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Dhaka, Bangladesh, top 10 things to do (Wimup travel guide)
▶ Video · Dhaka on Foot
Video guide · 1:20:23
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Top 10AsiaBangladesh

Top 10 Things To Do in Dhaka

Country
Bangladesh
Best months
Nov · Dec · Jan · Feb
Population
10.3M
Language
Bangla
Budget / day
$25–60
Quick answer

Three days is the right length. Give the first to Old Dhaka on foot and by rickshaw: Lalbagh Fort at opening, Ahsan Manzil, the Star Mosque, Shakhari Bazar, and Sadarghat at dusk. Day two is the modern capital: Kahn's parliament, the Liberation War Museum and the National Museum. Keep the third for Sonargaon or Savar. Ride the metro at least once.

Dhaka on Foot

▶ Video guide

Dhaka is one of the densest cities on earth and it does not apologise for it. The Mughals made it the capital of Bengal in 1610 and grew rich on muslin; in 1971 it became the capital of a country that had just fought for the right to speak its own language. All four layers are still standing.

The 10 best things to do in Dhaka

Lalbagh Fort, Dhaka, Bangladesh
1

Lalbagh Fort

Fort· Lalbagh Road, Lalbagh, Dhaka 1211

The most complete Mughal site in the city is also an unfinished one. Aurangzeb's son began it in 1678 and was recalled within a year; his successor carried on until his daughter died here in 1684, after which the project was abandoned as unlucky. Three buildings and the water channels between them.

Time1.5 hr
CostTicketed at the gate
Best atOpening time
TipWalk the central water channel from the Diwan-i-Aam to the mosque before turning into the tomb
↗ WebsiteMap
Ahsan Manzil, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2

Ahsan Manzil

Palace museum· Kumartuli, Islampur Road, Dhaka 1100

The Pink Palace sits on the north bank with its own landing stage, which tells you how its owners expected to arrive. Built between 1859 and 1872, wrecked by a tornado in 1888 and rebuilt. Its 23 galleries hold the furniture and portraits of the Dhaka Nawabs, whose money came from land, jute and river trade.

Time1 hr
CostTicketed at the gate
Best atMid-morning
TipPhotography rules inside the galleries change
↗ WebsiteMap
Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Dhaka, Bangladesh
3

Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban

Architecture· Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka 1207

The reason a certain kind of traveller comes to Dhaka at all. Louis Kahn took the commission in 1962 and worked on it until his death in 1974; it was inaugurated in 1982, by which time it served a country that had not existed when it was designed. Circles and half-moons cut clean through concrete banded with marble.

Time45 min
CostFree from the grounds
Best atLate afternoon
TipAccess inside is controlled and depends on parliament’s sitting calendar
↗ WebsiteMap
Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh
4

Bangladesh National Museum

Museum· Shahbagh, Dhaka 1000

Four floors run from the geology of the delta through Bengal's Hindu and Buddhist sculpture to the Language Movement and the Liberation War. The stone sculpture galleries are the reason to come: black basalt figures from Pala-era eastern Bengal, carved with a precision the rest of the subcontinent did not match.

Time2 hr
CostTicketed at the gate
Best atWeekday morning
TipStart on the top floor and work down
↗ WebsiteMap
Star Mosque, Dhaka, Bangladesh
5

Star Mosque

Mosque· Abul Khairat Road, Armanitola, Dhaka 1100

Small, hemmed in by houses, and covered in broken crockery. A 1926 renovation redid the surfaces in chinitikri, the Bengali technique of setting chips of china and coloured glass into plaster. Hundreds of blue stars scatter across the white domes, and the wall panels show Mount Fuji. Nothing else in Dhaka looks like it.

Time30 min
CostFree
Best atBetween prayers
TipThis is a working neighbourhood mosque
↗ Tourism boardMap
Sadarghat and the Buriganga, Dhaka, Bangladesh
6

Sadarghat and the Buriganga

Riverfront· Sadarghat Launch Terminal, Ahsanullah Road, Dhaka 1100

Bangladesh is a delta before it is anything else, and this is where that becomes obvious. Through the late afternoon the double-decker launches fill for the southern islands, their horns audible several streets away. Small wooden ferries cross for a few taka, and that gives the best view of the old city.

Time1 hr
CostFree to walk
Best atAn hour before sunset
TipAgree the fare for a rowboat crossing before you step in
↗ Tourism boardMap
Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh
7

Liberation War Museum

Museum· Plot F11, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka 1207

The clearest account of how Bangladesh came to exist, running from partition in 1947 through the Language Movement, the 1970 cyclone and the nine months of the 1971 war. Much of the collection was donated by families: letters, identity cards, clothing. An hour here makes every monument in the city legible.

Time1.5 hr
CostTicketed at the gate
Best atWeekday morning
TipThe lower gallery covering the killing fields is confronting and is not suitable for younger children
↗ WebsiteMap
Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection, Dhaka, Bangladesh
8

Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection

Church· Armenian Street, Armanitola, Dhaka 1100

Armenian merchants ran a substantial share of Bengal's jute and salt trade, and the neighbourhood still carries their name. The church was completed in 1781 on the site of their graveyard. What survives is a white galleried chapel and several hundred gravestones inscribed in Armenian. The last family left decades ago.

Time30 min
CostFree
Best atLate morning
TipThe gate is often shut and the caretaker opens it on request
↗ Tourism boardMap
9

Shakhari Bazar

Historic street· Shakhari Bazar Road, Old Dhaka 1100

One narrow lane, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited streets in the city. The shakharis cut bangles from imported conch shells and have done so since the Mughal period, when the street was granted to the caste that practised it. The ground floors are workshops you can watch from the pavement.

Time1 hr
CostFree
Best atMid-morning
TipWalk it from the Shakhari Bazar end towards Tanti Bazar rather than the reverse
Map
Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
10

Central Shaheed Minar

Monument· Dhaka Medical College Road, Bakshibazar, Dhaka 1000

In February 1952 police fired on students demonstrating for Bangla to be a state language of Pakistan. The monument is deliberately plain: white columns curving around a taller one, with a red disc behind. Every 21 February the city walks here barefoot from midnight carrying flowers.

Time30 min
CostFree
Best atEarly evening
TipVisitors remove their shoes on the plinth
↗ Tourism boardMap

9 of the 10, mapped

Dhaka · 9 spots
AllLandmarksMuseumsMosquesFree

Dhaka travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Dhaka?+
Three. One for Old Dhaka on foot: Lalbagh, Ahsan Manzil, the Star Mosque, Shakhari Bazar and Sadarghat at dusk. One for the modern capital: the parliament, the Liberation War Museum and the Shaheed Minar. One for a trip out to Sonargaon or Savar. The traffic will decide as much as the itinerary.
When is the best time to visit Dhaka?+
November to February. It is dry, temperatures are manageable and the humidity drops, which is why the festival calendar sits there. June to September is the monsoon, a season rather than a shower: streets flood and journeys double. Air quality is at its worst in the dry months, so bring a mask if you are sensitive.
How do you get around Dhaka?+
Use the metro wherever it goes: Line 6 runs elevated from Uttara North to Motijheel, and it is the only journey in the city immune to traffic. For everything else, cycle rickshaws handle short hops and apps remove the negotiation. Do not rent a car, and do not plan a day around crossing the city twice.
How do you get from the airport into the city?+
The airport sits about 15 kilometres north, and the road in is the slowest part of any arrival. Ride-hailing apps work from the terminal and are cheaper than the taxi desks. Allow an hour to Gulshan and well over that to Old Dhaka. Uttara, at the northern end of the metro, is sensible for an early departure.
Where should you stay in Dhaka?+
Gulshan and Banani for hotels and embassies, and for the quietest streets in the city; Dhanmondi for a more local neighbourhood with the lake and good eating at lower prices. Old Dhaka has the sights and almost no accommodation worth the trade. Anywhere near a metro station saves an hour a day.
Mughal and colonial Dhaka

Best historic landmarks in Dhaka

Six survivors of the city’s four hundred years as a capital, all within Old Dhaka and the university quarter.
All 6 historic landmarks →
Chawk Bazar

Bara Katra

Mughal caravanserai · 1644

A Mughal caravanserai of around 1644, once a courtyard building of twenty-two rooms on the riverfront. The great southern gateway still stands.

Map
Hakim Habibur Rahman Lane

Chhota Katra

Mughal caravanserai · 1663

The smaller sister building, put up around 1663 a few hundred metres east: a monumental gate, a stretch of wall, and a neighbourhood built into the rest.

Map
Bakshibazar

Hussaini Dalan

Imambara · Mughal

Dhaka's principal Shia imambara, founded in the Mughal period and rebuilt after the 1897 earthquake. Its Muharram procession is the largest in the country.

Map
Rose Garden PalaceTikatuli

Rose Garden Palace

Zamindar mansion · 19th century

A late nineteenth-century zamindar mansion with a colonnaded front. Bangladesh's Awami League was founded inside it in 1949.

Map
Curzon HallDhaka University

Curzon Hall

Indo-Saracenic · 1904

Built in 1904 and named for the viceroy who partitioned Bengal, then handed to the university. Red brick and Mughal detailing on a European plan.

Map
Northbrook HallFarashganj

Northbrook Hall

Colonial hall · 1880

Known locally as Lal Kuthi, the red house: a riverside public hall of 1880 with a decorated brick front facing the Buriganga.

Map
Beyond the national collection

Best museums in Dhaka

Four smaller museums, all of them a short ride from Agargaon.
All 4 museums →
Bangladesh Military MuseumBijoy Sarani

Bangladesh Military Museum

Military history

A large modern museum on Bijoy Sarani covering the armed forces from the Mughal period on, with tanks and aircraft in the grounds.

Map
Bangladesh Air Force MuseumAgargaon

Bangladesh Air Force Museum

Aviation · open air

The country's first aviation museum, on the edge of the old Tejgaon runway. Retired fighters and helicopters parked on grass you can walk between.

Map
National Museum of Science and TechnologyAgargaon

National Museum of Science and Technology

Science · family

Bangladesh's only science museum, at Agargaon since 1981. Hands-on galleries, a planetarium and school groups most weekday mornings.

Map
National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala AcademySegunbagicha

National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

Modern art

The state art academy holds the national collection of modern Bangladeshi painting and stages the Asian Art Biennale. Check what is hanging first.

↗ WebsiteMap
Where Dhaka eats

Best restaurants in Dhaka

Six kitchens, most of them older than the country, and none of them expensive.
All 6 restaurants →
Haji BiriyaniNazira Bazar

Haji Biriyani

Mutton biryani · since 1939

The Old Dhaka institution, trading since 1939 and still selling one thing: mutton biryani, mustard-oil heavy, with no menu and no negotiation.

Map
Nanna BiryaniBecharam Deuri

Nanna Biryani

Morog polao

The other name Old Dhaka argues about, known for morog polao rather than the heavier kacchi. The better first introduction if you are unsure.

Map
Nazira Bazar

Hotel Al-Razzaque

Bangladeshi · all day

A big, plain, permanently full dining room doing the whole Old Dhaka repertoire: kacchi, tehari, glassy beef curries and kebabs off the front grill.

Map
Beauty BoardingBangla Bazar

Beauty Boarding

Bengali · since 1949

A boarding house from 1949 that became the meeting place of Dhaka's poets and film people. The lunch is straightforward; the room is the point.

Map
Star Kabab and RestaurantDhanmondi

Star Kabab and Restaurant

Kebabs · breakfast

A Dhaka chain locals treat as a default, strongest at breakfast: naan straight off the tandoor with beef bhuna or nihari.

Map
Dhanmondi

Kacchi Bhai

Kacchi biryani

The modern take on the city's defining dish, with air conditioning and a queueing system, which is not nothing in August. Order kacchi with borhani.

Map
The city of mosques

Best mosques and temples in Dhaka

Five places of worship spanning five centuries, from a Sultanate mosque to a national one.
All 5 mosques and temples →
Baitul Mukarram National MosquePaltan

Baitul Mukarram National Mosque

National mosque · 1968

The national mosque, completed in 1968, a white cube deliberately echoing the Kaaba and unusual in having no dome over the prayer hall.

Map
Dhakeshwari National TempleDhakeshwari

Dhakeshwari National Temple

Hindu temple · national

The national Hindu temple and the source of the city's name, traditionally attributed to the twelfth century and rebuilt many times since.

Map
Sat Gambuj MosqueMohammadpur

Sat Gambuj Mosque

Mughal · c. 1684

A provincial Mughal mosque of about 1684, on a raised bank that once overlooked the floodplain. Three domes and four corner turrets give it its name.

Map
Binat Bibi MosqueNarinda

Binat Bibi Mosque

Sultanate · 1454

Dated 1454 and the oldest surviving mosque in Dhaka, a century and a half before the Mughals arrived. Easy to walk past in the lanes of Narinda.

Map
Khan Mohammad Mridha MosqueLalbagh

Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque

Mughal · early 1700s

An early eighteenth-century mosque raised on a vaulted platform, so the courtyard sits at roof height over the shops. Five minutes from Lalbagh.

Map
Bazaars and shopping

Best markets in Dhaka

Six markets, from a Mughal-era bazaar to the biggest mall in the country.
All 6 markets →
Old Dhaka

Chawk Bazar

Wholesale bazaar

The old commercial heart of Mughal Dhaka and still a wholesale bazaar. It becomes something else during Ramadan, when the iftar market takes the streets.

Map
New MarketAzimpur

New Market

General market · 1954

Opened in 1954 and still the general-purpose market of central Dhaka. Nilkhet, the second-hand and pirated book market, is next door.

Map
Karwan Bazar

Karwan Bazar

Wholesale produce

The main wholesale produce and fish market, and the reason a good deal of Dhaka is awake at four in the morning. Go before dawn or not at all.

Map
Bashundhara City Shopping ComplexPanthapath

Bashundhara City Shopping Complex

Shopping mall · 2004

The largest mall in Bangladesh, with a cinema, an ice rink and a top-floor food court. Useful for a cold hour as much as for shopping.

↗ WebsiteMap
Tejgaon

Aarong

Crafts · fixed price

BRAC's craft retailer, working with tens of thousands of artisans. The best place to buy jamdani, nakshi kantha and brass, at fixed prices.

↗ WebsiteMap
Old Dhaka

Islampur

Fabric wholesale

A single street of wholesale fabric shops, stacked floor to ceiling with cotton, silk and synthetics. Buy by the yard and take a rickshaw out.

Map
Where to spend your time

Best neighborhoods in Dhaka

Six areas that between them cover almost everything a visitor comes for.
All 6 neighborhoods →
Puran DhakaSouth of the centre

Puran Dhaka

Historic core

Old Dhaka, north of the Buriganga: the Mughal monuments, the artisan lanes, the biryani, and the densest street life in the country.

Map
Central

Shahbagh

Museums and campus

The university and museum quarter, with the National Museum, the flower market and Ramna Park. Where the city gathers when it wants to protest.

Map
West-central

Dhanmondi

Restaurants and lake

A planned residential district from the 1950s, now full of restaurants and galleries. The lake through the middle is the pleasantest walk in central Dhaka.

Map
North

Gulshan

Diplomatic · hotels

The diplomatic quarter, with the embassies, the international hotels and the supermarkets that stock what you cannot find elsewhere.

Map
North

Banani

Dining

Gulshan's younger neighbour, and where much of Dhaka's eating out has migrated: Korean, Thai and Levantine kitchens stacked along Road 11.

Map
UttaraFar north

Uttara

Near the airport

The northern satellite town, planned on a grid, and the northern terminus of the metro. Convenient if you have an early flight.

Map
Out of the city

Best day trips in Dhaka

Four trips within about an hour and a half of Dhaka in decent traffic.
All 4 day trips →
Sonargaon and Panam NagarNarayanganj

Sonargaon and Panam Nagar

Historic town · 30 km

The pre-Mughal capital of eastern Bengal, 30 kilometres southeast. Panam Nagar is a single abandoned street of fifty merchant houses built by cloth traders.

Map
National Martyrs’ Memorial, SavarSavar

National Martyrs’ Memorial, Savar

National memorial · 35 km

The memorial to the dead of the 1971 war, 35 kilometres northwest: seven pairs of triangular concrete planes of increasing height, above mass graves.

Map
Bhawal National ParkGazipur

Bhawal National Park

Sal forest · 40 km

Sal forest north of the city near Gazipur, and the closest thing to a walk in the woods that Dhaka has. Near empty midweek.

Map
Mawa and the Padma BridgeMunshiganj

Mawa and the Padma Bridge

Bridge and river · 40 km

The bridge opened in 2022 and carries road and rail 6.15 kilometres across the widest river in the country, replacing a ferry that could take half a day.

Map
What's on

Festivals & annual events in Dhaka (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.
Jan

Bishwa Ijtema

One of the largest annual Muslim gatherings in the world, on the bank of the Turag at Tongi.

Feb

Pohela Falgun

The first day of the Bengali spring. The university campus and the flower market fill with yellow saris and marigolds.

Feb–Mar

Amar Ekushey Book Fair

The country's largest literary event, run by Bangla Academy across its grounds.

21 Feb

Ekushey February

Language Martyrs' Day, observed worldwide as International Mother Language Day since 1999.

26 Mar

Independence Day

The declaration of independence in 1971, marked with a gun salute at dawn, a parade and crowds at the Savar memorial.

14 Apr

Pohela Boishakh

Bengali New Year, and the biggest secular festival in the calendar. The dawn procession carries giant papier-mache animals.

Moves yearly

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha

The two Eids empty Dhaka. Millions leave for their home districts, and the city that remains is quiet and pleasant.

Sep–Oct

Durga Puja

Five days of the Hindu autumn festival, centred on the Dhakeshwari temple and the lanes of Shakhari Bazar.

Getting around

Dhaka transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.
DAC

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport

About 15 kilometres north of the old city, and the base of Biman Bangladesh. A third terminal has been finished for some time but its opening deferred, so check which one your airline uses.

↗ WebsiteMap
Metro

Dhaka Metro Rail

MRT Line 6 opened in 2022 and reached Motijheel in 2023: 16 elevated stations over 21.3 kilometres. Air conditioned, quick, and the only journey in Dhaka that traffic cannot lengthen.

↗ WebsiteMap
Rail

Bangladesh Railway

Intercity trains leave Kamalapur for Chattogram, Sylhet and Khulna. Slower than the buses and considerably more comfortable, and the Sylhet line is worth taking for its own sake.

↗ WebsiteMap
Road

Rickshaws, CNGs and ride-hailing

Cycle rickshaws are the default under a couple of kilometres; agree the fare first. Uber and the local app Pathao remove the haggling, and Pathao's motorbikes are the fastest way through gridlock.

Map
Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Dhaka, Bangladesh

The classics to order before you leave.

Kacchi biryani

Raw marinated mutton layered with rice and a whole potato, sealed under dough and cooked slowly.

Morog polao

Chicken cooked into fragrant rice with ghee and whole spices. Lighter than kacchi, and a good lunch.

Beef tehari

Small cubes of beef with rice fried in mustard oil, sharper and yellower than biryani. An Old Dhaka lunch.

Shorshe ilish

Hilsa, the national fish, poached in a deliberately pungent ground mustard sauce.

Bhuna khichuri

Rice and lentils fried down with whole spices until each grain separates.

Chotpoti and fuchka

White peas with egg, chilli and tamarind, and hollow shells filled with spiced potato.

Bakarkhani

A dense layered flatbread from Old Dhaka, baked in a tandoor and eaten with tea.

Borhani

Salted yoghurt whisked with mint, mustard and green chilli, served cold alongside biryani.

Dhaka fact sheet

Dhaka at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
Bangladesh
Region
Dhaka Division, on the north bank of the Buriganga in the Ganges and Brahmaputra delta
Population
10,278,882 across the two Dhaka city corporations at the 2022 census, 5,979,537 in Dhaka North and 4,299,345 in Dhaka South
Founded
A Mughal provincial capital from 1610, when Islam Khan Chishti moved the seat of the Bengal Subah here and renamed it Jahangirnagar
Nickname
The city of mosques, and the rickshaw capital of the world
Language
Bangla, with English used in business, hotels and most signage
Currency
Bangladeshi taka (৳, BDT)
Time zone
UTC+6, no daylight saving
Calling code
+880 2
Airports
Hazrat Shahjalal International (DAC) at Kurmitola, about 15 km north of the old city
Power
220V, 50Hz, plug types C, D, G and K in use
Emergency
999
Ideal length
3 days
Getting around
The elevated metro on MRT Line 6, plus cycle rickshaws, CNG autorickshaws and ride-hailing apps
Tourism board
Official site

Interesting facts

  • Dhaka's rickshaws are recognised heritage: UNESCO inscribed the rickshaws and rickshaw painting of the city in December 2023.
  • The city has been a capital four times over: Mughal seat of Bengal from 1610, then again from 1905, and of an independent country from 1971.
  • Bengal muslin was among the most valuable textiles traded anywhere. Its descendant, jamdani, is still woven on handlooms east of the city.
  • Louis Kahn never saw the parliament finished. He took the commission in 1962 and died in 1974, eight years before it was inaugurated.
  • Bangladesh's first metro line opened in December 2022, giving a city of more than ten million its first rail transit.

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