Western Province · Sri Lanka
A busy tropical port city of colonial buildings, temples, markets, a seafront green and a rapidly growing café and restaurant scene.
Photo: Mayooresan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Colombo is Sri Lanka's largest city and commercial capital, home to about 750,000 people in the city proper and more than 5 million in its metropolitan area. It has been a trading port for over a thousand years, visited by Arab, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British merchants, and its layered history shows in its streets. Most visitors arrive here, and many treat it as a place to pass through, but it is worth a day.
The seafront Galle Face Green is the city's living room, a long lawn where families fly kites and vendors sell street food at sunset. In the historic Fort district, colonial buildings house shops and hotels, and Pettah, the bustling market district, is a chaotic maze of stalls selling everything. The Gangaramaya Temple is a colourful, eclectic Buddhist temple and museum, and the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, a red-and-white candy-striped building, is among the most photogenic.
In recent years Colombo has grown more cosmopolitan, with the Lotus Tower, Asia's tallest, rising above the skyline, and a thriving restaurant and café scene in Colombo 7 and Colombo 3. The city is hot, humid and congested, so start early and rest at midday. One or two days is enough.
Why visit
Colombo is a lively, unpretentious city, and a good introduction to Sri Lanka.
Sunset and street food.
A dense and colourful bazaar.
A quirky Buddhist temple.
In the Fort district.
Cafés and restaurants.
Main attractions
The sights are spread around the city.
A 500-metre seafront lawn built by the British, popular at sunset for kites, walks and snacks like isso wade.
Tip Go at 5:30 pm.
The Lotus Tower is a 350-metre communications tower with an observation deck.
Tip Go at sunset.
A tangle of streets with stalls of clothing, spices, hardware and fruit.
Tip Go in the morning.
A temple complex with a museum of gifts, statues and an eclectic collection of objects.
Tip Dress modestly.
A red-and-white striped mosque in Pettah.
Tip Photograph from outside.
The country's main museum, with royal regalia.
Tip Allow two hours.
Things to do
Colombo is for wandering and eating.
At sunset.
Tip Try isso wade.
On foot.
Tip Watch your bags.
A famed restaurant.
Tip Book.
Street food.
Tip Book a guide.
A colonial building and park.
Tip Evening walks.
Tea and batik.
Tip Try Barefoot.
Local food
Colombo has the best range of Sri Lankan food.
Chilli crab.
Where to try it Ministry of Crab.
Prawn fritters.
Where to try it Galle Face.
Many dishes.
Where to try it Restaurants.
Chopped roti.
Where to try it Stalls.
Dutch Burgher parcel.
Where to try it Restaurants.
Accommodation
Stay in Colombo 3 or 7.
Transport
Colombo has the international airport.
Tuk-tuks and apps.
When to go
Colombo is hot and humid all year.
Driest.
Hot.
Monsoon showers.
Storms.
Worth planning around: October and November storms.
Itinerary
Markets, temples and the sea.
Fort and Pettah.
Food.
Travel tips
A few tips help you plan.
FAQ
One or two.
Generally, with precautions.
Crab curry and kottu.
About an hour.
Yes, for a day.
December to March.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Colombo, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
Southern Province, Sri Lanka
A 17th-century Dutch fort that is still a living community, with ramparts, a lighthouse, mosques and churches, boutiques, cafés and the beaches of the south coast nearby.
Don't miss Walking the ramparts of Galle Fort at sunset, with waves crashing below and the lighthouse glowing.
Explore Destination — GalleCentral Province, hill country, Sri Lanka
A hill-country city with the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy Lake, Kandyan dance, Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and the base for tea country trains.
Don't miss The evening puja at the Temple of the Tooth, with drummers, incense and pilgrims in white.
Explore Destination — KandySouthern Province, south coast, Sri Lanka
A relaxed beach town on Sri Lanka's south coast, with whale and dolphin watching, Coconut Tree Hill, Parrot Rock, surfing at Weligama and seafood on the sand.
Don't miss Seeing the vast back of a blue whale rise from the Indian Ocean off Mirissa.
Explore Destination — MirissaRead next
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