Bihar Museum

The Bihar Museum in Patna is one of India's most ambitiously designed modern museums, opened in 2015 to showcase the state's extraordinarily deep archaeological and artistic heritage — from Mauryan and Gupta-era sculpture through to contemporary Bihari art. Its striking modern architecture, a series of low horizontal blocks connected by open courtyards, stands in deliberate contrast to the older, more traditional museum building it complements nearby.

Highlights include the Didarganj Yakshi, a polished sandstone sculpture dating to the Mauryan period and considered one of the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian statuary, alongside dedicated galleries on Bihar's Buddhist, Jain and freedom movement history, making it an excellent orientation point before exploring the state's historical sites in person.

Established as part of a broader initiative to modernise Bihar's cultural institutions, the museum was designed by a Japanese-led international architectural team and represents one of the largest investments in museum infrastructure undertaken by any Indian state in recent decades.

In central Patna, easily reached by road; an auto-rickshaw or cab from most parts of the city takes under 30 minutes.