Chandigarh is a city known as the first planned city of India. It is popular among tourists for Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden. But it is also the paradise for the museum lovers. Here is my list of top 5 museums in Chandigarh exhibiting a variety of subjects like art, history, and architecture.
ALSO READ: CHANDIGARH TRAVEL GUIDE
Table of Contents
1) Government Museum and Art Gallery
Government Museum and Art Gallery was designed by the French architect, Le Corbusier, who had also designed the city of Chandigarh. The main highlight of the museum is the collection of Gandhara sculptures. These sculptures were originally housed in Central Museum, Lahore (today in Pakistan) which were given to India as the part of 40 per cent objects at the time of partition of India.
The museum also has a nice collection of stone sculptures, metal sculptures, modern and Indian contemporary art, ancient and medieval currency, manuscripts and miniature paintings.
No guided tour is provided despite the mention of the free guided tour at the ticket counter. The museum is a part of a museum complex which also includes the Natural History Museum and Architecture Museum.
Address – Sector 10C Madhya Marg, Matka Chowk, 10C, Sector 10, Chandigarh
Phone – +91 172 274 2010
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 4:40 PM (closed on Monday)
Suggested Duration – 1 hour
Ticket Cost – Rs 10, Rs 5(Photography)
2) Natural History Museum
This museum was opened in 1973 and is primarily divided into four sections.
a) Animal Fossils
Animal Fossils section is located behind the ticket counter and houses the collection of fossils of animals like Elephant, Giraffe etc.
b) Cyclorama of Evolution of life
Enter the room next to the fossils section and learn about the evolution of life through cyclorama. It depicts the events from as early as 3.5 billion years ago when the first life on earth in the form of bacteria and microbes existed, to 40,000 years ago when the Cro-Magnon (the earliest type of modern man) lived in Europe.
c) Human Evolution
While the earlier section uses the cyclorama to explain the evolution of life, this section makes the use of diorama to show the evolution from ape to human. Neolithic tools which date back to 6000 to 3000 BC are also displayed.
d) Dinosaurs
This section displays the replica of the dinosaurs. The replica of skulls and feet of dinosaurs and plant fossils of dinosaur age are also displayed.
Address – Sector 10C Madhya Marg, Matka Chowk, 10C, Sector 10, Chandigarh
Phone – +91 172 274 0261
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 4:40 PM (closed on Monday)
Suggested Duration – 1 hour
Ticket Cost – Included in the ticket of Government Museum and Art Gallery. Rs 5(Photography)
3) Chandigarh Architecture Museum
This museum was built in 1997 and presents the events of the making of Chandigarh through the rare documents, sketches, drawings, and pictures in chronological order.
It was here where I got to know that original choice for the architect of Chandigarh was not Le Corbusier, but an American planner and architect Albert Mayor. He left the project in 1950 after his architect-partner Matthew Nowicki died in a plane crash. Then, Punjab government officials hired Le Corbusier to take over from Albert Mayor. Le Corbusier even incorporated some of the elements of Albert Mayor’s design in his final design but no attribution was given to Mayer.
Address – Sector 10C Madhya Marg, Matka Chowk, 10C, Sector 10, Chandigarh
Phone – +91 172 274 5510
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 5 PM (closed on Monday)
Suggested Duration – 1 hour
Ticket Cost – Rs 5
4) Le Corbusier Centre
As the name suggests, Le Corbusier Centre is dedicated to the main architect of Chandigarh, Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier Centre was developed at his old office from where he conceptualized the design of the city and all its important monuments. The centre was opened in 2008 and exhibits the drawing, sketches, paintings, documents and photographs of Le Corbusier. A Souvenir shop is located in front of the museum.
The museum differs from the Chandigarh Architecture Museum in the sense that the Chandigarh Architecture Museum focuses on the design, architecture, and making of Chandigarh which also includes the work of Le Corbusier, whereas Le Corbusier Centre solely focuses on the work of Le Corbusier.
Address – Old Architect Building, Sector 19B, Madhya Marg, 19B, Sector 19, Chandigarh
Phone – +91 172 277 7077
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 5 PM (closed on Monday)
Suggested Duration – 1 hour
Ticket Cost – Free
5) International Dolls Museum
The museum showcases the collection of heritage dolls of a multitude of countries draped in the country’s traditional attire. Some of the children book stories like Snow White and Seven Dwarfs and events of Indian epics like Ramayana are depicted through the use of dolls.
Although Free Guided Tours from 11 AM to 3 PM are mentioned at the ticket counter, I was not given any tour citing the unavailability of a guide as a reason.
Address – Bal Bhawan, Udyog Path, 23B, Sector 23B, Chandigarh
Phone – +91 172 270 7555
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 4:45 PM (closed on Monday)
Suggested Duration – 30 minutes to 1 hour
Ticket Cost – Rs 10 (Adult), Free (Child under 12 years of age, senior citizen), Rs 5 (Photography)
There are a lot of museums in Chandigarh, and some are very unique, as the International Dolls Museum. I think I would enjoy the Government Museum and Art Gallery best because of the variety (I really like that display of old coins!), but knowing me, would want to make my way through each of them… Good to know I have so many options when I visit.
I usually always prefer Arts museums first, but that Natural history museum looks interesting too ! =)
Nice! It looks like Chandigarh has some fantastic museums. I love the idea of the doll museum (even though I find dolls a bit creepy sometimes!)
The Gandhara sculptures in the government museum are fantastic
I love the pictures, and it’s good to know all about the museums around the area. It’s nice to get this information so people who never been there can pick which museums they like to visit during their travel.
Very interesting, I didn’t know Le Courbusier designed Chandigarh. It seems a place well worth a visit with plenty of cultural choices!
Chandigarh is very different from other Indian cities – very clean and greenery everywhere and Le Corbusier has to be given credit for designing this amazing city.
It certainly seems like there is an interesting variety of museums in Chandigarh. I love to see statues like those in the Government Museum and Art Gallery – history and art combined. Interesting to see that there is a museum dedicated to the architect of the city. But I must admit that I find doll museums to be a bit freaky. All of those faces looking at me!!
I can imagine how dolls can freak out someone. I guess Hollywood has a role to play in this by making movies like Annebelle.
I used to hate museums as a child but now I love exploring them. The Le Corbusier centre sounds really interesting. Love hearing about people’s lives.
Thanks for the list and nice to know there are many museums in Chandigarh! I would love to learn more about the Evolution of life and it’s a great theme. @ knycx.journeying
The natural history museum was very informative and educational. It would definitely appeal to those who are curious about the evolution and dinosaurs.
I love visiting museums. You learn so much and the exhibits are so exciting to see. Would you consider any of these 5 museums kid friendly? If so, which ones?
I would say Doll museum is the most kid friendly. Museums are generally not very much liked by the kids. They found museums very boring. But I think dolls museum is the one that should be enjoyed by the kids. To see different dolls in the traditional attire of different countries can be fascinating to the kids.
I think the natural history museum would be my favorite. I enjoy dinosaur exhibits. The architecture museum sounds so interesting too., with the story about the American.
I love visiting museums when I am traveling; this was a great, informative article! Thank you for sharing!!