Himachal State Museum is situated near Chaura Maidan, Shimla. This is a pleasant little museum that has precious little to show in the real sense. The museum displays sculpture, paintings, decorative arts, jewellery, wood carvings, manuscripts, arms and armoury.
Stone Age tools and implements prehistoric pottery and terracotta are also on view. It is most famous for the collection of Pahari miniatures, which flourished before the impact of the west on India. It has more than 1500 objects on display. It has a well-stocked library of historical books and manuscripts.