Sri Lanka's seafront commercial capital: Galle Face Green, the Pettah bazaars and Gangaramaya Temple
Most journeys to Sri Lanka begin in Colombo, and the city rewards a day or two before you head inland or along the coast. Its best-known open space is Galle Face Green, a strip of lawn and promenade between Galle Road and the Indian Ocean where kite flyers, picnicking families and snack vendors gather as the sun drops into the sea.
A short ride north, Pettah is the old trading quarter outside the former fort: a dense grid of wholesale streets selling everything from spices and textiles to gold, with the candy-striped Red Mosque rising above the shopfronts. To the south-east, Gangaramaya Temple near Beira Lake blends Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Chinese styles and houses an unusual museum of donated treasures, while its lakeside Seema Malaka pavilion was redesigned by the architect Geoffrey Bawa.
Galle Face Green began as open ground cleared by the Dutch to give their cannon a clear line of fire against the Portuguese. Under British rule it became a racecourse in the 1820s, and Governor Sir Henry Ward laid out the seaside promenade, which was completed in 1859. Golf, cricket and rugby were all played here in the nineteenth century, and the green remains the setting for National Day celebrations on 4 February.
Pettah takes its name from the Tamil pettai, a settlement outside a fort. It grew as the commercial district beside colonial Colombo, and today Muslim and Tamil traders dominate many of its streets, with Sea Street known for its long row of jewellers. The Khan Clock Tower, built by a Parsi family from Bombay, marks the entrance to the market, and the Old Town Hall stands nearby.
Gangaramaya was established in the late nineteenth century by the scholar monk Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera on what had been a small hermitage on marshy land beside Beira Lake. The temple runs social programmes including a vocational school and homes for the elderly, and its Navam Perahera procession each February draws large crowds.
Colombo is a city of many faiths living side by side: within a short distance of Gangaramaya you will find Hindu kovils, churches and mosques, and the temple itself describes its doors as open to people of every community. Poya (full-moon) days are public holidays when Buddhist devotees visit temples to observe precepts and meditate. Galle Face Green is where much of the city comes to relax, especially at weekends, when families picnic and vendors sell snacks along the seafront.
Start early in Pettah while the streets are cooler, walking from the Khan Clock Tower through the wholesale lanes to the Red Mosque and on to the Dutch Period Museum, which displays colonial-era furniture, coins and household objects. The Pettah Floating Market on Beira Lake, opened in 2014, has dozens of small shops and food stalls if you want a break from the traffic.
In the afternoon visit Gangaramaya Temple and the Seema Malaka pavilion on the lake, then head to Galle Face Green for sunset. Join locals for an evening stroll along the promenade, watch the kites, and try snacks from the food carts that line the seafront.
Colombo is warm and humid all year. As a general guide, many visitors find the drier months from December to March the most comfortable for walking the city, while the south-west monsoon brings heavier rain from roughly May to September. Gangaramaya's Navam Perahera takes place in February, and National Day events on Galle Face Green fall on 4 February, so expect crowds and road closures around those dates.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
Pettah's street-food stalls sell local snacks such as samosas and kottu, and the Floating Market on Beira Lake has food stalls and a cafe. Colombo Fort railway station and the central bus stands sit on the edge of Pettah, making it the main transport hub for trains along the coast and inland. Many hotels are concentrated along Galle Road between Fort and Kollupitiya, close to Galle Face Green.
Sri Lanka · 3 nights3★ HotelSri Lanka · 3 nights4★ HotelSri Lanka · 3 nights5★ HotelThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 27 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
