Indian Museum

The Indian Museum on Jawaharlal Nehru Road (Chowringhee Road) in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, was founded in 1814 and is regarded as the oldest and one of the largest museums in the country. The building is a large Italianate structure arranged around a broad central quadrangle, with colonnaded verandahs and high-ceilinged galleries that give the visit a distinctly nineteenth-century character. The collections are divided into several sections, including archaeology, art, anthropology, geology, zoology and botany. Among the best-known exhibits are the Egyptian mummy, the carved railings and gateways from the second-century BCE Bharhut stupa, Gandhara Buddhist sculpture, a large fossil and skeleton hall, and a notable meteorite collection. Visitors move through the galleries on two floors, and the ground-floor archaeology rooms, with their stone sculptures and coins, are usually the most rewarding. A full visit takes two to three hours, and a focused tour of the Bharhut gallery, the mummy and the sculpture galleries can be done in about 90 minutes. The central courtyard offers a calm break and the best exterior photographs of the facade, while indoor photography rules vary and may be restricted in some galleries or require a camera fee, so confirm at the counter. The museum is busiest on weekends and during school visits on weekday late mornings, so arriving as it opens at 10:00AM gives quieter galleries. It is closed on Mondays and public holidays. Foreign nationals pay a higher admission than Indian nationals, and some galleries can be closed for restoration, so confirming the day's open sections at the ticket window is worthwhile. The museum is within walking distance of Park Street, the Maidan and New Market, making it easy to combine with other central sights.