2. Indian Museum, Kolkata

The ninth oldest museum in the world and the largest in India, the Indian Museum is located in the city of joy – Kolkata. The first stone of the Museo del Indio was laid in 1814 and since then it has been a center of multidisciplinary activities. Popularly known as 'Jadughar', it has the best collection of contemporary paintings, holy relics of Buddha, Egyptian mummies and ancient sculptures. Apart from these, the Indian Museum boasts some of the most exquisite collections of Mughal ornaments, fossils, skeletons, antiquities, armor and amazing paintings.

Currently, the museum has 35 galleries that have been divided into six categories, namely Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Zoology and Economic Botany. For the history curious, there is also a library and a bookstore within the museum premises. The Indian Museum recently celebrated its bicentennial with great fervor in February 2014. With its splendid collection, the museum takes you back in time to witness our fascinating past.

Indian Museum of Architecture   

The Indian Museum structure is an architectural grandeur designed by the famous architect Walter B Grawille in the Italianate style. The building consists of three floors, each of which covers an area of about 930 square meters. There are a total of sixty galleries divided into six main sections, namely: Anthropology, Art, Archaeology, Zoology, Botany, and Geology.

Archeology Section: Archeology Section includes Prehistoric and Protohistoric Gallery, Main Entrance Gallery, Bharhut Gallery, Gandhara Gallery, Long Archeology Gallery, Bronze Gallery, Coin Gallery, Minor Art Gallery and the Egyptian gallery.

Art Section: This includes Mughal Painting Gallery, Bengal Painting Gallery, Textile and Decorative Art Gallery, South East Asia Gallery.

Anthropology Section: The Paleo-Anthropology Gallery, the Cultural Anthropology Gallery, the Masks Gallery, and the Musical Instruments Gallery are included in the Anthropology Section.

Zoology Section: The Zoology Section includes the Fish Gallery, the Amphibian and Reptile Gallery, the Bird Gallery, the Mammal Gallery, and the Ecology Gallery.

Geology Section: The Siwalik Gallery, the Invertebrate Fossils Gallery, the Earth Rocks and Minerals Gallery, and the Meteorites Gallery with Gems Section are included in the Geology Section.

Botanical Section: The Botanical Section of the Indian Museum has exhaustible resources on Indian timbers, foodstuffs, medicinal products, plant fibers, oil and oilseeds and various crops commonly grown in India.