17 of the best · Bali, Indonesia
Ubud’s museums of Balinese painting, the Kecak at Uluwatu and the Legong at the palace, the craft villages and the island’s festivals, from the Bali Arts Festival to the ogoh-ogoh parades.
Our 17 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Three Bali addresses we return to, chosen from this list by people who know the island well.
Balinese painting
A museum of Balinese and Indonesian painting in gardens on the south side of Ubud.
Jalan Raya Pengosekan, UbudExplore View on map
At sunset by the temple
The Kecak, chanted by a circle of men, performed at sunset in the amphitheatre beside the cliff temple of Uluwatu.
Every evening
Traditional dances are performed every evening in Ubud, in the courtyard of the palace and on village stages.
Why dance, painting and the gamelan are part of daily life on the island.
The back story
Ubud’s painting museums, the Legong and the Kecak, the bronze music of the gamelan and the craft villages of Celuk, Mas and Batuan: an island where art is part of daily life.
Visual arts
Ubud’s painters’ museums, art of the Pacific at Nusa Dua and the island’s museum in Denpasar.
Balinese painting
A museum of Balinese and Indonesian painting in gardens on the south side of Ubud.
Jalan Raya Pengosekan, UbudExplore View on map
The island’s museum
The provincial museum of Bali, in Denpasar, in pavilions built in the island’s palace and temple styles.
Art of Asia and the Pacific
A museum of art from Indonesia, Asia and the Pacific in the Nusa Dua resort district.
The palace of paintings
Ubud’s museum of Balinese painting and woodcarving, in gardens in the centre of town.
The painters of Bali
A museum of painting in Bali, from the classical Kamasan style to the 20th-century painters who lived on the island.
A royal water temple, the palace of Ubud and the Elephant Cave.
The Elephant Cave
The Elephant Cave near Ubud: a carved cave mouth, bathing pools and a ravine.
UNESCO World Heritage
The 18th-century royal water temple at Mengwi, its tiered shrines set inside a moat.
Dance in the courtyard
The palace of Ubud’s royal family in the centre of town, where dances are performed in the courtyard in the evening.
Performing arts
The Kecak at the cliff’s edge and the Legong in Ubud.
Every evening
Traditional dances are performed every evening in Ubud, in the courtyard of the palace and on village stages.
At sunset by the temple
The Kecak, chanted by a circle of men, performed at sunset in the amphitheatre beside the cliff temple of Uluwatu.
Ubud’s festival of writers and readers.
Each autumn
A literary festival that brings writers from Indonesia and the world to Ubud each autumn.
Folk & cultural traditions
Silver, woodcarving and painting from the villages between Denpasar and Ubud.
Silversmiths
The village of silversmiths on the road to Ubud, with workshops and showrooms.
Silver, wood and paint
On the road from Denpasar to Ubud: Celuk for silver, Mas for woodcarving and Batuan for painting.
Opposite the palace
The market opposite the Ubud Palace, selling sarongs, baskets, carvings and souvenirs.
The Bali Arts Festival and the ogoh-ogoh parades.
The night before the Day of Silence
On the evening before Nyepi, villages parade giant ogoh-ogoh, effigies of demons, through the streets.
June and July
The island’s great arts festival, held each June and July at the Taman Werdhi Budaya Art Centre in Denpasar.
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