This archeological museum is in the must visit list of Bangalore.
[#1]The first this attracts you is the building itself. This overtly reddish building was built in 1877 in the neoclassical architectural style. It has two porticos on either side, Corinthian columns, circular arches, sloping eaves and prominent sloping parapet walls.
[#2]Spread across two floors, the museum has 3 sections : Prehistoric artefacts, Paintings and Sculptures.
[#3] Musical Instruments There's an impressive collection of classical Indian musical instruments. Eloborately carved string instruments like Veena and other percussion instruments, you would otherwise come across is on the display.
[#4] Sculptures There's an impressive collection of sculptures showcasing many centuries of art traditions. For example the Hoysala style sculptures executed in soapstone with elaborate jewellery, boldly executed Vijayanagar style sculpture are on display. The antiquities of the sculptures on display dates back to 1 century BC to 17 century. Anything fro Harappan period to Gupta, Chalukya to Hoysala to Chola to Vijayanagara period artefacts are on display.
[#5] Paintings The collections include the traditional Mysore Paintings and Tanjore Paintings, all executed with gold foils using an embossing technique.
[#6] Inscriptions The Halmidi Inscription dating back to AD450 is the earliest known written record in Kannada language.
[#7] Herostone Theses are memorial stones the commernerate the valor of people sacrificed life in battle. Many such memorial stones are on display on the open courtyard around the museum.
[#tip]Club the museum visit with other attractions in the vicinity like , the Cubbon Park, Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological Museum and the Venkatappa Art gallery.
[#car]There's a parking areas inside the campus. Gets overwhelmed during the weekend. Finding an alternate parking area is a challenge in this area of the city.
[#metro]Take the metro train to Cubbon Park station. It's 15min walk (1km) to the museum.
[#ticket] Entry ticket : ₹20/₹10 (adult/child) . Opens all days (10am-5pm) except mondays and other public holidays.
[#food] There's a small cafe. Or walk across to the St Marks Road to the Koshy's Parade Café, a vintage atmospherics. On the nearby Church Street, there are many theme restaurants (Empire Restaurant, Bheema's, Church Street Social etc).
The upscale UB City (1km) has many splurge category restaurants & bars : JW Kitchen, Skyye, Shiro, Toscano, Cafe Noir...