Rajasthan's oldest museum, housed in a spectacular yellow-ochre building in the Ram Niwas Garden south of the old walled city. The architecture is an elaborate Indo-Saracenic blend — arches, domes, and carved columns in the Bombay Government style — and the building itself is often the most memorable part of the visit.
Inside, the collection ranges from paintings, weapons, crystal, and jewelry to carpets, natural history specimens, and one of the finest Egyptian mummies outside Egypt. The galleries are densely arranged in Victorian style, and while some exhibits are poorly labelled, the overall breadth is impressive. The museum opens again in the evenings when the gardens are lit and the building looks particularly dramatic.
The surrounding Ram Niwas Garden, designed in 1868 by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh, makes for a pleasant stroll after the museum. There's a small zoo in the grounds if you have children in tow.