Syed Mainul Hossain's design won a national competition in 1978. Its seven pairs of triangular walls stand for seven milestones of the independence struggle, from the 1952 language movement to the 1971 war, and grow taller towards the centre. The approach leads past mass graves, a long pool and wide lawns. On 26 March and 16 December the grounds fill with people laying flowers.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry free; bus from Gabtoli about ৳50 each way
How to get to National Martyrs' Memorial
About 35 km north-west of central Dhaka on the Dhaka–Aricha highway. Buses from Gabtoli bound for Savar, Nabinagar or Manikganj stop at the gate; allow an hour or more in traffic.
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: Mahbub Hossain Shaheed (mahosha), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Ahsan Manzil আহসান মঞ্জিল
The pink, domed palace of the Nawabs of Dhaka on the Buriganga riverfront, now a museum of the family's rooms and portraits.
- 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
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: 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