A museum is a haven for people who appreciate art, history, and architecture. Even if you are not one of them, still it’s one of those places in any city that brings you closer to it. Museums enable a better appreciation of various groups and cultures. The experience you get from observing something in person can be way more stimulating than just reading about it in books. Experience the city beautiful to its fullest by visiting these museums and exploring the city’s architecture and history.
So, in case you are in or around Chandigarh, these are the museums you must surely check out:
1.Government Museum and Art Gallery
The government museum houses approximately 10000 artifacts and is one of the most premier galleries in the whole country. It consists of other museums and galleries within it like Art Gallery, Natural History Museum, Chandigarh Architecture Museum and National Gallery of Portraits. It came into existence during the country’s partition in 1947 and was designed by French architect Le Corbusier. You can explore various Gandhara sculptures, ancient Indian sculptures, Indian miniature paintings, Medieval Indian sculptures, metal sculptures, epigraphy. The light and sound show held here on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are a complete delight.
Address: Jan Marg, Near Matka Chowk, Sector 10C, Chandigarh, 160011
Visting hours: 10 a.m- 4:40 p.m (Monday closed)
2. International Dolls Museum
The doll museum houses an impressive collection of more than 250 dolls and is a delight, especially for children. The collections showcase dolls from all around the world including Germany, Netherlands, Korea, Spain, and Russia. It’s a treasure house for children and they are sure to be left fascinated! For fun detailing, there is also a toy train here which is sure to impress the little ones. With the variety of dolls and puppets it houses from across the globe, it sure is a place worth a visit.
More: Chandigarh International Dolls Museum: All the Reasons You Need to Head There
Address: Bal Bhawan, Udyog Path, Sector 23B, Chandigarh, 160023
Visting hours: 10 a.m- 4:30 p.m (Monday closed)
3. Chandigarh Architectural Museum
It ‘s a well-known fact that Chandigarh is the first planned city in our country. And this particular museum tells the story of Chandigarh’s planning and development over the years. Using photos, letters, models, newspaper reports and architectural drawings, this place gives one a great insight into how the city took its shape.
Address: Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, Chandigarh, 160011
Visting hours: 9 a.m- 4:30 p.m (Monday closed)
4. Le Corbusier Center
This museum was set up by Chandigarh administration at the office of Swiss- French architect Le Corbusier. Almost 6 decades ago, this was the place from where architect Le Corbusier, designed the concept of the whole city. One will find fascinating drawings, sketches, letters, and documents of Le Corbusier and interesting insights and anecdotes on urban planning in the museum. It is a great place to acquaint oneself with the rich cultural heritage of the city and deserves a visit.
Address: Old Architect Building, Sector 19B, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh
Visting hours: 10 a.m- 5p.m (Monday closed)
5. High Court Museum
The museum has recreated an old courtroom with stamps, sofa, typewriter, calendar to give you an essence of how courtroom looked in the older times. It houses important historical court records like Bhagat Singh trial at Lahore, the arrest of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, handcuffs of Nathuram Godse, a signed copy of India’s original constitution and variety of historic stamps. So if you are someone who likes to connect with history, make sure you include this place in your checklist!
Address: Capitol Complex, Sector 1, Chandigarh
visiting hours: 9:30 a.m- 5p.m
6. Natural History Museum
This museum is full of interesting sections like the evolution of man, dinosaurs fossils, nature in art and many more. There are manuscripts and exhibits in this museum showcasing history since the Indus valley civilization to the present day. The Cyclorama – Evolution of Life – is first of its kind in Asia, and has 14 paintings illustrating the origin of the earth, the evolution of life from unicellular organism to multi-cellular plants and animals through various periods.
Address: Sector 10C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh
Visiting hours: 10 a.m- 4:30 p.m (Monday closed)
7. Rag Dolls Museum
A newbie in the list of museums in Chandigarh, Rag Dolls Museum is a tribute to visionary creator of Rock Garden, Sh. Nek Chand. The museum houses rag dolls created by him among other collections. There are over 200 different rag dolls. This Chandigarh museum that was inaugurated on the second death anniversary of Nek Chand.
More: Rag Dolls Museum – Dream Project of Nek Chand Inaugurated In Rock Garden
Location: Phase 3, Rock Garden, Sector 16, Chandigarh
Timings: 9 am to 7 pm (All Days Open)
Chandigarh, as a city is quite interesting and there is a lot to explore here. So, be a tourist in your own city, visit these museums which give you a deeper insight into the city’s development and culture.
