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All 31 Colombo Attractions »

Colombo National Museum

Albert Crescent, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Ranked #8 of 19 attractions in Colombo
3.5 of 5 stars 70 Reviews
Type: Speciality Museums, History Museums
Description: This museum of Asian civilizations is one of the oldest in Sri Lanka.
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70 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    15
    27
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    11
    2
Date Rating
Ontario, California
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 May 2012 NEW
1
person found this review helpful

I was disappointed. Foreigners are charged ridiculously high entry fee of $20 and extra for camera whilst locals only pay a couple of cents. A small collection of artifacts manly from colonial times but also from the old Sinhalese civilizations. I will not waste my time or money here. More

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See 4 more reviews by Bandula A for Colombo
Islamabad, Pakistan
Top Contributor
51 reviews 51 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 May 2012

amazing place to pass some time! but HOT in the summers! More

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Chiang Mai, Thailand
Senior Contributor
44 reviews 44 reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
49 helpful votes 49 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 May 2012
5
people found this review helpful

If I had to describe this museum, I would say 2 things: Rip. Off. Ok, hear me out. It's actually a couple museums housed in the same building. But guess what, they're 2 "separate" museums, and thus 2 separate tickets (although you can buy a combined ticket as well). Plus, another fee to take a camera in. We arrived there... More

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See 3 more reviews by bearanddragonNevada for Colombo
Burnley, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
39 reviews 39 reviews
Reviews in 30 cities Reviews in 30 cities
55 helpful votes 55 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 May 2012

We were looking forward to seeing the displays in this museum, but less than half was open: only part of the ground floor and none of the top floor. What we did see was interesting enough, but as others have mentioned the museum gets very hot. Electric fans provided relief when you were near them, but they could do with... More

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See 2 more reviews by Norman C for Colombo
Cyprus
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 1 May 2012

A must when in Colombo? The Sri Lankan heritage was predominantly a mystery to me, so it was an educational experience for me and one that should be tried by visitors to Colombo area. More

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Perth WA
Top Contributor
86 reviews 86 reviews
Reviews in 33 cities Reviews in 33 cities
21 helpful votes 21 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 26 April 2012

The grounds were magnificent and the exhibits were most interesting. Well worth a visit. More

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See 2 more reviews by hildaPerthWA for Colombo
Nottingham, UK
Senior Contributor
48 reviews 48 reviews
Reviews in 28 cities Reviews in 28 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 25 April 2012

As a national museum goes, we've certainly been to better however this is Sri Lanka and to be honest it could have been a lot worse. Some interesting collections - not particularly well air conditioned so make use of the various fans positioned around the building. Toilets surprisingly clean, although in an outbuilding but located close to the cafe. More

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See 2 more reviews by lachbc for Colombo
Dubai
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 24 April 2012

It is located in a large white colonial period building with an imposing faced was opened in 1877.Kanota Tours was arranged a Colombo city tour in our final day and it helped to see those things. More

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See 5 more reviews by Husseim B for Colombo
chennai
Senior Contributor
27 reviews 27 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 April 2012

the collections were good and the place was huge..worth taking the walk around and the place tells a lot about the culture and the rich heritage of Sri lanka..really worth going and worth the cost..But if time is not permiting then even the visit to Gangaramya temple would tell all More

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See 2 more reviews by ayush a for Colombo
Burlington, Canada
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 April 2012
1
person found this review helpful

This museum did a great overview of everything Sri Lanka. We got a view of the religion, the monarchy, the war, the art, everything! It was our perfect start to our Sri Lanka journey. More

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