Location : Near Alfred Park, Allahabad

Attraction : Sculptures from Gupta and Shunga dynasties

Time to visit : 9.30 in the morning to 6.00 in the evening

Closed on : Monday

Allahabad Museum is one of the well known museums of Uttar Pradesh and is a major tourist attraction. Inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of India's independence in 1947, this museum is distinguished for the artifacts, archeological remains, and exhibits of natural history. Out of the artifacts that are stored in the museum, some of them were donated by Jawaharlal himself.

Counted as one of the best maintained museums of the state, Allahabad Museum consists of 18 galleries that have a breathtaking number of terracotta, textiles, weapons, statues, sculptures, Buddhist artifacts etc. One can have the treat of watching ancient artworks that belong to prehistoric times. Some of the archeological remains of Indus Valley Civilization are also placed here. The museum has a collection of land grants, Buddhist thanks, and land grants that belong to medieval period; one can also get to see personal belongings of Nehru and a number of other items that date back to freedom movement.

The other antiquities that form part of the prestigious museum include carved pillars from temples, carved images made in stone belonging to the time period from third century BC to twelfth century AD. This encompasses a number of dynasties of ancient as well as medieval era.  In addition, Allahabad Museum is the storehouse of famous schools of sculptures namely Kausambi, Gandhara, and Mathura.

Another interesting collection for which the museum is famous includes terracotta; the collection is one of its own kinds and is among the largest one in the entire world. These terracotta images are based on several themes like dancing and feasting scenes. The coin collection from Gupta and Kushana era are placed here and form a vast part of the museum. The visitors can also get to see Sanskrit manuscripts from as early as 16th century.

There are as many as 400 sculptures that have been categorized according to different sects. A number of brahmanical gods and Buddhist deities form part of these sculptures. The past 25 years have seen a huge addition of the antiquities to Allahabad Museum.