Museums & Galleries in Delhi

India's premier museum holds over 200,000 artefacts spanning 5,000 years — Indus Valley terracotta figurines, Mauryan stone sculpture, Mughal miniature paintings, tribal jewellery, and Gandhara Buddhist art. Highlights include the Dancing Girl bronze from Mohenjo-daro (2500 BCE) and a manuscript of the Rigveda. Regular temporary exhibitions and evening lecture series make repeat visits worthwhile.

The house where Mahatma Gandhi spent his last 144 days and was assassinated on January 30, 1948, Gandhi Smriti (formerly Birla House) is now a moving memorial museum. Personal belongings — spinning wheel, walking stick, spectacles — are displayed alongside photographs tracing the independence movement. The garden path to the spot of his assassination is marked with footprints cast in stone.

Spread over 10 acres, the National Rail Museum displays over 100 locomotives and carriages — from the Fairy Queen (1855, the world's oldest working steam engine) to ornate Viceregal dining cars. Children delight in the narrow-gauge toy train ride around the grounds. The indoor gallery features scale models, signal equipment, and the lavishly appointed Prince of Wales saloon car. A nostalgic experience for all ages.

One of India's finest living museums, the Crafts Museum showcases traditional crafts from every state — embroidery, pottery, woodcarving, metalwork, and tribal art in recreated village settings. Resident artisans demonstrate their skills in open workshops, and a shop sells authentic crafts at fixed prices. The adjacent Café Lota serves regional Indian cuisine, making it a perfect half-day cultural outing near Pragati Maidan.