Museums in Jakarta

Founded in 1778 by the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, the National Museum is the oldest and most comprehensive museum in Indonesia, housing over 140,000 artefacts spanning prehistory to the modern era.

Housed in the former Stadhuis (City Hall) of Batavia, built in 1710, the Jakarta History Museum chronicles the city's journey from a small port to a modern metropolis across Dutch colonial, Japanese occupation, and independence eras.

Museum Bahari (Maritime Museum) occupies a pair of massive Dutch East India Company (VOC) warehouses near Sunda Kelapa harbour. Its collections trace Indonesia's seafaring heritage from traditional Bugis pinisi schooners to the spice-trade era of the VOC.

The Wayang Museum is dedicated to wayang (shadow puppet) traditions from Indonesia and around the world. Set in a former Dutch church building in Kota Tua, it preserves one of Java's most important performing-art forms.

The Bank Indonesia Museum occupies a stately neoclassical building that once served as the De Javasche Bank headquarters. Its interactive multimedia exhibits trace the history of Indonesian money, trade, and banking.

Museum Satria Mandala (Armed Forces Museum) displays Indonesia's military history from the independence struggle to peacekeeping missions, housed in the former residence of independence-era First Lady Ratna Sari Dewi.

Jakarta's Textile Museum preserves Indonesia's rich weaving heritage, showcasing batik, ikat, songket, and other textile traditions from across the archipelago in a charming 19th-century French colonial villa.

Taman Prasasti Museum is an open-air colonial cemetery turned museum in central Jakarta, preserving Dutch-era tombstones, mausoleums, and cast-iron memorials dating from the 17th to 19th centuries. It's a quiet oasis in the city centre.

Museum MACAN (Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara) is Jakarta's premier contemporary art museum, opened in 2017. It features rotating exhibitions from Indonesian and international artists in a sleek, purpose-built space.

Jakarta Planetarium is a science-education centre in central Jakarta offering star shows under a domed projection theatre. It's a popular destination for school groups and families.

Located in a 1870 colonial courthouse building in Kota Tua, this museum showcases Indonesian fine art from the 19th century to the present, alongside a significant collection of local and imported ceramics.