Lahore Museum

Lahore


Try to set aside a couple of hours to make the most of a visit to the superb Lahore Museum, which has exhibits spanning the recorded history of the subcontinent. Part of the collection was removed to India after Partition but this is still the biggest and perhaps most impressive museum in Pakistan.

The museum has almost 20 galleries with items dating from the Stone Age to the 20th century. It's particularly famous for its display of Gandharan sculpture (especially the haunting Fasting Buddha), manuscripts, Qurans, its sensational array of miniature paintings, carpets, various pieces of art from the Islamic period, articles from Moenjodaro, Harappa and other Indus Valley civilisation sites and its magnificent collection of coins from the Achaemenian period onwards.

Kim's Bookshop, in the museum compound, stocks an interesting collection of novels and general-interest books.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lahore attractions

1. Zamzama

0.15 MILES

Zamzama 'He sat in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher - The Wonder House, as the…

2. Cathedral Church of the Resurrection

0.58 MILES

The Anglican Cathedral Church of the Resurrection has an English language Communion service at 08:00 and 17:00 on Sunday. There are several other churches…

3. Shrine of Data Ganj Bakhsh Hajveri

0.76 MILES

Author of a famous book on mysticism, the 11th-century Data Ganj Bakhsh, originally from Ghazni in Afghanistan, was one of the most successful Sufi…

4. Faqir Khana Museum

0.88 MILES

About 500m inside Bhatti Gate on the right-hand side, a small mansion houses the Faqir Khana Museum. It houses the treasures of the Faqir family, who have…

5. Summit Minar

1.14 MILES

In a park at Charing Cross, commemorating the Islamic Summit Conference held in Lahore in 1974, is Summit Minar. Underneath the minar - a tall, slender…

6. Sunehri Masjid

1.29 MILES

The small Sunehri Masjid, in the centre of the Old City, was built in 1753 by Bikhari Khan and is famous for its three gilded domes and gold-plated…

7. Lahore Zoo

1.34 MILES

Near Bagh-i-Jinnah, behind a large gateway adorned with a colourful animal mural, Lahore Zoo is one of the oldest zoos on the subcontinent. It was founded…

8. Badshahi Mosque

1.37 MILES

Completed in 1674 under Aurangzeb as the Mughals' final architectural fling, the sublime Badshahi Mosque, opposite the main gateway to the Lahore Fort, is…