Nawab Abdul Ghani built the palace between 1859 and 1872 and named it after his son, Khwaja Ahsanullah. A tornado in 1888 forced a rebuild of most of the complex; the domed block facing the river is the Rangmahal. Restored by the government and run by the National Museum since 1992, its rooms hold the furniture, portraits and household objects of the Nawab family. Finish with a short boat crossing on the Buriganga from the ghats nearby.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry roughly ৳20–40 for Bangladeshis, more for foreign visitors; a boat across the river about ৳20–50 a person
How to get to Ahsan Manzil
In Kumartoli on the Buriganga, a short walk west of Sadarghat. A rickshaw from Gulistan takes 15–20 minutes through narrow, crowded streets.
Closed on Thursdays; on Fridays it opens only in the afternoon.
More to see in Dhaka
Photo: Farha Fawzia Atashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Lalbagh Fort লালবাগ কেল্লা
An unfinished Mughal fort of 1678 in the old city, with a mosque, a governor's hall and the tomb of Pari Bibi set among lawns.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry roughly ৳20–30 for Bangladeshis, more for foreign visitors; rickshaw from Azimpur about ৳50
Photo: Saiful Aopu & Nahid Sultan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons National Parliament House জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন
Louis Kahn's concrete-and-marble parliament, wrapped by a lake on a campus of about 200 acres, is one of the great buildings of its century.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- About an hour
- Cost
- Free to view from outside; rickshaw from Farmgate about ৳30–50
Photo: Azim Khan Ronnie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons National Martyrs' Memorial জাতীয় স্মৃতিসৌধ
Seven pairs of concrete triangles rising to a single peak at Savar, in memory of those who died in the 1971 Liberation War.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry free; bus from Gabtoli about ৳50 each way
Photo: Dip Loho, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Dhamrai old town ধামরাই
A small trading town known for its wooden Jagannath chariot and for families who still cast brass and bell metal by the lost-wax method.
- Best time
- June–July for the Rath Yatra, or November to February
- Give it
- Half a day
- Cost
- No entry fees; bus from Gabtoli under ৳100 each way; rickshaw in town about ৳30–50
Photo: Asivechowdhury, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Kalakopa zamindar houses কলাকোপার জমিদার বাড়ি
A cluster of 19th-century merchant and zamindar mansions on the Ichamati river in Nawabganj, with the odd temple-house of Khelaram Data.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- Half a day
- Cost
- No entry fees; bus from Dhaka about ৳100 each way; rickshaw around the houses about ৳150–200