Napier Museum

About Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

Landmark museum displaying regional art and antiquities

• Napier Museum sits inside the public zoo compound, about three kilometers north of the railway station.
• British architect Robert Chisholm designed the brick building in 1880, naming it after the Madras Governor, Lord Napier.
• The structure mixes gothic gables, Italian tile work, and traditional Kerala timber eaves with red-and-white bands across its exterior walls.
• It also incorporates a natural air-cooling system through slatted wooden screens and high roofs.
• The galleries house eleventh-century bronze idols, ivory carvings, Kathakali dance figures, temple chariots, and antique South Indian musical instruments.
• Nearby paths lead to the adjacent Sri Chitra Art Gallery, which holds original paintings by Raja Ravi Varma.
• The cooler winter months between November and February make walking the garden grounds comfortable.
• The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM, closing on Mondays and Wednesday forenoons.
• An entry ticket costs a modest fee.