Book A Tour

To book a tour revealing the secrets and unique spots around Galle Fort or Colombo city, call the author Juliet Coombe on +94 (0) 776838659 or go to 60 Leyn Baan Street and book a tour with Juliet direct.

Walking Tours can be taken daily for an hour and a half early morning or late afternoon.

Cost:
One Hour - $20 US
Half Day - $75 US
Full Day - $150 US
(all prices are per person)

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Art Walk – Take to the streets

The best time for this walk would be on a Sunday morning when you can check out the weekly Green Path street railing art market, which is on display along the Vihara Mahadevi Park (for more information see main feature in Colombo 7 section).  The best place to start is with breakfast and viewing the latest exhibition at the Barefoot Gallery – 706, Galle Road, Colombo 03, which opens at 9am everyday and has off streetcar parking. The gallery has pieces from varying Sri Lankan artists and regularly hosts exhibitions. Once you’re finished there, come out through the front entrance on Colombo Road and proceed left till you reach Alfred House Avenue which will be across the road on the right side, proceed down that and turn onto Alfred House Road and walk along to The Gallery Cafe – 2, Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 03, which will be on the left for a coffee and sit back and enjoy this beautiful Bawa created spot. An architectural art work in its own right.

After that, get into a tuk tuk and head to the Saskia Fernando Gallery – 61, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 07. The gallery is on the left side of the road and the easiest way to spot it is by the large artists signatures on its rear wall. Next stop is the Green Path street art market. After you come out of Saskia’s gallery, turn left and proceed up Dharmapala Mawatha then turn right onto Sir Earnest De Silva and walk on till you get to the junction at which point you turn left and continue forward even after the roundabout. This is where the street artists reside with their paintings hung on the fence of the Vihara Mahadevi Park, and right opposite that is the countries National Art Gallery.
Then step out of the gallery and head right and head along Horton Place and turn onto Maitland Crescent just after the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop. Proceed along that, turn left onto Gregory’s Road and proceed along to the Hempel Galleries – 30/3, Barnes Place, Colombo 07. Please note Hempel Galleries is by appointment only, so a day or two before you go there, call Annoushka Hempel on +94 (0) 777 907 321 and arrange for 1pm on a Sunday. She is the brainchild behind Colombo’s Art Biennale and a real joy to meet. She represents Sri Lankas’s premiere artists and is always pushing art boundaries and introducing exciting new works to the city.

 Once done there, get into a tuk tuk and get to Odel - No 5, Alexandra Place, Colombo 07, it should cost about Rs.200. To the left of the building is an art gallery that exhibits work from about 30 artists and after you’re done with that, you can have lunch from the food court or try some of Odel’s fantastic range of ice creams and sorbets.