If you are vacationing in Myanmar and you are also interested in learning about Burmese culture, visiting at least one of its famous museums should be on your bullet lists. Paradise Travel presents a list of museums in Myanmar to visit on a Myanmar tour.
1. Myanmar National Museum
When mentioning the best museums in Myanmar, it will be a missing if you don’t count Myanmar National Museum. his is a “treasure trove” of priceless stone inscriptions, documents, sculptures, paintings, and a host of other artifacts that bear witness to the ancient culture and civilization of the Burmese people. The visit to this museum illuminates one with greater knowledge and understanding of the beautiful nation of Myanmar and its people.
The Myanmar National Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Monday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Tuesday – Sunday)
2. Bogyoke Aung San Museum
The Bogyoke Aung San Museum, located in Yangon, is a museum dedicated to General Aung San, founder of modern Myanmar. Established in 1962, the two-story museum was Aung San’s last residence before his assassination in July 1947. This belongs to top museums in Myanmar that worth a trip of a lifetime!
It houses exhibitions on the history of life and memories of the general. Exhibitions range from the everyday things he loved to an overcoat presented to him by the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Several of his books, paintings, and family photographs, awards, handwritten correspondence, and personal memories are on display. The upstairs meeting room is full of extracts from his most striking speeches.
Bogyoke Aung San Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Monday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Tuesday – Sunday)
3. Bagan Archaeological Museum
Set-up in a large temple-like complex, this government-run museum contains several beautiful pieces from Bagan (reclining Buddhas, ancient effigies, engraved stones, and reproductions of murals). Especially, there is also a room where works of modern art depicting the temples are on display. Other curiosities include a room showing 55 ways in which women tie their hair, models of major temples, and a model of an 11th-century village.
Bagan Archaeological Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Monday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Tuesday – Sunday)
4. U Thant House
One of Myanmar’s most respected international politicians, U Thant was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971. When his grandson, Thant Myint-U, discovered his home in the old estate of Windermere in 2012, the place was a wreck. It has since been beautifully restored by the family, with the help of the Yangon Heritage Trust and others, and stands as a suitable memorial to U Thant.
U Thant House, one of the best museums in Myanmar
5. Kayah State Cultural Museum
It is a museum that features bronze drums used for weddings and funerals, stone beads, household utensils, traditional looms, traditional dresses, silverware, weapons, paintings, and musical instruments of the Kayah people and located in Loikaw, in the state of Kayah in Burma. Moreover, the museum contains nearly 13,000 books and 405 individual objects.
Kayah State Cultural Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Monday – Saturday)
6. Myanmar Gems Museum
The museum has a very beautiful collection of stones of all sizes, raw or worked: ruby, sapphire, pearl … as well as collections of tea services cut in different varieties of jade. The museum offers a nice view of the Kaba Aye pagoda and its Maha Pasana cave. As a result, you can buy certified gemstones in its 82 stores!
Myanmar Gems Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Monday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Tuesday – Sunday)
7. Drug Elimination Museum
As its name suggests, the place is dedicated to drugs and its eradication, in the economy, in mentalities, in addictions caused. Also, aspect of this criminal activity is neglected, thus explaining the area of the place, about 14,000 square meters. Consisting of three floors, the different types of drugs are exposed, explained, mapped, and then contextualized. Therefore, this is for sure one of top museums in Myanmar that you should not miss!
Drug Elimination Museum
- Opening hours: Closed Monday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Tuesday – Sunday)
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