The Bajra Sandhi Monument is Denpasar's most distinctive modern landmark — a 45-metre-tall bronze-domed drum-shaped tower rising above Renon Square, surrounded by formal gardens and a large ceremonial plaza. Built to commemorate the struggles of the Balinese people through history, it now houses a museum of Balinese history with dioramas and exhibits covering the island from prehistoric times through the independence period.
The museum inside is worth an hour if you want historical context for what you see elsewhere on the island — the exhibits cover the pre-Hindu Megalithic period, the golden age of the Majapahit empire, Dutch colonisation, the Puputan (ritual mass suicides carried out by Balinese nobility rather than surrender to Dutch forces), and the independence movement. The surrounding gardens and the scale of the ceremonial square give a sense of the grandeur the post-independence Indonesian state was trying to project. The tower itself can be climbed to a viewing terrace with good views over the city.