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City in the Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Photo: Saqib Qayyum, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Galle is in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Galle's old town with its fortifications have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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Anglican Church.
is a place you must not miss
Always make a donation and say a prayer for good luck.
A walk here at sunset is very pleasant if you don't mind being hassled to buy table cloths, fake antique 'Dutch' coins, or powdered milk.
the view from on a clear day is also quite lovely
It is housed in the old Dutch East India Company VOC Warehouse in Galle Fort.
Look inside.
Kaluwella Catholic Church
Al Bahjathul Ibrahimiya Arabic College
Found: 1892.
Beach club with great vibe and excellent drinks. Bring your towel and enjoy the day there.
Hear all the interesting stories about the Galle Fort. Audios will play automatically as you explore the ramparts using the curated route maps. Will work offline once downloaded.
Literally a hole in the wall located just behind the main Galle Fish Market. it's a tiny, one family-operation: father cooks, mother prepares plates and cleans. Only 5 plastic chairs and a small counter, not enough space to turn around. For adventurous travellers looking for a truly local restaurant outside the typical tourist restaurants or the made-only-for-foreigners "authentic cooking experiences", it's by far the best option for seafood in Galle. Buy your seafood fresh yourself, either at the market directly in front of this restaurant or at any other market. Bring your seafood to this restaurant around lunchtime, and the owner will cook it for you with spices and coconut curry. 1 kg of crabs costs around Rs 700 in the market, pay the restaurant Rs 500 more, so for Rs 1200 total, you have a huge feast for 2 people: 1kg of freshly cooked crabs in coconut curry with unlimited rice, dahl (lentils) and vegetable curries. Nowhere in Galle or the surrounding beach towns offers such a good deal, neither in price or in taste. Tuna, prawns, squid... you choose whatever you want, you can get it fresh and cooked in delicious coconut curry.
It serves a mixture of local foods, pizzas, sandwiches and other snacks.
Authentic Sri Lankan food. Mama and her daughter run two cooking classes daily (morning and noon) which includes sitting down to eat the food you learn to cook. It is often difficult to get a table at the roof top restaurant, but it might be easier to book the afternoon cooking class including dinner. The cooking class was a highlight of Galle.
A good option for dessert. It can be quite hard to get them to serve you food as they often close their kitchen for cooking classes during the day and also closes quite early at night (before 9PM).
The milkshakes are a must for a hot day, and the sandwiches are pretty good, too! If staying for dinner be sure to finish it off with the home made chocolate brownies with ice cream.
The products are a mixture of home made and bought produce. The home made mango and the home made coconut is particularly good. The brownies are better at the "Fort Galle Hotel".
For a treat, try the all-you-can eat buffet at this ultra posh place for only about Rs 1200. (You might not get any further than the hors d'oeuvres.)
does good local and "international" meals and serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It is quite expensive by local standards though at about SLR1600 (US$15) for a meal with a couple of drinks.
The rooms have a shared balcony overlooking the ramparts at the southern end of Galle Fort with the Indian Ocean beyond, and it has a small roof garden. The rooms are clean, with air-con, and the owners are friendly and helpful. The breakfasts include lots of fresh fruit, bread, eggs and good rich tea.
This guest house has four well equipped clean rooms with traditional four poster double beds with hanging net curtains. Two of the rooms have air conditioning and the other two have fans. All rooms are well equipped with electric hot water showers. The main guest bedroom has a large balcony overlooking the main street and two of the other rooms have internal balconies overlooking the terrace. The owners are very friendly and helpful. They also provide dinner and breakfast: either Continental or traditional Sri Lankan.
Great little huts on the beach run by local family. 2 huts only. Third hut was built by the father as of May 2018, partly using recycled material.
Four-room family-run guest house. Can provide breakfast, lunch and dinner by request. Free internet. Rooms have attached bathroom with hot shower, fan and two rooms with air conditioning. Roof top room with ocean view.
Longest running family guest house in a historical Dutch fort. Good traditional meals. All rooms with attached bath and hot water and some rooms with balcony sea view. Good value. The establishment sets a night curfew to its guests and maintains a no pork and alcohol rule in its premise.
They have only two en suite rooms, but the best roof terrace in the fort. Fresh breakfast from local food served by a willing local family, fluent English-speaking ex tour guide Jerome runs his own business. Good value.
Templeberg Villa is a Boutique Estate with 5 rooms, including a standalone 2 bedroom Family Bungalow. Built in the 1800s and in private ownership until 2012, the property has been refurbished and updated and turned into a guest house. Situated next to a temple and on top of a hill, the house is on 5 acres of coconut plantation. You can enjoy birds in the sprawling terraced gardens. The villa's stone walls are over 200 years old. Breakfast included in the rate, free wifi, laundry service and complete with private cook and 10 staff.
5-star hotel housed in the former Dutch governor's residence
Superior and deluxe rooms, all equipped with air-conditioning, plasma-screen TV and in-room safe. Facilities and services are swimming pool, garden and restaurant. Several key destinations can also be spotted near this boutique hotel.
Consists of 49 guest rooms and 4 suites with facilities such as an infinity pool and spa.
This sprawling manor, built in the 1800s by a prominent family in the Galle district was first occupied by a British Admiral and later by a High Court judge of the colonial era. Tamarind Hill was refurbished preserving the intricate details and style of a by-gone era - all the extensions and alterations to the property have been beautifully blended with the original main house, in keeping with the architecture and restoring it to its grand origins. Situated on a three acre hill with huge courtyards, sun-dappled verandahs and tropical gardens, Tamarind Hill has 10 rooms and two suites.
Other unit: Galle City Branch, No. 130, MAIN St., Tel:+94 91-2225786/ +94 91-2234469 /+94 91-2234446, Fax:+94 91-2234356, gallecity@combank.net. Open weekdays 9AM to 3PM, weekend & holidays 9AM to 1:30PM
Municipal Fruits Market
A fish market opened in 2011, paid for by the UN and BASF unhabitat.lk/news/a-new-fish-market-for-galle. The old colonial style market built by the British in the 1890s was destroyed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. There were fourteen fish stalls, trading in the traditional style. The new facility is more hygienic than the majority of fish stalls on the beach. Prices are typically 10-40% higher than for the same fish direct from fishermen on the beach (for example, compared to the informal market located a 5-minute walk away to the northeast (along the water towards Unawatuna)).
Established in 1983, this small family-run business deals in precious and semiprecious gems and hand made jewellery. Approved by the Sri Lanka Government.
GMS Shopping Complex
By Bus
By bus from Colombo: at Kotuwa bus station, Terminal 2, platform 12/13, "luxury" air con 22 seater mini coach, price Rs 715. Large non A/C old type bus, ticket Rs 400.
By Train
Trains travel several times every day and can be crowded:
Tuk Tuk or on foot is your best bet if you are traveling in Galle or close by.
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Galle · Regional · KCT
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