Jakarta museums are located primarily in the Jakarta Old Town and Merdeka Square areas:

Jakarta Old Town

The museums within the Old Town area are located within former institution buildings of Batavia. They include:

• Jakarta History Museum - The building served as an administrative center, housed the law courts and contained dungeons for the main prison complex. The museum building was built in 1627 and is the oldest building in the City of Jakarta. The museum contains memorabilia and furniture that traces the historical development of the city. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Wayang Museum - The museum occupies the site of the Old Dutch Church built in 1640. The current building was originally a warehouse built in 1908 and renovated and adapted to Dutch colonial architecture in 1938. The museum contains a collection of various kinds of wayang (shadow puppets).
• Maritime Museum (Museum Bahari) - The museum is situated in an old warehouse built in 1645. It contains crafts from Indonesia and a collection of old photographs showing early voyages from Europe to Indonesia. Hours are Tuesday to Friday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Merdeka Square Area

The Merdeka Square area contains 2 noteworthy museums:

• National Museum of Indonesia (Museum Nasional). The National Museum is considered one of the best museums in Indonesia and all of Southeast Asia. It contains an outstanding collection of cultural objects of various ethnic groups.
• Monas - This site contains the Natural History Museum which chronicles the history of Indonesia's independence struggle.