Colombo: a first-timer's guide to Sri Lanka's capital city

Why go

Most visitors land at Bandaranaike International Airport near Negombo and drive straight to the hills or the beach. That is a pity. Colombo is where you see modern Sri Lanka at work: office crowds in Fort, traders shouting in Pettah, families flying kites on Galle Face Green and couples sharing street food as the sun drops into the Indian Ocean. It is also where the island's most creative chefs, designers and galleries are based.

Fort and Pettah

**Fort** is the old colonial core. The restored Dutch Hospital, one of the oldest buildings in the city, now holds restaurants and bars. Nearby are the red and white **Old Colombo Lighthouse clock tower**, the grand Cargills building and the waterfront around the presidential secretariat. Walk east and you reach **Pettah**, a maze of streets each devoted to one trade: fabrics, spices, hardware, gold. The candy striped **Jami Ul Alfar Mosque**, built in 1909, is the most photographed building in the area. Go in the morning when it is cooler and less crowded, and keep a close eye on your bag.

Galle Face Green and the seafront

The long lawn of **Galle Face Green** fills with families, kite sellers and food carts every evening. Try isso wade, crunchy lentil fritters topped with prawns, and watch the sunset. At one end stands the colonial **Galle Face Hotel**, where a drink on the veranda is a Colombo tradition. Across the road, the reclaimed Port City is still growing.

Temples and museums

**Gangaramaya Temple** near Beira Lake is a joyful jumble of Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese styles, with a small museum of gifts from devotees. A short walk away, the **Seema Malakaya** meditation hall floats on the lake. The **Colombo National Museum** in Cinnamon Gardens covers the island's royal history, including the throne of the last Kandyan king. **Viharamahadevi Park** next door is the city's green lung.

Food

Colombo is the best place in the country to eat. Try a lunch packet of rice and curry from a local hotel, kottu roti chopped on a hot griddle at night, hoppers with an egg cracked into the middle at breakfast, and Jaffna crab curry at a seafood restaurant. **Ministry of Crab** in the Dutch Hospital made the city famous for lagoon crab, while family run places in Wellawatte serve Tamil vegetarian food on banana leaves.

Shopping

For design led souvenirs, **Barefoot** on Galle Road sells handwoven textiles and has a garden café. **Paradise Road** and **Odel** stock homeware and clothes. For tea, look for shops selling single estate Ceylon teas rather than airport tins.

Neighbourhoods and where to stay

The city is divided into numbered postcodes. **Colombo 1** is Fort, **Colombo 3** (Kollupitiya) and **Colombo 7** (Cinnamon Gardens) are leafy and central with good hotels and restaurants, and **Mount Lavinia** in the south has a beach and an old colonial hotel. If you only need a night before an early flight, Negombo near the airport is easier than central Colombo.

Getting around

Traffic can be heavy, especially at rush hours. Ride hailing apps such as PickMe and Uber work well for tuk tuks and cars and remove the need to bargain. If you hail a tuk tuk on the street, ask for the meter or agree the fare first. Trains from Fort station run up the coast to Galle and inland to Kandy.

How long to stay

One full day covers Fort, Pettah, Gangaramaya and Galle Face Green. Two days lets you add museums, shopping and a long lunch. Many travellers save Colombo for the end of the trip, when they have their bearings.

Plan it

Browse places to visit for ideas and use the free trip planner to place Colombo at the start or end of your loop.