Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad - Timings, Entry Fee, History & Artifacts

At a distance of 4 km from Nampally Railway Station & 15 km from Charminar, The Salar Jung Museum located near Afzal Gunj is one of the best museums in India. This is also one of the most visited among Hyderabad tourist places. Situated on the southern bank of the Musi River, this museum houses the collections of Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, commonly known as Salar Jung III, Prime Minister of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad. The museum has a collection of over 50000 items for exhibition.

There are 38 galleries in the Museum spread across three buildings- Central Block, Eastern Block and Western Block on two floors. The collection of the museum and the library were transferred from Diwan Deodi to the new building in the year 1968 and two more buildings were added in the year 2000. The Veiled Rebecca made with Italian marble is one of the main attractions of the museum including Musical Clock, Marguerite & Mephistopheles and Ivory Room.

The Central Block has 27 galleries (ground floor 15 galleries, first floor 12 galleries). The collection can be divided into Indian Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art, European Art and Children's Section. Apart from this, a gallery is devoted to the illustrious Salar Jung family, which was mainly responsible for acquiring the collection.

The Indian Art Objects Comprises of stone sculptures, bronze images, painted textiles, wood Carvings, Jade carvings, metal-ware, manuscripts arms and armor etc. Middle East is represented through its art objects from Persia, Syria and Egypt covering the diverse media like carpets, manuscripts, ceramics, glass, metal ware, furniture, lacquer etc. Salar Jung Museum is one of the few Indian museums which can boast of a fairy extensive collection of Far Eastern Art consisting of Sino-Japanese art objects of porcelain, bronze, enamel, lacquer ware, embroidery, paintings, wood and inlay work. European collection comprising of art objects ranging from resplendent and excellent examples of oil paintings, aesthetically attractive glass objects to majestic furniture, splendid examples of ivory, enamel ware and clocks. The objects on display in the children's section of the museum are a testimony to the vast range of interest and diverse nature of Salar Jung III, in collecting objects.

The museum also possesses a huge library consisting of nearly sixty thousand books, manuscripts, journals etc., and it is a monument to the love of learning of the Salar Jung family. The museum organizes temporary exhibitions periodically on various themes. It is also maintaining a Mobile Exhibition Van arranging exhibits on different themes on the museum's collections at the doorstep of schools, villages and other public places as part of Museum Education.

Entrance Fee: Rs.20 for Indians, Rs.500 for Foreigners & Rs. 50 for Camera

Timings: 10 AM to 5 PM, Closed on all Friday & Public Holidays