Napier Museum & Sree Chitra Art Gallery
നേപ്പിയർ മ്യൂസിയം
A red-and-white brick building from 1880 in the Indo-Saracenic style, displaying bronze statues and ivory carvings, with a neighbouring gallery holding paintings by Raja Ravi Varma
The Napier Museum is named after a former Governor of Madras, and the building itself is a highlight. Striped brick walls, spires and a Kerala-style sloping roof combine in its design, and the interior features colourful glass and fine woodwork. The collection includes Chola-period bronze deities, ivory carvings, temple chariots and traditional ornaments. In the same complex, the Sree Chitra Art Gallery displays oil paintings by the modern Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma, as well as Himalayan paintings by Nicholas Roerich. Entry costs a few dozen rupees each. The museum complex sits beside a zoo, making it easy to visit both in a half day.
Opening hours
Approx. 10:00–16:45; closed Mondays; open Wednesday afternoons only
Nearby sights
- Thiruvananthapuram Zoo
- Kanakakkunnu Palace
- Beemapally Mosque
- Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
- Kuthiramalika Palace
- Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
- Shanghumugham Beach
- Veli Tourist Village