India boasts many museums and galleries that are storehouses of its culture, history and archaeology. Some of the popular stopovers are:

The National Museum, in Delhi, boasts a fine collection of artefacts and precious objects that cover more than 5,000 years of Indian cultural heritage. It exhibits about 2,00,000 works of both Indian and foreign art. The library of the museum is a goldmine for researchers as it contains books and journals related to various fields such as anthropology, archaeology, conservation, decorative arts, history, literature, museum studies, painting, philosophy and religion for research and reference. The library contains over 60,000 volumes of books, journals and several Indian and International journals and magazines.

A testament to India’s rail heritage, National Rail Museum, in Delhi, boasts spectacular exhibits both indoors and outdoors. A toy train inside the museum allows visitors to explore the museum comprehensively. Some of the popular displays are 100 life-size exhibits of the railways, working and static models, antique furniture, historical photographs and signaling equipment.

Started in 1851, Government Museum, in Chennai, is the second-oldest museum in India and has an enviable set of archaeological, Roman and numismatic collections. Moreover, one can find exhibits of Buddhist ruins from Amaravati. A key highlight here is the Bronze Gallery that has sculptures from modern times to the Pallava era dating back to the 7th century. Check out the statues of Lord Shiva as Nataraja (the cosmic dancer) and Chola bronze figurines of Ardhanarishvara, the manifestation of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. 

Among the first British fortresses, built in 1644, the great white Fort St George is inextricably linked to the history of Chennai. Today, it houses a museum that is believed to be one of the oldest surviving buildings built within the fort. The Fort St George Museum started with a small collection of objects of the British raj donated by the then Madras presidency government. Today, it houses over 3,600 registered antiquities in the collection. The best of these are on display in 10 galleries. 

Set up in the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, the Nehru Memorial Museum, in Delhi, houses displays of Nehru’s old office that has been recreated using the same artefacts and furniture. The library has a large number of books that trace the history of modern India. Another attraction is the Nehru Planetarium that attracts tourists from all over the area. You can catch interesting shows and presentations in the sky theatre of the planetarium.

An impressive science centre that aims to educate visitors about the wonders of science, National Science Centre Museum is a must-visit in Delhi. The working science exhibitions of the museum are amazing attractions. Tourists can also find interesting displays in various sections for all age groups. These exhibit hands-on displays that show various laws of physics. 

Rare antiques, armour, ornaments, fossils, skeletons (including those of dinosaurs), mummies and Mughal paintings are housed at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. A 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummy and an urn with the Buddha’s relics are among the top attractions.