Most travellers rush through Colombo. Give it two days and the capital rewards you — a city of handloom and galleries, sea-breeze sundowners and dining rooms that have fed generations.
Shop the icons
Start with the classics: Paradise Road for elegant homeware and gifts, Barefoot for handloom textiles, crafts and books, and — if you’re brave — the gloriously chaotic Pettah Market for textiles, electronics and fresh produce.
Art and a long lunch
See contemporary work at the Saskia Fernando Gallery, Curador Art Space and the new Radicle Gallery in the Fort. Lunch at the Barefoot Café or the Paradise Road Gallery Café, or brunch behind the bookshelves at Milk & Honey.
Sundowners and dinner
There is only one place for sunset: the Galle Face Hotel, the grande dame of Asian hotels, drink in hand by the ocean. For dinner, Park Street Mews is a destination in itself — we love Uncles for cocktails and small bites and Monsoon for Asian fusion.
The Colombo National Museum is a treat in itself — especially for lovers of colonial architecture.
