The State Museum of Lucknow sits inside the leafy zoological gardens in Banarsibagh and is one of the oldest museums in north India — founded in 1863 by the British administration and now run by the Uttar Pradesh state government. The collection is encyclopedic: pre-Mauryan and Gupta-era stone sculpture from across the Gangetic plain, Mughal and Awadhi paintings, palaeontology, decorative arts, and a notably good gallery of textiles including local chikankari.
The galleries are old-fashioned in a way that suits the material: glass cases, hand-written labels, no theme-park gloss. Allow two hours. The ticket also covers the surrounding Lucknow Zoo (Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden), itself worth a quick walk for the colonial-era animal houses if not for the welfare standards.