Indonesia

11 Best Museums in Indonesia

The museums travelers rate highest across Indonesia, with what makes each worth the trip.

Order reflects review volume from real travelers in Indonesia. Refreshed monthly.

  1. National Museum of Indonesia

    Museum · Jakarta

    The National Museum of Indonesia, also called the Elephant Museum for the bronze elephant statue in its forecourt, sits on the west side of Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta.

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  2. Tjong A Fie Mansion

    Museum · Medan

    Tjong A Fie Mansion is the former home of a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist who played a key role in Medan's development.

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  3. Bank Indonesia Museum

    Museum · Jakarta

    The Bank Indonesia Museum is housed in the neoclassical former headquarters of the Dutch Java Bank, built in 1828.

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  4. KRI Pasopati

    Museum · Surabaya

    KRI Pasopati (410) is a retired Soviet-built Whiskey-class submarine that served in the Indonesian Navy from 1962 until 1994.

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  5. Bank Indonesia Museum, Surabaya

    Museum · Surabaya

    The Bank Indonesia Museum occupies a grand neoclassical building that once served as a Dutch colonial bank.

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  6. House of Sampoerna

    Museum · SurabayaFree entry

    The House of Sampoerna is a tobacco museum and headquarters of Sampoerna in Surabaya, housed in a Dutch colonial-style compound built in 1862.

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  7. Rahmat International Wildlife Museum & Gallery

    Museum · Medan

    Rahmat International Wildlife Museum & Gallery in Medan displays an extensive collection of taxidermied animals from around the world, arranged by habitat.

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  8. Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics

    Museum · Jakarta

    The Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics occupies a handsome 19th-century Dutch colonial building on Fatahillah Square.

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  9. Museum of the Declaration of Independence

    Museum · Jakarta

    Located on Jalan Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta, the Museum of the Declaration of Independence (Museum Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi) occupies a colonial-era building that once belonged to Japanese Rear Admiral Tadashi Maeda.

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  10. Jakarta History Museum

    Museum · Jakarta

    The Jakarta History Museum occupies the stately former Stadhuis (city hall) of Batavia, built in the early 18th century.

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  11. Wayang Museum

    Museum · Jakarta

    The Wayang Museum is dedicated to the traditional Indonesian puppet theater known as wayang.

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Good to know

What is the best-known of the museums in Indonesia?

National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta is the most reviewed, with 1,695 traveler reviews and a 4.1 rating. That makes it the safe choice if you are only fitting in one.

Which of Indonesia's museums is worth going out of your way for?

Tjong A Fie Mansion in Medan rates highest at 4.2 out of 5 across 603 reviews. Smaller crowds than the headline entry usually explain the gap.

Which city in Indonesia has the most museums?

Jakarta, with 6 on this list, ahead of Surabaya on 3. The list spans 3 cities in total, capped at three per city so one big city cannot crowd out the rest of the country.

How is this list of museums ranked?

By how many travelers reviewed each place, filtered to those rated well enough to be worth your time, drawn from 324 tracked places in Indonesia. No one pays to appear on it, and the order is refreshed monthly as new reviews land.

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