Salar Jung Museum
One man's collection — a Nizam's prime minister who spent decades buying, including a veiled marble Rebecca and a 19th-century English musical clock.
Closed Fridays. Be at the clock gallery before the hour.
3 hrs
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Hyderabad
Qutb Shahi kings built it in 1591 when the fort at Golconda ran out of water; the Nizams kept it a separate state until 1948.
Musi
1518
Golconda
A diamond-trading sultanate rises.
1591
Charminar
A new city laid out on the Musi.
1724
The Nizams
Asaf Jahi rule begins, lasting 224 years.
1948
Accession
The princely state joins India.
Chowmahalla Palace
The Nizams' own seat from the 1750s, its durbar hall, vintage cars and household records open since 2005.
Closed Fridays. The Khilwat durbar hall's chandeliers are the highlight.
90 min
The Nizam's Museum
Gifts presented to the last Nizam for his 1936 silver jubilee, and the 6th Nizam's enormous wardrobe, in Purani Haveli palace.
Closed Fridays; small but quick to see.
60 min
Telangana State Museum
Founded under the Nizams in 1930, with Buddhist sculpture, Bidri ware and an Egyptian mummy.
Closed Fridays.
90 min
Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art
Founded in 1976 by collector Jagdish Mittal (who died in 2025 aged 99), it houses 14th-century Jain textiles among the world's only three known surviving examples.
Small and private; call ahead to arrange a visit.
75 min