There are various government owned and private owned museums in Maharashtra. These museums boast an impressive collection of coins, photographs, replicas, dyes, moulds etc. that represent various ages and histories. Some museums also house objects from the tribal period along with explanations about their importance.

Out of the 13 historic museums in the state, 12 are inside the huge state-owned buildings, whereas the Bhavani Museum is located in Aundh. One of the most popular museums is the Prince of Wales museum, which has a huge collection of artistic and historical objects dating back to 5000 years. The other famous museums in Mumbai are the Jehangir Art Gallery, National Maritime Museum, Taraporewala Aquarium, Veermata Jeejamata Museum and Mani Bhavan Mahatma Gandhi museums.

These museums are the best places to know about the rich historic background of a particular place. Though they are located at one single place, museums can transport the tourists back to many centuries ago, purely by the ranges of objects that are exhibited inside. European painting, intricate artwork from Tibet and Nepal, miniature paintings from India, textiles, weapons and other objects dating back to over five thousand years are exhibited in the museums in Mumbai. Due to these museums, there is large number of tourists coming to Mumbai all through the year. Some other museums that are famous in Maharashtra are Tribal Museum, Arthropoda Museum, Shahaji Chatrapati Museum at Kohlapur and Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.

The museums in Maharashtra are known for their diverse exhibits. There are museums that specialise in reptiles, mammal, insects etc. and house some of the scariest species of and many other amphibians, fishes, craniate that are available in impressive varieties all over India. Some other museums specialise in exhibiting sculptures with tremendous work on them. These sculptures belong to Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta periods. The sculptures belong to the religions of Hindu, Jainism, Buddhism etc. These museums that are culturally rich repositories of a particular region are perfect examples of the richness and value system of Western Indian areas.

The Science museums that are found in Maharashtra are not only great sources of recreation, but also prove to great education centres for children as the kids get to learn a lot from these museums.  Some of the museums are multifunctional in that they have library facilities, sitting rooms, separate laboratories for protecting the antique, picture galleries that contains some of the rare and ancient pictures etc. Mumbai is home to some of the world famous museums like Prince of Wales, National Maritime Museum and Mani Bhavan Mahatma Gandhi Museum.

Famous Museums in Maharashtra

Coin Museum

Set up in 1980, by the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, this museum is home to some of the rare and ancient coins of Indian currency over the years that have been exhibited here after a series of research. This museum is located in Nasik in the state of Maharashtra.

Jehangir Art Gallery

This is one of the most sought after destination by budding and established artists all over the country. Set up in 1952, this gallery is situated in the Kala Godha locality of Mumbai.

Mahatma Gandhi Museum

Tourists can spot the Mani Bhavan Mahatma Gandhi Museum at Laburnam Road in Mumbai, just adjacent to the August Kranti Maidan, which was the same ground that gave birth to the famous Quit India Movement in 1942.

National Maritime Museum

This museum is one of the best in the country in showcasing the different models of ships that were manufactured in different countries across the globe. This museum is situated in Mumbai.

Prince of Wales Museum

Prince George who visited India in 1905 laid the foundation stone for this museum and the subsequently, the museum was named after him.

Raja Dinkar Museum

This museum situated in Pune, is known as Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum. There are around 20000 different types of paintings, musical instruments, handicrafts, armour and various other artefacts that are exhibited in this museum.

Chhatrapati Museum

The Shahaji Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum is located in Kohlapur at the New Palace. This museum is an interesting repository of objects like guns, clothes, awards, medals etc. belonging to the Maharaja Shahaji Chhatrapati.

Sri Bhavani Museum

Satara, one of the tourist spots of Maharashtra is just about 48km from the Sri Bhavani Museum. This museum houses around 500 varieties of paintings that were vogue in the country between the 15th and 19th centuries. These paintings belonged to the Maratha, Punjab, Pahadi, Mughal, Kangra and Jaipur models of paintings.

Taraporewala Aquarium

This aquarium is located in the central and posh locality of Marine Drive in Mumbai. The Taraporewala Aquarium houses some of the exotic fish species and captures the marine life at its best. There are also exquisite pieces of pearl jewellery here that are on exhibit.

Tribal Museum

This museum is situated in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra. The best part of this museum is that it is very close to Pune railway station. This museum exhibits a lot of objects that belong to the tribes and the significance of the tribal lifestyle is clearly explained here.

Veermata Museum

Another name for Veermata Jeejamata museum is the Victoria and Albert Museum. This is located in Mumbai. Some people also call this as Bhau Daji Lad Museum as he had contributed a lot for this museum.