Housed in a 17th-century Nayak queen's palace, this excellent museum contains an impressively moving and comprehensive account of India’s struggle for independence from 1757 to 1947, and the English-language text spares no detail about British rule. Included in the exhibition is the blood-stained dhoti that Gandhi was wearing when he was assassinated in Delhi in 1948; it was here in Madurai, in 1921, that he first took up wearing the dhoti as a sign of native pride.
The small Madurai Government Museum is next door, and the Gandhian Literary Society Bookshop behind. Yoga takes place in the museum's grounds; no bookings needed.
Bus 75 from Periyar Bus Stand goes to the Tamukkam bus stop on Alagarkoil Rd, 600m from the museum.
