Museum Enthusiast? Bookmark This List of Must-Visit Places!

If you’re a fan of Indian history, you’ve gotta check out this museum that depicts Mahatma Gandhi’s transition from a child to an adult. Walk into Laburnum Road (Grant Road) and along a row of colonial- structured buildings stands the large brown and white mansion that pays homage to Gandhi. The ground and first floors are massive libraries containing books that were owned and read by him, as well as relevant tomes, which the museum has collected over time. The first-floor houses copies of correspondence between Gandhi and personalities, such as President Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, pages from his journals and front page newspaper clippings from the time of his assassination. There’s a section that shows you the exact spot where Gandhiji spent most of his time—it seems totally untouched, and even has a few charkhas!

Don’t Miss: Letters to Adolf Hitler and Franklin D Roosevelt, the library

Entry Fee: Free of cost

Visiting Hours: 10.30 AM to 6 PM

Situated in Colaba, this dramatic Indo-Saracen building at Kala Ghoda, is one of the finest museums in the country, housing about more than 50,000 artefacts and has a great collection of sculptures, terracotta’s, bronzes, excavated artefacts from the Harappan sites, Indian miniature paintings, European paintings, porcelain and treasures from China, Tibet and Japan and even a Natural History section. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum was named for the Maratha hero who freed the region from Mughal control. 

Don’t Miss: Miniature paintings, decorative art objects, oil paintings, Buddhist artefacts

Entry Fee: INR 70 (adults), INR 20 (children)

Visiting Hours: 10.15 AM to 6 PM

Situated in Fort, Mumbai, RBI’s monetary museum is the perfect place to be if you’ve loved collecting coins as a kid and are still fascinated by it. The museum sees a majority of school kids, but anyone is welcome to visit. The first section explains the concept of money and how it evolved from barter to coins. A walk in the museum will help you discover the history of money in India and the world.

Don’t Miss: Panam coins, Indo-Greek coins, Tughlaq coins, paper money

Entry Fee: INR 10

Visiting Hours: 10.30 AM to 5 PM (all days except Monday)

Located in Worli, it is the largest interactive science centre in India, with more than 500 interactive science exhibits on various topics. You must check it out if you’ve always loved science as a kid. They have 3-D shows on topics like the human anatomy, science shows and exhibitions, workshops for students and teachers and even seminars. t’s a fun place to visit even as an adult - we felt like we didn’t understand too much during those school field trips.

Don’t Miss:Energy model, harmonograph, rising arc

Entry Fee: INR 50, INR 75 (special shows)

Visiting Hours: 10 AM to 6 PM (everyday, including Sundays)

LBB Tip: You can also visit Nehru Planaterium that’s just a few blocks away.

Located inside CST station, the entrance to the museum is near the main station entrance. As you enter, you have a chance to view the hustle and bustle of the main terminal from above, sit in a glass-walled tea room and check out colonial-era furniture, which is now used for conferences and meetings. You can also get a lesson on the history of the CST clock tower and old telegraph machines. 

Don’t Miss: Architecture, restricted library, grandfather’s clock, telegraph machines

Entry Fee: INR 200, INR 100 for students

Visiting Hours: Weekdays, 3 PM to 5 PM

Now this one is truly offbeat. Located on the third floor of the fairly rundown Anik bus depot, the BEST museum offers a rare insight into the history of Mumbai’s transport systems. Expect a walkthrough of Mumbai’s transport history, starting from the days of horse-drawn carriages and trams, and thorough coverage of the journey that terminates with the BEST buses we see today. It’s a wonder to see how road transport has developed, and we felt extra thankful for the air-conditioned, eco-friendly options we have today!

Don’t Miss: The first models of double decker buses, and the old Junction Traffic Assistance systems, that were basically replacements for traffic signals back in the day.

Entry Fee: It’s free!

Visiting Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 7 AM to 3.30 PM; Wednesday to Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM; Sundays, 9 AM to 5 PM

Located in the cultural hub between Kala Ghoda district and Colaba NGMA in Mumbai is an art museum that hosts a variety of exhibits for contemporary art. The old building was turned into a gallery in 1996, and has been a thriving space since then for contemporary and older modern artworks by Indian artists. 

Don’t Miss: They have something or the other always happening from workshops to auditorium events!

Entry Fee: INR 20

Visiting Hours: Mondays to Friday 11 AM to 6 PM; Saturday and Sunday 11 AM to 8 PM

Inaugurated in 2003, the Acworth Leprosy Museum is dedicated to learning more about important events, institutions and people in the leprosy saga dating from the nineteenth century. It is attached to Acworth Municipal Leprosy Hospital (established in 1890). The museum is attached to the Acworth Leprosy Hospital, which has been serving patients for over 130 years now. 

Entry Fee: Free

Visiting Hours: 8.30 AM to 3.30 PM

Of course, you need to check out the museum of Indian Cinema when in the city of dreams! Inaugurated about four years ago in 2019, the museum is housed in two buildings–the New Museum Building and the nineteenth-century heritage building,  Gulshan Mahal–both at the Films Division complex. It showcases the history of India Cinema and has ample artefacts,  digital elements including kiosks, interactive digital screens, information based screen interfaces, and more.

Don’t Miss: Children's film studio is an activity area where visitors get a hands-on experience camera, light, accessories , shooting, singing, editing and everything else that goes behind film making!

Entry Fee: INR 75; INR 40 for children

Visiting Hours: Monday to Saturday 11 AM to 6 PM; Closed on Monday