Want to learn about Indonesia while spending your holiday to be more meaningful with low cost? Museums in Jakarta are the best option. Jakarta, the center of government and economy in Indonesia, is filled with many museums. There are over 50 museums around the city. If you cannot visit all of the museums, you can visit few bests of them. Here are the lists of 5 best museums in Jakarta to be added on your destination list.

1. National Museum

National Museum is the oldest and has the richest collection in Indonesia, built in 1778 during the Dutch colonialism. It collects many historical, pre-historical, geographical, archeological, and ethnological artifacts. It has also ceramics, traditional costumes, traditional house miniatures, numismatic and heraldic with around 141,899 objects. The building is divided into two wings. The old wing or Gedung Gajah (Elephant Building) contains museum collection, while the new wing or Gedung Arca is used for office and exihibition area.

The museum is located in Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, in front of Monumen Nasional (National Monument) which is the landmark of Jakarta city. It is easily reached from any location in the city central. It is opened on Tuesday-Friday (08.00-16.00) and Saturday-Sunday (08.00-17.00). The museum is only closed on Monday and national holiday.

2. Museum Indonesia

Museum Indonesia is located in the complex of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), East Jakarta. It has purpose as the learning center of Indonesian cultures. It contains with ethnological and anthropological objects which tell about Indonesia’s arts and cultures. Built in 1975 by the second President, Mr. Soeharto, the building was designed with Balinese architectural style with very attractive decoration.

The building is divided into three floors. The first floor has Bhineka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity) containing with various Indonesia’s traditional formal and wedding costumes. The second floor’s theme is human and environment containing with dioramas of traditional houses, religious buildings, and others. The third floor is filled with traditional and contemporary arts and crafts of Indonesia people.

3. Museum Bank Indonesia

Museum Bank Indonesia was originally the central Bank of Dutch East Indies (De Javasche Bank) which nationalized in 1953 into Bank Indonesia. The bank was restored into museum in 2006 and formally opened for public in 2009 by President Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The museum is designed to introduce the key role of Bank Indonesia especially about payment systems and monetary policies in Indonesia history. The museum is riched with audio & visual equipments, plasma tv, theater, and fully air-conditioned rooms to give visitors the best experience.

The museum open from Tuesday until Friday at 08.00 AM – 15.30 PM, Saturday until Sunday at 08.00 AM – 16.00 PM. It closed every Monday and national holiday.

4. Museum Fatahillah

Museum Fatahillah or Jakarta History Museum was built in 1710 as city hall of Batavia, known in the past as Stadhuis. It was the office of Dutch Governor which has the same design as The Royal Palace Amsterdam. After long period, then it was formally opened as museum in 1974. The museum displays the prehistory period of the city, founding story of Jayakarta (the old Jakarta), and Dutch colonization to Indonesia’s independence story. There are 23,500 objects including Dutch’s objects, paintings, ceramics, furniture, and prehistoric archeological objects. This museum also has the richest Betawi style furnitures.

5. Museum Wayang (Puppet Museum)

In 1640, the building is used as Dutch church. Few prominent Dutch officials are buried in the small cemetery at the back of the church. One of them is Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in the colonial period. The building function was also changed into a warehous. After several building function changes, the building was opened as museum in 1939 with Old Batavia Museum name. In 1968, the museum name changed to Wayang Museum under Jakarta’s administration. In the museum, you can see various kinds of wayang dolls from Indonesia and also other countries, gamelan sets, and wayang sculptures. The museum is also functioned as training and research of shadow puppets venue. Every Sunday, about 10:00 AM, usually there is a puppet show accompaniment with gamelan music.

The last three museums can be found in the Fatahillah Square on Old Town of Jakarta. The old town was called Batavia. You can learn about this old town area here >>