The city's most elegant, leafy district — tree-lined streets of grand colonial villas and embassies, the national museum, parks and the best cafés and restaurants. Green, calm and upmarket, central-ish and safe; the base for travellers who want a peaceful, refined stay with museums, gardens and the city's finest dining close at hand.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
€110–260
typical per night in Sri Lanka
You pay for the postcode
One of the pricier addresses in Colombo.
Where it sits
The circle is Cinnamon Gardens and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- Gangaramaya Temple19 min walk1.6 km
- Sri Lankan street food19 min walk1.6 km
- The Lotus Tower28 min walk2.3 km
- Galle Face Green9 min taxi2.9 km
- Jami Ul-Alfar (Red Mosque)11 min taxi3.8 km
- Pettah Market11 min taxi3.8 km
- The Fort district12 min taxi4.0 km
- Mount Lavinia (beach)23 min taxi7.5 km
- Mount Lavinia beach23 min taxi7.5 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 5.The National Museum — Sri Lanka's grandest museum, in a beautiful colonial building set in gardens in leafy Cinnamon Gardens — a superb collection tracing the island's history and culture, from ancient royal regalia and the throne of the Kandyan kings to Buddhist sculpture, masks and colonial artefacts. A cool, rewarding couple of hours and an excellent primer on the country's rich heritage; a cultural highlight of the capital. Peaceful and air-conditioned.
- 11.Viharamahadevi Park — Colombo's largest and oldest park, a green oasis in leafy Cinnamon Gardens — shady avenues of flowering trees, a golden Buddha statue, lawns and a lake, with the grand colonial Town Hall (the 'white house') presiding over one side. A pleasant, cooling stroll away from the traffic, popular with locals in the early morning and evening; combine it with the national museum nearby. A relaxed, green breather in the heart of the city.
- 14.A Sri Lankan rice & curry feast — Beyond the street food, Colombo's restaurants serve the full glory of Sri Lankan cuisine — the classic rice and curry, a spread of a dozen or more little dishes of vegetables, dhal, sambols, fish or meat curries and papadums around a mound of rice, eaten (best) with the hand. From humble local 'hotels' to smart modern rooms reinventing island flavours, it's a delicious, generous feast; a proper rice and curry is a Sri Lankan rite.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Cinnamon Gardens; flights via Google Flights.