Galle Fort is like nowhere else in Sri Lanka.
We’ll never forget walking into the colonial streets of the fort and wondering where all the cars, street vendors, and tuk tuks had gone. Are we even still in Sri Lanka?
The calmness of Galle Fort was just what we needed after 14 intense days of traveling through Sri Lanka. Don’t get me wrong – the area is still very touristic and busy, but it’s in a different way from the rest of the country.
We booked 2 nights within the fort area, and it was the perfect amount of time to see all the great things that Galle had to offer. We really enjoyed our time in Galle Fort, and we cannot wait to show you in this travel guide.
In our guide, you’ll find the best attractions and things to do, where to eat in Galle, and where to stay within the fortress. When you’re done reading this, you’re hopefully ready to explore this incredible city in Sri Lanka by yourself.
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Things to know before visiting Galle Fort
History of Galle Fort
Before diving into all the great things to do within the fort, we think it’s important to say a thing or two about the history of Galle.
Galle Fort was originally built by the Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. Then in the 17th century it was conquered by the Dutch colonists, who fortified and strengthened the fort to such a degree that it’s still known as the “Dutch Fort” today. It was of course later conquered by the British colonists, yet it’s still the Dutch colonists who had the heaviest influence on the fort.
Galle Fort and the surrounding area was an important trading port for the colonists, that’s why it was such an important fortress to conquer and strengthen.
In 1988, Galle Fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s presented as the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans within South Asia.
Today, Galle Fort is frequented by foreign tourists and local Sri Lankans alike who all want to roam the quiet streets within the fortress and walk the busy walls of the fort during sunset.
How to get to Galle Fort
Galle Fort is located at the tip of Sri Lanka’s Southwest Coast, and it’s pretty easy to get there. Just outside of the fortress, a 5-minute walk from the entrance, you’ll find Galle Bus Station and Galle Train Station.
We arrived in Galle with the local bus from Dikwella, and we left Galle two days later on the local bus to Hikkaduwa. So once you’re on the South Coast, you can basically jump on any bus to Galle.
However, the most convenient way to travel is without a doubt with train. If you want to plan ahead, then you can easily book your train ticket on 12go.asia.
The train from Colombo to Galle takes around 2 hours, and first class tickets will set you back around $5. This coastal train is one of the most beautiful rides you can do in Sri Lanka.
Where to eat in Galle Fort
During our 2 days in Galle Fort, we managed to eat at 4 different restaurants. We decided to recommend 3 of them to you in this travel guide.
Looking for Sri Lankan food? Try the most incredible Rice & Curry at Lucky Fort Restaurant. Here you get 10 different curries – 9 vegan curries and 1 with meat. All the curries were absolutely amazing, and we could easily split it between two people. This was the best meal we had in Galle Fort!
Want something Italian? In Galle Fort you’ll find the best Italian restaurant that’s named “The Pasta Factory”. here you can get homemade pasta with a glass of wine for a good price. We really enjoyed our dinner here, and the staff is amazing!
Looking for dumplings? This one is a bit random. But after eating Sri Lankan food for 2 weeks, we were excited to find a dumpling bar – just to eat something different than curries and kottu. So try out the Dumplings Café if you’re in the mood for some Asian food. It was not the best we ever had, but it’s still recommendable.
In Galle Fort, you can find so many nice restaurants, and it’s also a great place for seafood!
We loved that there were a lot of non-Sri Lankan food options – no offence to Sri Lanka – but after traveling the country for 2 weeks a bit of pasta and dumplings were a welcoming taste to us. But we must admit, the Rice & curry from Lucky Fort was still the best meal we had during our time in Galle.
Where to stay in Galle Fort
We spent 2 nights within Galle Fort in a hotel named Villa Yehinsa. For just $26 per night, we got a beautiful double room with A/C, a delicious free breakfast included, and the possibility to sit and enjoy the cozy backyard. On top of that, the owner and staff were really friendly. So we can 100% recommend this place!
If you plan to stay a night or two in Galle, then we recommend you to stay inside of the colonial fort like we did. That way, you wake up to the calm streets of the historical fortress, and you have all the delicious restaurants around you.
Galle Fort is known for its incredible boutique hotels and several 4- and 5-star hotels are located within the fortress. Staying in one of the old historic buildings is an experience in itself. So in our research on Booking.com, we’ve focused on finding the most iconic hotels for you in Galle.
Best hotels in Galle Fort
- The Merchant: The history of the Merchant dates several centuries back when it used to function as a market place and later on as a government office. Today, it’s a boutique hotel that includes 14 beautiful rooms with balconies and a popular restaurant on-site named “1710”.
- The Fort Printers: Stay in this beautiful mansion from the 18th century. This building housed an old, traditional printing company before it was turned into a boutique hotel. At the Fort Printers you’ll find spacious rooms in a minimalistic design, an outdoor swimming pool, and a delicious breakfast included in the price.
- Galle Fort Hotel: This incredible hotel has won several awards including UNESCO’s “Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Distinction” because of its cultural heritage and conservation. The Galle Fort Hotel used to be a Dutch mansion and warehouse but today it’s a luxury hotel featuring 12 suites and a beautiful garden with a swimming pool.
Things to do in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka
1. Walk the trail around Galle Fort
One of the top things to do in Galle Fort is to take a walk on the ramparts that surround the old city. Not only do you have an incredible view of the beautiful Indian Ocean, you’ll also get to see the city from above by visiting the many bastions located on the walls.
The walls are more than 300 years old, and they were mainly built to protect the city from enemy attacks. However, they also did an excellent job at keeping the devastating 2004 tsunami away and minimising the damage – compared to many other places in Sri Lanka that were sadly destroyed.
The ramparts begin around Aurora Bastion and end at the National Maritime Museum. In between these two points, where there are no walls, you’ll find the old entrance gate to Galle Fort.
You can expect the walk to take about an hour if you go slow – the walk is actually only about 2-2,5 kilometers long.
After spending a long time roaming the walls of Galle, we found that the best time to do the circuit is in the early morning. Here you’ll have most of the place to yourself, so you won’t get hassled by all the street sellers that arrive during the midday.
Apart from seeing much of the city from the walls, you can also experience the lighthouse, the Meeran Jumma Mosque, the clock tower, and you will even pass a view to Galle’s International Cricket Ground – who knows, you may be lucky to catch a game?
2. See the old Dutch buildings
Another great thing to do in Galle Fort is to have a walk down Church Street and see all the old colonial buildings that are left from another time period in Sri Lanka.
Places to notice are:
- Amangalla Hotel: It used to be the residence of the Dutch governor in 1684.
- Dutch Reformed Church: Also known as “Groote Kerk”, which dates back to 1755 and is the oldest Protestant place in Sri Lanka.
- All Saint’s Church: An Anglican Church made by the British Settlers.
- Galle Fort Hotel: It used to be an old Dutch Warehouse.
- National Maritime Museum: Is also known as the “Great Warehouse” this is where most of exports went out from the city (located on Queen’s Street).
3. Take pictures of the lighthouse
One of the most iconic places in Galle Fort is the lighthouse, which is located at Point Utrecht Bastion.
The current ligthouse is 26,5 meters tall and was built in 1939 after the old lighthouse had burned down. While there isn’t much history to the current lighthouse itself, it now helps represent the city of Galle Fort because of its beautiful surroundings.
The white lighthouse is situated on top of the historical ramparts, between the city and the ocean, and among a small pack of palm trees. It’s like a picture perfect. And it’s exactly why people go here to take photographs.
While the area is full of people during the day, the early morning is quiet, so it’s a great time to take a couple of beautiful pictures.
4. Watch a beautiful sunset
One of the absolute best things to do in Galle Fort is to watch a beautiful sunset.
It’s no surprise that the ramparts get absolutely packed during the late hours of the day.
However, peace falls upon the city when locals and tourists alike are enjoying the beauty of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. Families are sitting and enjoying a meal on the grass, lovers are stealing a kiss behind umbrellas, and the hassle of the street sellers are slowing down. We absolutely loved this time of the day in Galle Fort.
5. Eat gelato
This may seem like a weird top-thing-to-do in Galle Fort. I mean, Gelato is Italian. So why care about this when you’re in Sri Lanka?
We care because we found an amazing place to eat gelato! And we just HAVE to share it in this guide.
While being able to explore a new city is a privilege, it can be quite exhausting to walk around in the heat and do sightseeing. So if you need a break from the heat and you want to eat something delicious and cold, then go to “Isle of Gelato” where you can get the best ice cream in the fort.
I tried the Cookie Monster and the Decadent Chocolate – I can absolutely recommend the Decadent Chocolate flavour, which is dark chocolate made with coconut. Super delicious!
6. Do a cooking class
Are you a foodie? Then one of the best things for you to do is to join a cooking class in Galle.
In a cooking class, you will learn how to cook the national dish of Sri Lanka – Rice and curry. The dish is served like 5 different curries with rice and papadum on the side.
It’s super delicious, we honestly never had curries like in Sri Lanka! They are often made of local produce like banana flowers, pumpkin, and much more. So good!
If you want to have a go at this national dish yourself, then join a cooking class:
- Galle Fort Cooking Class: In this highly-reviewed cooking class, you will learn how to cook a traditional Sri Lankan Rice and Curry. The class is located right inside of Galle Fort, so you can easily get there on foot from your hotel.
- Cook with Wasantha: Wasantha has excellent reviews! In her cooking class you will first go to the local market and pick up produce before making the Rice and Curry. This cooking class is, however, located 7 kilometers from Galle Fort in Unawatuna.
7. Visit a museum
If you want to dive further into the history of Galle Fort, then one of the things to do is to visit a museum. There are several museums that you can visit in the city, however, we only managed to visit one during our time in the city.
And to be honest, the museums don’t really have the best reviews… But it can still be a great way to kill some time while visiting Galle Fort. Especially during a rainy day.
Here are 3 museums located inside of Galle Fort:
- Galle National Museum: Mainly displays objects from the Southern Region in Sri Lanka and from the Dutch settlers. The museum doesn’t have that many great ratings, but go see for yourself. 2024 prices for adults are 550 LKR and 350 LKR for children.
- Maritime Archeology Museum: This museum is about the marine biological and anthropological aspects of the Southern Coastal Region in Sri Lanka – in terms of fishing techniques, passenger transport, eco systems, and much more. We can’t find the official ticket prices of 2024.
- Historical Mansion Museum: This museum displays a number of different objects from the colonial era. On top of that, it also has a jewellery maker and a jewellery store inside of it. We went to this museum, and our favorite part was to see the old pictures of how it was made. It’s free to enter the museum, so for this reason we 100% recommend you to go and have a look. You can just leave a small donation that you see fit in the box when you leave.
8. See ALL the old streets
One of the absolute best things to do in Galle Fort is to just walk around the old streets of the city. We really enjoyed the quiet, which we weren’t used to after traveling in Sri Lanka for the past 2 weeks.
Some of the houses look really beautiful and some look like they could fall apart by the slightest touch – such an interesting contrast. Just walking around in Galle Fort without a destination gave us the chance to just enjoy the city as it is.
By doing this, we also found the best curry in the fort at Lucky Fort Restaurant. So make sure to walk up and down each street within Galle Fort – trust us on this, it won’t take long!
9. Go shopping
Fancy a new dress or a new necklace?
Within the walls of Galle Fort, you’ll find several shopping opportunities. There are some nice clothing stores, although at the end you’ll realise many of them offer a lot of the same outfits… However, there are also a lot of jewellery stores, most of which offer jewellery at a much lower price than other countries.
We personally didn’t go and buy jewellery, so we wouldn’t know what stores to recommend to you. You can always get a recommendation from your hotel if you’re looking to buy something pretty for a special someone – or maybe for yourself?
10. Watch a cricket game
Cricket is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka, so consider watching a cricket match while you’re in Galle.
Galle International Stadium is known as one of the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world with the fortification on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other.
Unfortunately, we haven’t experienced a cricket match on this stadium ourselves, but if you want to know more you can ask at your hotel or simply head straight to the stadium and ask. The stadium is located right outside of Galle Fort’s entrance.
11. Go to the beach
Did you know that Galle Fort actually has a beach that you can go swim at?
…Well we didn’t until we saw it while standing at the lighthouse. And of course, we decided that we just had to go for a dip!
While it’s not the most beautiful beach you can find in Sri Lanka, it still does the job. We had a nice little swim, and it was such a great way to cool down.
12. Watch the Fort Jumpers
Another fun thing to do in Galle Fort is to watch the Fort Jumpers.
The Fort Jumpers are some adventurous Sri Lankan people who jumps off the Fort’s bastions and straight into the sea.
You can find the Fort Jumpers at Flag Rock, which is the bastion next to Point Utrecht Bastion by the ligthouse.
13. Have a walk in modern Galle
Galle is actually much more than just the Fort Area itself.
In Galle’s modern city you will find the train station and the bus station that will take you around the South Coast – and even all the way to Colombo. So chances are, that you will start your journey into Galle Fort from here.
We unfortunately never took the time to wander around Galle City, so we cannot recommend any places for you to see… But it feels like a world of difference between Galle’s modern city and Galle’s historical fort, so make sure to venture out of the walls – at least just to feel the difference of the two areas.
14. Go on a day trip from Galle Fort
Did you know that there are several day trips that you can do from Galle Fort? Below, we’ve gathered some of the best tours that we could find – everything from bike tours to visiting the rainforest to going to the beach.
- Bike tour: Want to get off the beaten path? Then check out this cycling tour in Galle where you’ll visit several places including local villages, a lagoon, and a coconut factory. See all the things that the area around Galle Fort has to offer with a local guide.
- Beaches: Want to spend time at the ocean? Jump on the local bus and visit some of the great beach cities like Mirissa and Unawatuna. Are you more of the adventurous type? Then jump on a bus to Hikkaduwa and go on a surfing lesson.
- Sinharaja Rainforest: Want to experience Sri Lanka’s rainforest? Less than 100 kilometers away from Galle, you’ll find the incredible Sinharaja Rainforest, which has been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage since 1988 due to its endemic flora and fauna. Check out this highly-reviewed private tour to Sinharaja Rainforest.
- Udawalawe National Park: Want to see Sri Lanka’s wild elephants? Then check out this private safari tour to Udawalawe National Park. This national park is mostly known for its big herds of elephants, but you can also spot other wildlife like crocodiles, deer, boars, monkeys, and many other animals including a wide range of birds.
We hope you enjoyed this travel guide to all the best things to do in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka. We really enjoyed our visit in this little cute city and we hope to be back some day!
If you have any questions about Galle Fort, then don’t hesitate to write in the comment box below, and we’ll get back to you.
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
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