Most trips begin and end in Colombo, and the capital rewards more than the overnight stop it usually gets. It’s the best eating city on the island — from kottu hammered out at midnight to some of Asia’s most celebrated restaurants.
What to do
Walk Pettah’s bazaar streets in the morning, mix temples and lake views at Gangaramaya, then join half the city on Galle Face Green at sunset for kites, crab vadai and the Indian Ocean going gold. The restored Old Dutch Hospital and Fort district hold the city’s best dining and bars. Up the coast, Negombo offers a proper fishing-town atmosphere ten minutes from the airport.
What to eat
Everything. Kottu and hoppers from street carts, lamprais from Dutch Burgher bakeries, crab at Ministry of Crab, short eats with afternoon tea, and the full sweep of rice-and-curry lunches. Colombo is where every regional cuisine of the island meets.
Getting there
Bandaranaike International Airport sits 35 km north of the city. The Colombo Fort railway station connects to every line on the island — trains south hug the beach the whole way.