Apart from being the capital of India, Delhi is a fascinating city with pleasant contradictions. Comprising of Old Delhi and New Delhi, the city is home to famous tourist destinations like the Laxmi Narayan Temple, India Gate, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Humayun's Tomb, and the vivacious shopping bazaar of Chandni Chowk. The museums in Delhi, including National Science Centre, National Museum of Natural History, Nehru Memorial Museum, Nehru Planetarium, National Museum, and National Gallery of Modern Art are also very popular tourist destinations.

Located at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, this museum is one of the largest and best science centers of National Council of Science Museum (NCSM) with good scientific models, participatory exhibits, and interesting artifacts on display, with the aim to rouse children's interest in Science.

The focus of this museum is ecology. The main attractions are the various galleries visitors through the extent of the earth's natural resource, activity rooms for children and film shows.

After the death of Late Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, his residence was transformed into a museum. The museum is an enthralling place to learn about the history of the Independence Movement from the archive of Newspaper Clippings and Photographs.

There are several photographs of Pt. Nehru, giving an account of his life. Moreover, the colonial building, with its teak paneled rooms with high ceilings, spacious verandas and well-maintained gardens also draws interest.

Established on 6th February 1984 to promote space education and astronomy among the common people, especially the youth, the planetarium has a good sky theatre accommodating 270 viewers. It screens taped and live public shows on various cosmic topics like cosmic heritage, the solar system or history of a particular star.

This museum possesses over 2,00,000 works of exquisite art, both of Indian and Foreign origin covering more than 5,000 years of our cultural heritage. Apart from the collections of Pre-historic Archaeology, Archaeology, Jewelry, Paintings, Decorative arts, Manuscripts, Central Asian Antiquities, Arms and Armor, etc, the museum has separate branches of publication, Hindi, Public Relations, Education, Library, Exhibition cell, Display, Modeling, Photography, Security and Administration.

Situated at Jaipur House, New Delhi, this museum was inaugurated on 29th March, 1954. The erstwhile residential palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the museum exhibits around 4,000 paintings, graphics, and sculptures of modern artists.

How to reach

To visit the museums in Delhi, the nearest airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport located 23 km southwest of Central Delhi and the domestic terminal at Palam is 5 km away from the international terminal. Taxi and coach transfer is available from both International and Domestic Arrivals.

Also known as the Shankar's International Dolls museum, it was structured in the memory of its inventive creator, K. Shankar Pillai. The dolls museum boast one of the largest collections of costume dolls in the world. The museum was started with thousands of dolls and was founded in 1957. The museum host more than 6000 varieties of dolls and represents almost 85 countries. The museum becomes a hub of activity specially during summer months ( May to July). Each doll is fashioned with meticulous care after a prolonged research keeping in mind the physical features of individual character, stance, dress and jewellery. Address : NEHRU HOUSE, 4 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG

The museum is located near Red Fort and showcases attractions of Mughal period. It displays fine art calligraphy, painting textiles and costumes as well. One part of the museum houses relics of 1857 wars like maps and weapons.

Situated in South of Delhi close to the diplomatic area of Chanakayapuri, National Rail Museum holds a significant past of the Indian Railways that dates back to 140 years.

If you are people who love moving on fast engines, then a visit to National Rail Museum might just interest you. Housing different type of locomotives, National Musuem forms one of the famous tourists attractions in Delhi. The musueum showcases various models of train engines and coaches including the model of India's very first train, a steam engine that made its journey from Mumbai to Thane in 1853 and the locomotives displayed in the open are simply lovable.

Constructed by British architect M G Satto on 1957, 1st February, on the carpet area of 10 acres of land, National Rail Museum is a part of heritage now. Even, the skull of an elephant that struck a Mail train in 1894, with his head is also projected here. The Toy train is running - you may buy here as a souvenir of your visit. Restaurant and Libraries are also there. Beautiful Tibetan handicrafts are on display, which were brought with Dalai Lama from Lasa in Tibet House. Tibetian handicrafts are on sale.

Encompassing few of the oldest locomotive (still in working conditions) in the world like the Viceregal Dining Car (1889) and the Prince of Wales Saloon (1875), Maharaja of Mysore's Saloon (1899), Maharaja of Baroda's Saloon (1886). Take a glimpse into these royal saloons that were once a part of the regal history. Their elaborate interior design makes royal saloons worth looking. To enter the royal saloons one has to buy a ticket.

What makes national museum all the more popular is the Fairie Queen. The museum houses Fairy Queen of 1885, the oldest working steam locomotive, the luxury saloon of the Prince of Wales and the saloon of the Maharaja of Mysore. Children love a ride in the toy train that takes them around the museum on a miniature rail track.

The Crafts Museum is situated at Pragati Maidan and forms one of the main places to be visited on your Delhi tour. This museum has galleries displaying India's rich tradition of handicrafts. An added attraction is the presence of craftsmen, which are brought here from different parts of the country to demonstrate their skills. The Crafts museum boasts of having the most rare and exquisite pieces of art and craft selectively collected from all over the country. The museum is distinct for its architectural display of various villages. Authentically constructed mud huts are beautifully decorated with folk art and exhibits include woodcarvings, paintings, paper-mache, embroidery and a full-sized wooden haveli from Gujarat. The complex also houses the Crafts Museum Shop. There are separate galleries for displaying tribal and rural craft, courtly crafts, textile, popular culture and others. Here you can see live demonstrations by the artisans offering close glimpses of the folk arts of India. From here you can buy ritual objects, ornaments, rugs, shawls and books from the craftsmen as well as from the museum.

A museum solely dedicated to the field of aviation and our great air force heroes is the Air Force Museum in Delhi. Located next to the technical area gate of Palam Air force station, this museum gives us an extensive history of the Indian Air Force and its many expeditions till now. The museum with its vast display of memorials, photographs, latest aircrafts along with their older counterpart, makes for an ideal venue to explore the adventurous world of Indian Air Force.

The museum houses a number of galleries to play tribute to the martyrs who have laid down their life for their motherland. The list of dedications starts from the days of Royal Flying Corps during World War I and II. The Honor Gallery, the Air Chiefs Gallery preserves with pride the medals, bravery awards, operations photos along with war and peace time photos.

The Hangar of the museum makes for a further interesting venue. It has on display various aircrafts like the first plane to fly through the Khyber Pass in 1929, named Westland. Other names include two hunter fighter bombers and Sukhoi 7.

The Souvenir Shop is an added attraction of the museum. Visitors can take back chains and chinaware as remembrances.