From Miniature Cities To Vintage Cycles: 9 Museums In Pune You Need To Visit

Pocket-sized steam engines, flyovers, swimming pool, lamp posts and even a tiny circus. The 26′ x 26′ hall inside the factory of Soudamini Instruments at Kothrud – Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railways, boasting of its minute yet intriguing details, is India’s only miniature city that has found itself a mention in the Limca Book of Records in 2004. Started in the year 1998, the museum is a creation of B.S Joshi, who as a child, collected model trains and made miniature figurines out of cardboard. There are working models of trains with a length 10 to 15 inches. There are 65 signals, fences, lamp posts, flyovers that have been handcrafted, using chemical etching techniques. So if you love trains and miniature cars you must visit the place. To know more about the museum, read our recommendation here.

Opened in the year 2016 in the premises of Erandwane fire station, Keshavrao Jagtap Museum is Maharashtra’s one-of-a-kind museum dedicated to the Fire Department. The museum houses the vintage Rolls-Royce Dennis fire brigade that was used in 1961 Panshet Dam rescue operations. The wooden racks boast of a carefully curated collection of old rusty helmets, fire proximity suits and lamps that date back to the early 1930s. Some of the antiques have been sourced from fire departments across the country. The entry here is free and you can read more about the place here.

Vikram Pendse’s cycle museum, located at a quaint Karvenagar bungalow, will not only get you nostalgic but will leave you awestruck with its unique collection of everything vintage and wonderful. The place boasts of over 150 collectables – from geared racing cycles to children’s bicycles, tandem bicycles, cruisers, beach cycles, erstwhile cycle ads, nuts & bolts, tyres, spare parts, gears, seats, dynamos, air pumps, lamps and many more. The oldest of the collection lot is the 1914 All-Black Golden Sunbeam Tricycle, first manufactured in England, around the time of World War I. If you can’t wait to check the place and want to know, check out our recommendation here.

This one isn’t really in Pune and is located on the old Mumbai-Pune highway. However, we really couldn’t skip this one from the list. While you might not believe us when we say this, but we’ve got out own version of Madame Tussauds right close to home! At Sunil’s Celebrity wax museum, you get to see famous faces such as Shaktiman, Subhash Chandra Bose, Anna Hazare and many others. You will also spot some International celebs and leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Elbert Einstein and Bruce Lee, among others. You can stop by for a quick laugh and an amusing time by paying just INR 200 per person.

Established in the year 1998, it is based in the cantonment area, on Prince of Wales drive road. Apart from the major attraction of MIG 23 BN Jet Fighter which was used during the Kargil war, this place is dedicated to the brave soldiers and martyrs who gave their life for the protection of this country and the freedom of their motherland. Each soldier’s detailed story can be found in this museum. The stone plaques constructed, each rising up to about 8 feet has around 1200 names inscribed on it. Entry being free, you can visit this place anytime between 9 am to 6 pm.

This museum is a part of the Tribal Research & Training Institute. Located on Queen’s Road, it came into existence in the year 1962. It is a museum dedicated to some of the few preserves of the artistic and poetic impulses of the Maharashtrian tribals through the display of rare and conserved artefacts like clothes, utensils, weapons, household articles, bamboo works, masks and a lot more. You can tour this place between 10 am to 5 pm by paying INR 10 for adults and INR 200 for foreigners.

Located right in the middle of the bustling city on Ghole Road, Opposite Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Auditorium, it is open from 8 am to 5 pm. Established in the year 1975, oil paintings, brassware articles, stone carvings, marble statues with many such artefacts makes this place a great platform for exchange of knowledge and information. Handicrafts, armours related to geology, forestry, history and other subjects give us rare material and data of our surroundings. Their age-old scriptures and rare collection of books are rich in history and culture, which will leave you spell bound. They also conduct seminars and showcase short films related to various topics giving one a deep insight. You can call them beforehand to know the schedules. You can enter by paying INR 20 per person.

Open from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm on Deccan College Road, you can enter this place without any charges. Established in the year 1925 in Satara it started with the personal collection of Rao Bahadur Parasnis of Satara, it is a heaven for history enthusiasts who are keen to get deeper knowledge of the glorious Maratha empire. A lot to be known and revered about the Maratha empire, there is so much to the history of the brave Marathas not known to the world. The museum houses 120 cloth bundles, weaponry from the Maratha empire wars, rare books, paintings microfilms, palm leaf works, etc, which will take you through the rich Maratha history. In 1958, the ruler of Jamkhindi donated his entire collection to this museum.

An entire museum dedicated to cricket, this one-of-a-kind museum is an evidence of the fan following and obsession cricket has in this country. It is inspired by the cricket museums from England and Australia. Based in Govind Gaurav Apartment in Pune, it is spread over a sprawling area of 4,000 feet, every nook and corner demands your attention. From Sachin Tendulkar’s famous bat to the first pink ball used for inaugural nights of test series, they house everything. Open to the public from 2012, you can see this place by paying a ticket fee of INR 100 per person between 10 am to 7 pm.