Located at Egmore in Chennai, the Government Museum is one of the finest museums in Tamil Nadu. Sprawling over an area of around 16 acres, the museum houses a wide range of objects reflecting the rich cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu. The foundation of this museum was laid by the Madras Literary Society in the year 1846 but it was inaugurated on 29th April in 1851. Attracting many a tourist, the museum is one of the famous museums in the sub continent of India. The museum has sections dedicated to Geology, Archeology, Zoology, Anthropology, Numismatics, Botany and Sculpture. The museum complex houses six buildings with 46 galleries.

Get ready with your camera as here you will get an opportunity to treat your eyes to the exquisite and rare items such as South Indian Bronzes, Amravati sculptures, Tanjavur armoury, inscriptions on copper and stone plates, the hoard of gold coins of Raja Raja I and Kulothunga I, artefacts from Arikamedu(near Pondicherry), the fascinating crystal reliquaries from the Bhattiprolu Stupa, skeletons of the whales and lovely dolls.

The museum remains open from 9:30 a.m to 5 p.m. It remains closed on Fridays and National holidays. In order to enter the museum you have to pay the fee, which is Rs. 15/- for adults (Indian Nationals), Rs. 10/- for children below 12 years (Indian Nationals), Rs. 250/- or US $ 5 for adult (Non-Indian Nationals),Rs. 125/- or US $ 2.50 for children (Non-Indian Nationals). And if you wish to take your camera inside the museum you need to pay Rs. 200/- per camera and Rs. 500/- per video camera.

The Galleries of the museum are:

1) Main Building Galleries

• Archaeology
• Zoology
• Botany
• Geology
• Numimatics

2) Front Building

• Archaeology
• Anthropology

3) Bronze Gallery

• Archaelogy
• Numimatics
• Chemical Conservation

4) Children's Museum

5) National Art Gallery

6) Contemporary Art Gallery