National Museum Galle

Inside World Heritage site Old Dutch Fort located in Galle, Sri Lanka.

Great museum ! Many historical exhibits . Was a memorable experience! Very well maintained museum . ! A must visit place in the fort !

A very small but quaint museum detailing history of Galle. It is a little run down but has interesting displays of uniforms, weaponry, porcelain and furniture. Cheao entry price. You could spent 30 mins here as there are only a few rooms. I only lasted about 15 mins as there was no aircons and only one or two fans. I visited in the middle of the day and the heat and humidity was terrible inside. Plan to visit early in the morning.

This museum contains some interesting pieces, but the overall presentation is poor and the explanatory text is often too cursory. The Maritime Museum a short distance away does a much better job of explaining and illustrating Sri Lanka’s cultural history.

The Galle National Museum, located within the historic Galle Fort, is a prominent cultural institution in Sri Lanka. It provides a glimpse into the history and heritage of the southern region of the country, focusing on its traditional crafts and colonial past. History and Building The museum is housed in a Dutch colonial building that is one of the oldest standing structures within the Galle Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Constructed in 1656, the building originally served as a commissariat store for the Dutch garrison. It was later a billiards room for the adjacent New Oriental Hotel before being renovated and officially opened as a museum on March 31, 1986.

Set in a beautiful colonnaded white building that was built by the Dutch in the 17th century, the Galle National Museum won't take much of your time. It's still worth a visit because of the artifacts on exhibit and the very short history lesson that it will teach you about the city of Galle.

Ticket: LKR 50 per local adult and LKR 25 for children. The whole area can be visited within 20–25 minutes. Some archaeological artifacts are displayed here. There is a separate section that shows historical facts about the China-Sri Lanka bond. The place is easily accessible, and ample paid parking spaces are available.

Actually as far as Museums go this was quite a pleasant surprise. The building itself is impressive as it is the oldest remaining Dutch building in the Galle fort, Galle It is just a single Storey colonnaded 1656 as the commissariat store for the Dutch garrison at the Fort. It is stacked with all sorts of museum pieces and I was delighted to be able to buy something from Sri Lanka for my grandchildren. So it was a very beneficial visit.