VAUX Park Street / Explore Colombo
Stay where the routes begin. VAUX Park Street is eight serviced lofts at 60/10 Park Street, Colombo 02, next door to Park Street Mews, with a rooftop pool and a 24/7 concierge. Every itinerary on this page starts at our door.
24 hours in Colombo
The essentials in one unhurried day: a temple and a lake pavilion, the noise of Pettah, lunch in a 17th-century courtyard, Geoffrey Bawa’s home and sunset on the seafront.
- 8:00
Gangaramaya Temple
Start early at one of Colombo’s best-known Buddhist temples, part place of worship and part museum of wonderfully odd treasures gathered from around the world.
Cover shoulders and knees, and leave shoes and hats at the entrance.
Open in Google Maps - 9:15
Seema Malaka
Walk a few minutes to Geoffrey Bawa’s calm pavilion on Beira Lake, with its row of Buddhas looking over the water.
Come back after dark one evening: it is beautifully lit at night.
Open in Google Maps - 10:15
Pettah market and the Red Mosque
Plunge into Colombo’s busiest bazaar, where each lane has its own trade. On Second Cross Street, the red-and-white Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, built in 1909, stops everyone in their tracks, and Bombay Sweetmeat Mart opposite pours a cooling falooda.
Go before the midday heat, keep your bag close, dress modestly at the mosque and avoid Friday prayers.
Open in Google Maps - 12:30
Lunch at the Dutch Hospital
One of the oldest buildings in the Fort, its colonnaded courtyards now hold restaurants and bars. Ministry of Crab is the famous one, for lagoon crab in every size.
Book Ministry of Crab ahead. For something local and inexpensive, Mayura Hotel in Pettah serves crab curry on banana leaves.
Open in Google Maps - 13:45
Coffee at Radicle Gallery
A few minutes’ walk from the Dutch Hospital, in the De Mel Building on Chatham Street: excellent specialty coffee upstairs and a changing art exhibition in the gallery below.
Open daily from 7am, so it also makes a good start to a morning in the Fort.
Open in Google Maps
Afternoon
- 14:30
Back to VAUX
Sit out the hottest part of the day in the rooftop pool, or with a cold drink on your balcony.
The roof and pool are open until 10pm.
Late afternoon and evening
Route from VAUX on Google Maps- 16:00
Number 11
A guided tour of Geoffrey Bawa’s own Colombo home: courtyards, light wells, art and the architect’s Rolls-Royce behind latticed doors.
No booking needed: just walk in for the next tour (Monday to Friday at 10am, 2pm and 3:30pm; weekends at 11am, plus 4pm on Saturdays).
Open in Google Maps - 17:00
The Gallery Café
Geoffrey Bawa’s former office, now Paradise Road’s restaurant, with open-air courtyards, a lily pond and an art gallery. Stop for coffee and one of its famous desserts, or come back another night for dinner.
Open daily from 10am until midnight; book ahead for dinner.
Open in Google Maps - 18:00
Galle Face Green
Join the city on its seafront promenade as the sun goes down, with families and kites, then cross to the Galle Face Hotel for a sunset cocktail in its courtyard facing the sea.
Weekend evenings are the liveliest.
Open in Google Maps - 19:30
Dinner, then home
Eat at Upali’s for a proper rice and curry, or Nuga Gama for a Sri Lankan buffet in a village-style garden. Finish with a nightcap at Park Street Mews, next door to VAUX.
On the way back, the Lotus Tower lights up the skyline.
Open in Google Maps
These routes start at VAUX Park Street, a short walk from Park Street Mews. Book direct and enjoy early check-in when available, or see what is on our doorstep.
More Colombo guides
- Itinerary 2A rainy day in ColomboMonsoon months, sudden downpours, a slower day
- Itinerary 4The ultimate Colombo food guideHungry travellers
- Guide 7Colombo through the yearFestivals and holidays, any month
- Guide 8Day trips from ColomboFree days, longer stays
- Guide 9A Geoffrey Bawa trailArchitecture and design lovers
- Guide 6Colombo after darkNight owls, couples, groups of friends
Stay in the middle of it all
VAUX Park Street is a collection of eight serviced lofts in Colombo 02, next door to Park Street Mews, with a rooftop pool and a 24/7 concierge. Every route on this page starts at our door.
Book direct and enjoy early check-in when available.
