20 Best Museums In Delhi To Visit And Step Into History

You may be advised to visit Birla House or Birla Bhavan; which is now Gandhi Smriti. Built as a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the space is where Gandhi himself spent the last 144 days of his life.

LBB Tip: It hasn’t been maintained very well, which has the potential to spoil your visit.

Timings: 10 AM – 6:30 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Stations: Udyog Bhawan Metro Station (yellow line), Khan Market (violet line)

Think Harappa Civilisation relics, artefacts from the Silk Route, war memorabilia, and a fantastic collection of miniature paintings. The museum in Delhi also has over 2,00,000 works of art, both Indian and foreign, from the last 5,000 years. They have an audio guide, too, which you can rent (carry a photo ID). The National Museum is next door to the Archeological Survey of India, in case you want to drop in for a bit.

Timings: 10 AM – 6 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 20

Nearest Metro Station: Udyog Bhawan (yellow line), Central Secretariat (yellow/violet line)

This museum in Delhi will appeal to the inner collector in you. This museum has an entire collection of all Indian stamps, including the first Indian stamp by Sindh Dak in 1854. You’ll also be moved by the range of foreign stamps available here. We hope you go have a look and are able to find that elusive stamp that you’ve been looking for.

Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Patel Chowk (yellow line)

The museum in Delhi of the Indian Air Force is split into viewing galleries. The indoor gallery features historic photographs, memorabilia, uniforms, and vintage personal weapons of the Indian Air Force. This indoor exhibit leads to a hangar displaying wall aircraft and other inventory. For the larger planes, radar equipment, and captured enemy vehicles, make your way outside. The museum also houses large transport aircraft, which are displayed only on the annual Air Force Day.

Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Entry Fee: INR 30

Nearest Metro Station: Sadar Bazar Cantt (magenta line)

No prizes for guessing what they have on display, but be a doll, try and guess. The collection is classified into two parts – one caters to dolls collected from European countries, and the other consists of dolls collected from Asian countries.

Timings: 10 AM – 5:30 PM, closed on Mondays 

Entry Fee: INR 25

Nearest Metro Station: Pragati Maidan (blue line)

A unit of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), this body tries to popularise science amongst those who feel science is blah. Also a haven for science buffs, this museum hones scientific awareness and temper and has galleries that promote innovation and learning.

Timings: 9:30 AM – 5:15 PM

Entry Fee: INR 70

Nearest Metro Station: Pragati Maidan (blue line)

If you went to school in Delhi, you’ve probably been here. It was set up with the aim of promoting astronomy education, especially for children. A wing of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, it is one of the best museums in Delhi that prides itself on live shows on the space and other interactive programs. 

Timings: 11 AM – 6 PM, only on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 100

Nearest Metro Station: Udyog Bhavan (yellow line) 

This private art museum in New Delhi holds most of the modern and contemporary art of India and beyond. Changing exhibitions every three months, viewers can catch any artist anytime during the quarter. Completely free, KNMA caters to the art enthusiast and expert alike. Apart from this, they also curate a permanent collection and hold regular workshops for students.

Timings: 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM, only on Mondays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Malviya Nagar (yellow line)

A museum dedicated to the rail heritage in India, the National Rail Museum in New Delhi is another child and young adult checklist item. It houses over 100 exhibits of Indian Railways {static and working models}, antique train furniture, signalling equipment, historical photographs and related literature. Not to be missed are the Patiala State Monorail Trainways, Fairy Queen (the world’s oldest working steam locomotive in operational service), and the Morris-Belsize fire engine (one of two in the world) exhibits.

Timings: 10 AM – 4:30 PM, only on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 50 on weekdays, INR 100 on weekends

Nearest Metro Station: Jor Bagh (yellow line)

Like the Transport Museum in London, we now have our own metro museum that holds a special place in the Dilliwala’s heart. The place mostly shows what goes on behind the scenes of our favourite public transport, ranging from the management style and work culture of the DMRC, and the construction, to photographs, a model of the metro train, stations and more. The museum also has a gift shop {yay, souvenirs!} and monitors for film shows.

Timings: 10 AM – 11 PM

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Located in Patel Chowk Station (yellow line)

This is Delhi’s premier destination for an insight into Tibetan and Buddhist culture and practice. Founded by His Holiness Dalai Lama, the five-storey museum houses Tibetan art and artefacts and has an in-house library with over 5,000 volumes of manuscripts and books. Tibet House offers incentives and resources for research and translation projects and also hosts events focusing on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist culture.

Timings: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM, closed on weekends

Entry Fee: INR 10

Nearest Metro Station: Khan Market (violet line)

The Ghalib Museum {inside the academy} presents artefacts and views of Ghalib’s time. Ghalib’s residences, the poet’s favourite foods, and attire make up the most interesting parts of the museum. The coins, seals, postal stamps, and handwriting specimens are housed for those intrigued by and interested in Ghalib. You’ll even find paintings by renowned artists (like MF Hussain) here.

Timings: 10 AM – 6 PM, closed on Sundays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: ITO (violet line)

Another Gandhi, another living-quarter-turned-museum in Delhi. This one takes a turn for the tragic, with the sari she wore at the time of her assassination (now bloodstained) on display. A lot of rooms have been preserved along with a lot of her personal memorabilia, including her Rubik’s cube, and an enclosed crystal pathway marking her final steps. It sounds morbid, but it is fascinating to see the sight of a historical event.

Timings: 9:30 AM – 4:45 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Lok Kalyan Marg (yellow line)

Modelled as a traditional Indian village, this is one of the best museums in Delhi that aims to preserve, display and promote Indian crafts and weaves. Also called Crafts Museum, it houses over 35,000 rare pieces, showcasing traditional Indian paintings, embroidery, textiles, and crafts, including the 300-year-old Bhoota collection from Karnataka, rare Kashmiri Dushalas, rare brocade and Baluchari saris, and Kutch embroidery.

Timings: 9:30 AM – 6 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 20 

Nearest Metro Station: Pragati Maidan (blue line)

This gallery of musical instruments is the most awe-inspiring place any amateur or expert could visit. The Akademi Museum in Delhi, which is called Asawari, a kind of raga, caters to enthusiasts and showcases over 2,000 objects related to performing arts, including musical instruments, masks, puppets, and headgear.

LBB Tip: We recommend not only visiting the museum but also the exhibitions that take place along with it.

Timings: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM, closed on weekends

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Barakhamba Road (blue line)

The definitive place for those interested in modern art, NGMA is a must for all art students and lovers. Curating and housing art from way back, it even houses items from the government toshakhana (treasury). The outside itself is magnificent, and the inside even more so. There are 17,000 works of art in there; including over 100 of Amrita Shergill’s, which we saw the last time we went. We’re sure you’ll find something to your liking (it’s hard not to).

Timings: 10 AM – 6 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 20

Nearest Metro Station: Central Secretariat (yellow/violet line)

Set inside the Red Fort, the Department of Archaeology runs this museum in Delhi. Built as an honour to soldiers who’d been part of WWI, this war memorial cum museum now houses dioramas and weaponry including guns, swords and khurkis. The last two galleries are super-impactful, showing the use of modern technology in war, which includes telephones, radios and periscopes. The Archaeological museum also has objects from the Mughal period on show.

Timings: 9 AM – 5 PM

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: Chandni Chowk (yellow line)

This museum in New Delhi preserves Nehru as a heroic individual. It demonstrates how the struggle for Independence matured over the years and how Nehru coped with it as a person. According to us, the best part is the gifts gallery. It has cool gifts from all over the world that Nehru received.

Timings: 9 AM – 5:30 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: INR 50

Nearest Metro Station: Lok Kalyan Marg (yellow line)

Set up as recently as 1992 by the founder of Sulabh International School Service Organisation (a non-profit NGO working towards the sanitation of India), the museum in Delhi is an incredible journey through the evolution of toilets and toilet designs (ahem, a 200-year-old toilet awaits).

Timings: 10 AM – 6 PM

Entry Fee: INR 50

Nearest Metro Station: Dashrathpuri (magenta line)

The two-storey National Gandhi Museum in Delhi, right opposite Rajghat, houses personal relics, manuscripts, journals and photographic and audio-visual material, all that could go into a Museum on the life and work of Gandhi. Some of the most notable items in this museum include one of Gandhi’s walking sticks, the dhoti worn by him when he was assassinated and one of the bullets that were used to kill him.

Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM, closed on Mondays

Entry Fee: Free

Nearest Metro Station: ITO (violet line)