tourists coming to Kolkata. It houses nearly 22 well-manicured gardens, around 3,800 paintings of diverse artists and 28,394 artefacts. Queen Victoria’s statue is placed within the memorial and the architecture of museum inside is simply marvellous. It is a romantic place to be and located at Queen’s Way, Kolkata. It was constructed between 1906 to 1921 in the fond memory of Queen Victoria. It is made in pure white marble and building has tall pillars, towers in the corners and it is dome shaped. William Emerson was the architect of Victoria Memorial.
Victoria Memorial Hall Timings and Ticket Price
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The galleries remain closed on Mondays and designated National Holidays: Republic Day, Holi (Dol Yatra), ldu’l Fitr, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday, Dussehra (Vijay Dashami), Christmas Day.
Ticket Price:
Indira Gandhi Planetarium, India
Also known as the Taramandal show Indira Gandhi Planetarium is situated at the Surajkund Park, on the banks of the River Gomti. The exclusive design of the building in the shape of Saturn with five rings surrounded by a pool of water captivates one and all. Equipped with a state of the art projection system, digital sound system, full-blown air conditioning facility, and a lift ramp for physically challenged it hosts several science exhibitions and astronomy shows throughout the year. Its virtual trips to space punctuated with gorgeous galaxies help satiate the curiosity space enthusiasts. Various models of the Indian satellites and informative data about celebrated Indian scientists like Aryabhatt, Varahamihira, etc are also exhibited here.
Group of 30 peple or more - ₹10/- (per head)
State Museum, India
The four-story State Museum is housed within the premises of the Lucknow Zoo. It is one of the oldest museums in the city and has been the chief center of attraction for history buffs. It has several galleries dedicated to different eras and studies like Indian sculpture gallery, Nawabs art, and coin gallery, archaeological gallery, Jain art gallery, Buddha gallery, metal art gallery, Egyptian gallery, a natural history gallery, and others. It showcases a broad spectrum of artifacts ranging from natural history objects from the Stone Age. It exhibits a rich collection of coins, sculptures, prehistoric tools, manuscripts, paintings, bronze images. One of the major attractions of the museum is Egyptian mummy and wooden burial boxes from 1000 BC.
Museum of Folk and Tribal Arts, India
This is located in Sector 4 of Gurgaon. It demonstrates the finest artifacts of folk as well as tribal art. The things that you see here will just amaze you. This museum was started by Mr. K.C Aryan who is a renowned historian, sculptor, and writer. The different kinds of artifacts that you can see here are bronze, paper mache, wood crafts, terracotta, textiles, woodcraft, metal, etc. The place also houses a brilliant collection of paintings and books.
Raman Science Center, India
To nurture and promote the acumen for science, the Raman Science Centre was set up under the aegis of Mumbai’s Nehru Science Centre. Named after the celebrated Nobel prize winner physicist C.V. Raman it is a uniquely interactive science. It houses several engaging attractions for people with a scientific bent of mind. It houses an information gallery, a science park that gives insight into the scientific principles, a gallery exhibiting the latest science and technology innovations, pre-historic animal park, and a planetarium. Several science exhibitions, sky observation programs, demonstration lectures, and workshops are organized regularly to encourage the budding scientifically inclined minds. It tops the to-do list of a visitor to Nagpur.
Narrow Gauge Rail Museum, India
A one of its kind museum has an impressive display of artifacts in an open and closed area. It serves as an information park, which gives an insight into the working of the narrow gauge system. The museum has been dedicated to preserving the eventful history of Indian railways. It has galleries with an array of working models of trains, logos of different state railways, actual narrow gauge rolling stock steam engines, photographs, foreign locomotives, and builder plates at the display. It is chiefly meant for visitors interested in capturing the glimpses of the heritage of Railways. Besides this, the museum also has an amusement park for kids, toy train, and a rare collection of stamps.
April to September: 11:30 to 08:00
National Defence Academy, India
NDA or the National Defence Academy is situated approximately 22 Kms from the city of Pune. It has been created for the three Indian armed services ie Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force. All the three forces are trained here till they are sent for their separate tasks and training. The huge campus area is approximately 7000 acres. The chief reason why this was chosen this as a campus because it is situated in close vicinity to the Khadakwasla lake. This academy is an exceptional blend of excellence and valour. Therefore, any person who has a desire to join defence, must visit this place and be a spectator to the true patriotic spirit.
Central Museum, India
Central Museum owes its roots to the Holka dynasty and was originally established as a part of the educational institute called Nararatna Mandir. Primarily, it was set up to collect photos and documents of the great personalities and later it was converted into a full-fledged museum. Located near the general post office in Indore it houses a wide range of Parmar sculptures, scriptures and also has a rich collection of ancient coins and armor. It has eight galleries showcasing artifacts subjectwise. Other attractions include a red brick model of Vishnu temple and an exquisite sculpture of Jain Tirthankara Adinath from the 13th century.
No entry fee for Children up to 15 years and handicaped persons
Calicut Planetarium, India
Situated in the JafferKhan Colony in Kozhikode the Regional Science Centre and Planetarium in Kozhikode aspires to propagate science, spread awareness through active interaction and participation. Equipped with a projection system from Carl Zeiss in Germany, a 250 seater capacity, a high definition 3D theatre the planetarium hosts as many as 1200 shows yearly facilitating the science enthusiasts to explore the secrets of the universe. It houses three permanent galleries that display numerous experiments and models intending to nurture the willingness to know the science behind the scenes. Other amenities include children’s activity nook, a well-stocked library, an aquarium, and a telescope corner.
Krishna Menon Museum, India
Krishna Menon Museum, located in East Hill around 7kms from the town area in Kozhikode district. the museum takes its name after late V.K. Krishna Menon, a national leader from the state who served as the Defense Minister of India. The museum offers visitors a peek into the rich cultural heritage and history of the state. A special wing of the museum is dedicated to him and exhibits his personal belongings, keepsakes, and gifted souvenirs. The museum is also acclaimed for its excellent collection of paintings by Ravi Raja Varma and Raja Raja Varma. Other attractions near the museum include Kappad Beach, Pazhassi Raja Art Gallery, and Museum, Matri Dei Cathedral, etc.
3D Theater: person above 12 yrs - ₹40/-, person below 12 yrs - ₹20/-
Bapu Museum, India
Located on the Bandar Road the Victoria Jubilee Museum is a living exemplar ashlar masonry in Indo-European architectural style. The museum was erected to honor the Golden jubilee coronation of Queen Victoria and it is here that the father of nation added a wheel to the tricolor flag. It is a history lovers paradise and offers a peek into a varied collection of paintings, ancient sculptures, Neolithic and Microlithic implements, manuscripts, idols, gold and silver coins, cutlery, and weapons. The museum exhibits a sculptor of Buddha made out of granite, 4-5th century idol of shiva another a white lime sculpture of Buddha, which happens to be a major attraction here. Museum remains accessible throughout the week except for Fridays and Public Holidays.
INS Kursura Submarine Museum, India
The only submarine museum in Asia INS Kurusura Submarine Museum was established at the beach of Rama Krishna. INS Kurusura was India's 5th submarine and was constructed by Russians. It became a part of the Indian Navy in 1970 and played a significant role in many wars including the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The submarine served the Indian Navy for 31 years post which it was decommissioned and transformed into a museum. So the museum is a real-life submarine that houses a repository of pictures, articles, artifacts depicting the tales of sacrifice, strength, and patriotism of Indian warriors. Its picture-perfect location, close acquaintance with reality make is a visitor's favorite.
Phool Bagh and Kanpur Museum, India
Located in the heart of the city, Phool Bagh, an urban park attracts people in large number all round the year. The park was initially called the Queen’s Park and has a lot of historical significance with oldest gardens in town. Lot of political rallies and meetings were held in this park regarding independence. It is a famous recreational spot and has a lot of space for morning and evening jogs and walks. It also houses Kanpur Museum that has a display of documents and artefacts from the olden times to the contemporary times. A library with a huge collection of books and Union Club of Cawnpore is also within the premises. Other than this there are statues of freedom fighters like Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Mahatma Gandhi and B.R Ambedkar. 150 feet tall flag was hoisted in this park in 2019. During the Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi many religious ceremonies take place over here.
Taj Museum, India
Taj Museum was conceptualized in 1906 and was established at the instance of Lord Curzon, who was the Viceroy of India 1899 to 1905. Located at Taj Mahal Dhram Puri, Forest colony the museum is placed in two hexagonal rooms on the west side of the main entrance gateway to the splendid Taj Mahal. The double-storied building has a quadrangle projection outside. The museum houses the wonderful exhibits of Taj which are captivating and include old plans of the Taj Mahal, creative samples of the stone used in inlay work, old photographs of the Taj Mahal, some colored sketches, Farmans and interesting specimen of stones used in construction of the Taj Mahal.
Gass Forest Museum, India
Gass Forest Museum is a natural history museum located at Cowley Brown Road, RS Puram West, in Coimbatore. It is run by the government and is located within Forest College Campus. It was established in the year 1902. This museum is a must-visit for all nature lovers. It has a huge collection of forestry artifacts and other timber products. There is a 3D diorama that depicts wildlife in its natural habitat that has been made a part of the museum.
GeDee Car Museum, India
GeDee Car Museum encompasses a wide variety of automobiles with an emphasis on innovation and design. The prime motive of the museum is to create awareness among students as well as the general public about different technologies that have been used in cars. The museum has unique cars on display such as Japanese cars, French cars, American cars, Spanish cars, etc. Founded by notable industrialist and philanthropist GD Naidu, this Museum has been dedicated to several innovative personalities who in spite of lack of education or money were still able to give a lot to the growth of the automobile sector. Mr. GD Gopal is the Managing Trustee of the museum.
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, India
It is one of its kind repositories of a whooping 21000 oriental manuscripts. This library has been declared as an Institution of National Importance in 1969 by Govt of India. It is funded by the Indian Ministry of Culture. Khuda Bakhsh Khan gave away all books that formed part of his personal collection so that people of Patna could benefit from the same. The library was opened for public viewing on 29th October 1891. Just about anyone can visit the library. More than 4000 rare books and manuscripts form part of this amazing library. Sir Charles Elliot, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal inaugurated this library.
Patna Museum, India
This is a state museum that was established on April 3rd in 1917 during the rule of British. A huge number of ancient artifacts can be seen here. Also known as Jadu Ghar it demonstrates both Rajput and Mughal style of architecture. Some of the items that are present inside this museum are bronze statues, textiles, paintings, sculptures, bronze images, etc. A fossil of a tree that is almost 200 million years old is also on display. The museum was inaugurated by Sir Edward Gait. Some other highlights of the museum are National History Gallery, Mauryan lion head from Masarh, the lustred stone torso of Jain Tirthankar, etc.
Assam State Museum, India
Assam State Museum is located in the heart of Guwahati city at the southern end of Dighali Pukhuri tank the museum buzzes with the activity of history buffs and tourists from across the globe. It offers a peek into the cultural, social, historical element of the ancient and contemporary North-East India. It boasts a rich spectrum of a repository of artifacts, sculptures dating back to the 5th century to the 19th century, and remains displayed in different sections of the museum.
EXPLORE PLACES IN INDIA BY CATEGORY: