Colombo is a relatively easy city to find your way around. To the north is the Fort district, the country's business centre, which has department stores, book shops, airline offices and is the site of the Central Bank which the Tamil Tigers blew up in January 1996. There are also ample sights such as the clock tower, a former lighthouse, the president's residence (known by incorrigible traditionalists as Queen's House), and a cluster of colonial buildings which lend the district an aura of bygone Empire.

Immediately south of here is Galle Face Green, a seafront expanse of occasional green graced by cricket games, kite flyers and trysting lovers. Cinammon Gardens, further south, is Colombo's most fashionable neighbourhood, with elegant mansions, tree-lined streets and the city's largest park. East of the fort is the pungent Pettah bazaar district. Walk through and marvel at the riot of goods - fruit, vegetables, meat, gems, gold, silver, brass and tin junk.

The city's manufacturing industries are based on the processing of raw materials exported through the port. General engineering industries are connected with public utilities and with the sale, service, repair, and assembly of motor vehicles and other machinery; light manufacturing industries process food, drinks, and tobacco. Numerous factories are located on the city's periphery. Colombo also remains the commercial centre of the island; the head offices of local and foreign banks, the Insurance Corporation (which has a monopoly of insurance), brokerage houses, and government corporations are all located in the city.

Trains connect Colombo with other major cities on the island. There are also bus services within the city and with all parts of Sri Lanka. The international airport is located at Katunayake, and Ratmalana airport handles domestic flights.

ATTRACTIONS

National Museum
The first public Museum to be established in Sri Lanka (1877). Best known for its collection of antiques and objects d'art displaying the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka. It includes the national treasures and art facts from all parts of the island. A section of the first floor houses the Puppetry and Children's Museum. It also houses a library with a collection of about 500,000 books including very valuable and rare ones and more than 4,000 ancient palm leaf manuscripts.

National Museum of Natural History
Displays the Natural Heritage of Sri Lanka. The fauna i.e. the mammals and the birds are displayed in dioramas. There are sections on Applied Botany, Geology and Fossils and the Natural Environment. In the Discovery Room one finds the mounted skeleton of an elephant and a scale model in relief showing the topography of a part of Sri Lanka.

The Dutch Period Museum
The old "Dutch House" on Prince Street, which houses this museum was built in the latter part of the 17th century and was initially the residence of Count August Carl Van Ranzow along with five other houses of the elite. Today, the sides of the street are choc-a-block with boutiques and stores of moslem traders. The restoration of this building commenced in 1977 and was completed in 1981. This museum was opened to the public in 1982. This building embodies the unique architectural features of a colonial Dutch town house. The museum while displaying the Dutch legacy with the artefacts viz. furniture, ceramics, coins, arms etc. portrays facets of contemporary life and culture.

Ratnapura
The National Museum of Ratnapura is housed in the famous Ehelapola Walawwa on the Colombo Road in Ratnapura. The museum displays to a great extent the prehistory of Sri Lanka. Ratnapura being famous for gems, the process of gem-mining is displayed through a model. Some of the artefacts displayed here, reflect the unique arts & culture of the Sabaragamuwa Province.

Bandaranaike Museum
Housed in the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the museum contains photographs, objects and documents portraying the life and times of the late Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. Visitors can listen to recordings of some of his famous speeches.