Colombo

Most travellers arrive in Colombo at the beginning or end of a Sri Lanka trip and spend only a day or two — but the city rewards more time than many expect. The capital has been transforming rapidly over the past decade: its waterfront has been redeveloped, its restaurant and café scene has exploded, and its distinct neighbourhoods — from the chaotic bazaars of Pettah to the leafy colonial avenues of Cinnamon Gardens — offer a genuinely engaging urban experience. Colombo is not a classic "sightseeing" city, but it is a vibrant, fascinating one.

What to See & Do in Colombo

Pettah Market

Sri Lanka's most chaotic and colourful bazaar district — each street specialises in a different category of goods: electronics on one street, fabrics on the next, then jewellery, then spices. The Dutch Period Museum on Second Cross Street (a beautifully restored 17th-century Dutch residence) offers a quiet counterpoint to the market mayhem. Walking Pettah in the morning is an assault on the senses in the best possible way.

Galle Face Green

A long ocean-facing promenade stretching south from the Fort along the seafront — Colombo's public living room. On evenings and weekends, families fly kites, children play cricket, and street food vendors sell isso wade (prawn fritters), ice cream and fresh king coconut. The sea breeze off the Indian Ocean makes it one of the most pleasant places in the city. The historic Galle Face Hotel — a grande dame of colonial hotels — overlooks the green from the southern end.

Gangaramaya Temple

The most visited temple in Colombo — an eclectic, fascinating Buddhist complex beside Beira Lake that has accumulated an extraordinary collection of objects donated by devotees over a century: cars, tusks, porcelain, Buddhas in every style from every country, antique clocks, stuffed animals. It is unlike any other temple in Sri Lanka — more museum than monastery in feel, but genuinely sacred. The Navam Perahera festival in February (full moon) brings a spectacular elephant procession to the surrounding streets.

The Dutch Hospital & Fort

The 17th-century Dutch Hospital — Sri Lanka's oldest colonial building — has been beautifully restored as a boutique dining and shopping precinct in the Fort district. The surrounding Fort area retains excellent colonial architecture including the old lighthouse, the Grand Oriental Hotel and several fine Victorian-era buildings. The Colombo Fort railway station is a working piece of colonial engineering worth seeing.

Food & Drink

Colombo's food scene is exceptional. For street food and local flavour: the Dutch Hospital courtyard, the Pettah market area at breakfast time (hoppers and string hoppers), and the Galle Face Green vendors in the evening. For restaurant dining: the Colombo 3 and 7 neighbourhoods (Kollupitiya and Cinnamon Gardens) have the best selection. Sri Lankan cuisine, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Italian and Middle Eastern are all well represented. Don't leave without trying a proper rice and curry at a local "hotel" (Sri Lankan term for a cheap eatery).