State Museum

Lucknow


This overlooked museum houses sculptural masterpieces dating back to the 3rd century AD, including intricately carved Mathura sculptures ranging from dancing girls to scenes from the life of Buddha. Enter through the zoo.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lucknow attractions

1. Zoo

0.21 MILES

The large, shady zoo is depressing, with animals pacing up and down in their small enclosures, but you must enter it if you want to visit Lucknow’s fine…

2. Christchurch

0.49 MILES

Built in 1860, Christchurch was created as a memorial to the British who died in the First War of Independence (Indian Uprising). It is beautifully…

3. La Martinière School

0.63 MILES

This prestigious boarding school – where British pop legend Sir Cliff Richard studied – was designed and built by influential Frenchman Major General…

4. Tomb of Saadat Ali Khan

1.45 MILES

The former Kaiserbagh garden holds the tomb of Saadat Ali Khan, the fifth nawab of Oudh (ruled 1798–1814), whose body is buried in the crypt below. A ₹50 …

5. Residency

1.98 MILES

The large collection of gardens and ruins that makes up the Residency offers a fascinating historical glimpse of the beginning of the end for the British…

6. Tila Wali Masjid

3.05 MILES

A beautiful, and deceptively shallow, white mosque, built in 1680 and most impressive from a distance.

7. Bara Imambara

3.09 MILES

This colossal imambara (Shiite tomb complex) is worth seeing in its own right, but the highly unusual labyrinth of corridors inside its upper floors make…

8. Rumi Darwaza

3.18 MILES

Just beyond the Bara Imambara, the striking Rumi Darwaza was built in the 1780s by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. It's unusual but imposing, and said to be a copy…