Best Museums In India?

[nemanjanp]

What are the best and must visit museums in India? I'm mostly interested in art, but I would be happy to visit history or any other type of museum too! I'm going to Delhi for sure, but my complete route is not planned out yet, so you can recommend pretty much any museum in the whole country. And also, what are the best shops where you can actually buy some souvenirs that have some India's history in them? (pretty much anything small, but that's also not very expensive)

 

[nomad]

I'm a huge fan of museums! I find them a great way to get to know the local culture a bit better - especially if you don't have a huge amount of time.

I would recommend the National Museum in New Delhi as it's one of the largest in India. It has a lot of historical and cultural collections but also a pretty extensive art collection so it might be especially interesting for you. Be sure to check the opening days though as I know when I was there it didn't open on Mondays. You can get a free tour with your entry fee too.

You'll find so many places to buy souvenirs all over India! The way I personally like to collect my souvenirs is over the course of my whole trip. So I might buy a couple of things at a museum, another from a market stall, another from a zoo, and something from local artisans.

 

[travelguide]

Even though I am not a big fan of Museums to be frank, I had been to this place once. It is one of the largest museums in India. Indian Museum in Kokatta is the largest museum in India and it is also the ninth oldest regular museum of the world.

If you are a great fan of museums, there is no doubt that the National Museum of Delhi has a lot to offer and you will definitely enjoy it. It has around 200,000 works of art (both Indian and foreign origin) spreading over 5000 years. The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm. The ticket cost would be around $11 per person which also includes an audio guide. Audio tour covers master pieces from the collection and it is available in Hindi, English, German, French and Japanese.

Yes, the museum is closed on Mondays and gazetted holidays.

 

[Steve Dawson]

What are the best and must visit museums in India? I'm mostly interested in art, but I would be happy to visit history or any other type of museum too! I'm going to Delhi for sure, but my complete route is not planned out yet, so you can recommend pretty much any museum in the whole country. And also, what are the best shops where you can actually buy some souvenirs that have some India's history in them? (pretty much anything small, but that's also not very expensive)

The range and number of museums in Delhi is huge, I can only pick a couple of my favourites because there are such a large number of places to visit there. The national museum isn't huge, but its full of objects that showcase Indias history for the last 5000 years, you won't see anything as impressive as this is you're interested in the history of the country. The national museum of modern art has an impressive collection of paintings, including many colonial-era landscapes and portraits.

 

[debilechat]

It's only a small museum but I really enjoyed the Tibetan history museum by the temple in McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh. It gives a lot of information about Tibet's history and the refugees escaping across the Himalayas.

It documents the help that India gave the refugees. It can be quite distressing though because of the deaths of Buddhist monks protesting China's occupation and eradication of Tibetan culture but if you are in that part of India, it is well worth visiting.

 

[vegito12]

I have seen the pictures and videos my relatives brought over from their travels and it was nice to see the history of some of the Museums and liked how it can be really long to read and you can feel like you are there and watching the scenes in your mind, and think that it is nice to see some of these Museums are still standing and real strong. It is nice to see the Museums which can make a person appreciate these magnificent Museums and hope more people visit these areas as they can learn about the history and what happened in the past and you can also learn about how people lived in the hard times of that era. It is nice to pass the time and take some pictures and also enjoy the nice buildings and should visit when there is a event going on and may get some new artifacts in the Museum, and they can be nice to look at and it can take half a day to view each thing and read as it is real interesting.

 

[traveltipsindia]

Hi Nemanjanp,

As you are coming to visit Delhi, there are lots of Museum in Delhi one of the best Museum is National Science Museum located near Pragati Maidan and just Opposite of Old Fort (Purana Quila). Nearest Metro Station is Pragati Maidan Metro Station. National Science Museum is full of Art, Science, Historical collection. The other Museum in Delhi are India Gandhi Museum, Rad Fort Art Gallery, Qutub Minar Art Gallery. Janpath Road is the best place to buy Historical hand crafted products at cheap price. They are located at different places.

 

[djordjem87]

What i heard from my friend who was living in India for some time. National Museum in Delhi is the largest museum in India and with most items.Another one was in Mumbai but i forgot the full name of it. I asked him about the oldest but was not sure and i was too lazy to google it. He mentioned one in Kalkuta but again i am not sure which one is the oldest and for some reason i would like to know. Little help here?

 

[oneself]

You can visit the National Museum. National Museum is located on Janpath, New Delhi. The National Museum is the largest museum in India. It holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. The impressive building of National Museum is the houses of curious artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Mughal era. Some of the Museum in Delhi are National Rail Museum, Museum of Natural History, Nehru Museum & Planetorium,air force museum and Gandhi Darshan. National Rail Museum is one of the interesting places in Delhi to know Indian train models and luxury coaches that were once used by great maharajas.

 

[IndependentPrivateDriver]

For History and arts one should come to Rajasthan ,the princely heritage of ancient Rajputana divided in Independent provinces before Indian Independence. the Ancient palaces and forts of Rajput Maharajas are now Govt. undertaking and converted in Govt. Museums and Heritage hotels Jaipur has some best museums for art and History lovers. City Palace museum,Jaigarh fort Museum,King Albert Hall Museum. In Udaipur City palace Museum , Ahar or Ahad Museum related to Indus valley civilization. For art loving people must go to Ajmer,Kishangarh Mahal, Bundi, Mandawa, Fatehpur (Shekhawati), Tonk, Nagaur others..

 

[lstryhrn]

I would say the national museum in delhi. When I went there is was very nice and interesting. Another one you can try is the Salar Jung museum

 

[Micken]

I am not someone who is interested in museums but can surely recommend some popular ones to visit.

National Museum - Delhi
This is the largest museum in India. The museum has a range of articles which are from the ore historic times to a wide range of modern art.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya - Mumbai
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya was previously named Prince of Wales Museum. It has a range of items from the prehistoric times, from coins, firearms, sculptures, art and much more.

Indian Museum - Kolkatta
The Indian museum in Kolkatta is the 9th oldest museum and holds a range of old art, fossils, skeletons, mummies and armor.

Salar Jung Museum - Hyderabad
The Salar Jung Museum has a collection of paintings, ceramics, furniture, carvings, and sculptures.