15 Must See Museums In Hyderabad, Telangana

Hyderabad has a long and diverse history. It has its ancient balancing rocks from the Deccan Trap – still its oldest residents. It has been a place of tribal inhabitancy, you can see their presence in the names of the localities. The city has been home to the richest in the world. It is now home to the IT industry and some of the most valuable sportspersons in India. There are several Museums in Hyderabad for you to visit and spend some quality time with.

Museums in Hyderabad to Explore

Museums in Hyderabad take you through the journey of ancient and modern eras of the city. Explore them whenever you visit the city. Get to know the city better.

Salarjung Museum – Must-visit Museums in Hyderabad

Salarjung Museum is the most well-known museum in the city. It stands elegantly on the banks of Musi River in pristine white colors like the open wings of a bird. It is difficult to believe that all this was the collection of a single man – Salarjung. This is one of the few buildings that was built to house a museum like the National Museum in Delhi.

A veiled Rebecca in stone, a talking clock, and some delightful paintings are the pride possessions of the Salarjung Museum. It has to be the first must-visit museum in Hyderabad for any traveler or museum lover.

Sudha Car Museum – Craziest of Museums

Sudha Car Museum is my favorite museum in Hyderabad. It celebrates creativity and innovation. It also tells you what one person with a passion can achieve. You would love cars in various shapes and sizes displayed here. Who can think of a car as a cricket bat, a toilet commode, or a Nikon Camera?

Read More – Sudha Car Museum

I call it the whacky, the most innovative museum in India.

Purani Haveli Museum

Purani Haveli was the residential palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad. It now houses many things including the Nizam’s Museum.

What makes Nizam’s museum unique is the double-story Nizam’s cupboard, with 124 doors spread on both sides of a 120 feet long room. There is a manual lift that would have taken the Nizam up and down. Yes, it is the world’s largest wardrobe.

Read More – Purani Haveli Walk in Old City

It is another quirky museum in the city that introduces you to the most miser but the richest person on earth – The Nizam of Hyderabad. The clothes displayed here are fairly simple – mostly white Lucknavi kurtas.

You can also see miniature paintings of the Nizam family genealogy painted in a very creative way.

Telangana State Museum

The Public Gardens area of the city is home to a few museums in Hyderabad. The biggest and the most important is the Telangana State Museum. I visited it when it was still the AP State Museum. It has lovely Buddhist sculptures from Amravati. You can see the relics of Buddha in a casket. There are lovely Jain images in the Jain gallery. Kakatiya architecture in the form of door jambs is worth admiring.

Read More – Museums at Public Gardens

Health Museum

The Health Museum is also located in public gardens. It is a small but unique museum that aims to emphasize health and hygiene. This single room will actually take you back in time. But nonetheless, it is one of the museums in the city.

Archaeological Museum, Gunfoundary

This is a typical ASI museum in interesting circular architecture. That reminds me of the Student Centre at Panjab University in Chandigarh. You must see the exquisite Kakatiyan door jamb here. And also the pre-historic remains of this region. Especially the ones that tell about age-old burial practices.

Birla Science Museum and Planetarium

A pillared walkway on Naubhat Pahad next to the pristine white Birla Mandir leads you to a huge glass and steel building. That is the Birla Science and Planetarium in the city. It has a lovely museum that explains the basic principles of science with models and experiments. It will bring out the kid in you, it will take you back to your school science books.

At another level, there are remains of Dinosaurs and the model of underwater excavations in Dwarka.

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Institute of Culture Art Gallery

This art gallery exists on the premises of the Birla Science Museum on Naubat Pahad. When I visited there was a lovely display of Vishwaroopa of Krishna. The lower story had contemporary paintings by painters like Gurcharan Das. And themes ranging back to epic stories.

Nirmala Birla Museum

Another museum in the Birla Science Museum complex. This one has the best collection of porcelain, dolls, ivory items, Bidri work, and Tanjore paintings. This is one of the best-kept secrets of the city. If you love museums, this is where you should spend a lot of time. I still remember an inverted Nataraja that I saw there many years ago.

Chowmahalla Palace

The lovely colonial-era palace complex of Nizams of Hyderabad is located at the other end of the Laad Bazar in the old city of Hyderabad. It is a charming museum in itself. At Durbar Hall, you can see large Belgian Chandeliers. Elsewhere you can see old radio sets and interesting old clocks. There is a vintage car collection for those who love these old but working beauties.

Read More – Charminar to Chowmahalla Walk

Nehru Centenary Tribal Museum, Banjara Hills

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are home to many tribal communities like Chechu, Lambadas, Porja, Yerukala. Some of these tribes lived on the hill that is now the posh Banjara Hills area of the city. It is befitting that the tribal museum in the city is located on this very hill. The museum has dioramas depicting the lifestyles of various tribes. You can actually do a comparative study of the tribes here.

Read More – Tribal Heritage in Banjara Hills

My favorite part here is the life-size dance scenes.

Jagdish & Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art

This is a private museum. You can visit it only with a prior appointment. I had the pleasure of meeting Sh Jagdish Mittal. He is one treasure of Indian Art. His home is full of books on Indian Art. He is the author of many books on Indian Art. I still remember how well preserved his Rajasthani miniature paintings were. Check out their website for more details.

Rural Museum at Shilparamam – Modern Museums in Hyderabad

Shilparamam is like the Delhi Haat. You have artisans selling handmade and handcrafted products. There are areas marked for performances and events. This is a place that usually bears a festive look. There is a small rural museum or recreation of the rural atmosphere of the region. It is not really a museum in the real sense of the word. But then it is a place you would enjoy visiting.

Do look out for the coin jewelry of the tribals of the Andhra and Telangana region here.

Mythology Museum Surendrapuri – Must-See Museums in Hyderabad

Mythology Museum is at Surendrapuri. A little on the outskirts of the city. It is a unique museum that re-creates the world of Hindu epics and its Devis and Devtas.

Read More – Mythology Museum – Surenderpuri

Natural History Museum at Nehru Zoo

Natural History Museum at Nehru Zoological Park takes you for a walk through the natural history of the earth. You can see the rare white tigers at this zoo.

Read More – Nehru Zoological Park