National Museum of Pakistan

The National Museum of Pakistan spreads across eleven exhibition halls in Karachi and presents collections from different periods of the region, from prehistoric finds to Islamic art. The rooms hold Gandhara sculptures, coin collections, religious manuscripts, and ethnographic displays from all parts of the country.

The museum opened in 1950 at Frere Hall as a successor to the Victoria Museum and relocated to its current site in Burns Garden in 1970. The collection grew through government acquisitions and donations from archaeological excavations in the following decades.

The ethnological section presents life-size figures representing people from all four provinces of the country, dressed in regional costumes and everyday clothing. Visitors can compare differences in jewelry, headwear, and craft traditions between ethnic groups here.

A complete tour through all galleries usually takes two to three hours, depending on personal interest in individual sections. Labels appear in English and Urdu, and some halls offer seating areas for rest.

The coin collection holds around 58,000 pieces from different ruling periods and regions, arranged in special display cases by dynasty and era. Some coins show Greek inscriptions from the time of Alexander the Great and his successors in the region.

Location: Karachi

Inception: 1950

Official opening: 1950

Address: Shahrah-e-Kemal Ataturk, Saddar Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh 75500

Phone: +922199212840

GPS coordinates: 24.85286,67.01767

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:29