Best Places to Visit in Colombo City

There are few better places to explore Sri Lanka's history than here. It is the largest museum in Sri Lanka and contains a stunning variety of artefacts from the island's ancient times. It is situated in one of the liveliest areas of the city, close to many a hotel Colombo has to offer such as Jetwing Colombo Seven. The building itself is historically significant since it was built by the British governor of that time, Sir William Gregory, and boasts striking European architecture.

One of the best places in Colombo to enjoy the sea-breeze and go people watching is Galle Face Green. This captivating urban green-space boasts an array of shops selling everything from toys to street-food. When it comes to the latter, this place all the best indulgent local snacks you can imagine. There's even a popular restaurant situated here, Nana's, that offers a variety of comforting delights that are popular in Sri Lanka. This space was initially used as a defensive front where canons were placed to fend off maritime invaders. Some of these canons are still present in the nearby areas.

Commonly referred to as the Dehiwela Zoo, this is the most prominent of its kind on the island and features a wide variety of species to be observed. Along with prominent species that are indigenous to the island such as elephants, crocodiles and bears, there are some amazing foreign species as well such as hippos and lions. One of the most incredible occurrences to take place in the zoo was the breeding of Green Anacondas, which rarely happens when the creatures are kept in captivity.

If you'd like to do some shopping this is one of the most recommended places to visit. This shopping mall contains a smorgasbord of shops, where you can obtain everything from cultural souvenirs such various utensils and accessories made from coconuts, as well as items from well known brands. There's even a Cineplex where you can enjoy some of the latest blockbusters or check out a Sinhalese movie. The food court is also quite massive, and features a range of cuisines to choose from.

This is considered one of the most sacred Buddhist temples as it is believed it is one of the last places Lord Buddha visited in Sri Lanka. This makes the temple incredibly ancient where many archaeologists would claim it existed as far back as 500 BC. The walls of the temple vibrantly depict scenes from the Buddha's life. The temple is also famous for containing a large golden statue of a reclining Buddha, measuring around eighteen feet. If you wish to learn more about Buddhism the temple also features a library with a selection of Buddhist books in English as well as Sinhalese.