Things to Do in Colombo

The closest archaeological site to Lima is Pachacamac, a pre-Inca collection of sand-blasted pyramid temples and palaces spanning 1,500 years. Over the centuries the now-ruined city developed into one of the Inca’s most important religious and administrative centers.

Though all that remains is largely the rubble of walls and stepped foundations rising from the surrounding dusty desert, there are excavations and reconstructions to see, including a rebuilt Inca complex called House of the Chosen Women.

The site was inhabited by the Huari people prior to 800 AD, and later by the Inca, who built their Temple to the sun on the main square. Itshma was the name given to the state surrounding Pachacamac and the religious ceremonial temples built to honor the coastal deity, Pacha Camac.

The site was inhabited until 1533, when it was destroyed by Spanish conquistador Pizarro.

The on-site museum helps explain the significance of Pachacamac’s ceremonial temples, and displays artifacts unearthed at the site.

The Oslo National Gallery houses a proud collection of works comprised mainly by works of Norwegian painters from the 19th century until about 1945. These are including but not limited to famous landscape painter J. C. Dahl, T. Fearnley, H. F. Gude, naturalist painter and illustrator C. Krohg, and G. P. Munthe. There is also a special separate exhibit devoted to the much beloved Edvard Munch and his world renowned painting ‘The Scream,’ back in action after its theft in 2006.

There are also works by other Scandinavian artists including pictures by El Greco, Rubens and Rembrandt, as well as a collection of modern works and a room containing replicas of antique sculptures.

In 2003 the National Gallery joined with three other Norwegian museums to become the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design, making them all in effect the cultural and historical hub of Norwegian culture and art.

With such an array of collected art, The National Gallery contains the largest collection of domestic and international art in the country and simply cannot be looked over by any visitor. 

Norway’s stylish, innovative new arts center opened in 2008 at Bjørvika, with views stretching out over Oslo Fjord. It is home to the national ballet, opera and orchestral companies but audiences probably come as much for the sublime waterside setting of this gleaming white auditorium as they do for the performances. Designed by Norwegian architect Tarald Lundevall, who also built the National September 11 Memorial Museum & Pavilion in New York, the opera house is constructed of marble, granite and glass and won the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award for Contemporary Architecture in 2009. Inside there are three main stages, combined able to seat audiences of up to 2,000; all this is supported by a staff of 620 led by artistic director Tom Remlov in a labyrinth of more than 1,000 studios and workshops.

The Oude Kerk (or Old Church) is the city's oldest surviving building, consecrated in 1306. Yet the location of this triple-nave, late-Gothic church embodies a huge moral contradiction: it's in full view of the Red Light District, with passers-by getting chatted up a stones throw from the church walls.

Still, this Gothic-style church rewards visitors with one of the finest carillons in the country, the city's oldest church bell (1450), and a stunning Christian Müller organ that’s still used for recitals. Check out the lively 15th century carvings on the choir stalls, some of which are downright rude.

The floor of the church consists entirely of gravestones, as the church itself was built on a cemetery. There are 2,500 graves in the Oude Kerk, under which are buried 10,000 Amsterdam citizens, including Rembrandt's first wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh. Rembrandt himself visited the Oude Kerk often, and his children were all christened here. Be sure to climb up the church tower for panoramic views of Amsterdam.