Colombo: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: learn the four main numbered postal zones (Colombo 1, 2, 3 and 7) that locals use in every address, hail three-wheelers through the PickMe or Uber app rather than negotiating street fares outside tourist spots, and plan your walking for the morning and late afternoon sea breeze.

How Colombo's numbered districts (Colombo 1 to 15) work

Addresses in Colombo almost always end with a number from 1 to 15, and knowing just five of them makes the city map click instantly. Colombo 1 (Fort) and Colombo 11 (Pettah) sit side by side in the historic northern harbour core around the Old Dutch Hospital and Colombo Fort Railway Station. Immediately south stretches the oceanfront lawn of Galle Face Green into Colombo 2 (Slave Island / Kompannavidiya) around Beira Lake and Colombo 3 (Kollupitiya) along Galle Road. Just inland lies Colombo 7 (Cinnamon Gardens), a calm residential quarter of banyan avenues, museums and embassies.

App-hailed tuk-tuks, cash and Poya full-moon days

Three-wheeled auto-rickshaws (tuk-tuks) are the fastest way to hop between Pettah, Beira Lake and Cinnamon Gardens. While many local tuk-tuks carry working dashboard meters, the simplest way to avoid price misunderstandings or detours to gem shops is to use PickMe (Sri Lanka's homegrown ride-hailing app) or Uber, both of which let you summon a tuk-tuk or air-conditioned mini-car at a fixed metered fare. International Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted at hotels, the Old Dutch Hospital and modern cafes, but you will need Sri Lankan rupee notes for street snack carts on Galle Face Green, Pettah market stalls and temple shoe attendants. Note that every full moon is a public Buddhist holiday (Poya Day), when alcohol is not sold in bars, hotels or restaurants across the island.

Booking Geoffrey Bawa's Number 11 and scenic trains

Two experiences in Colombo reward advance planning: guided tours of architect Geoffrey Bawa's former townhouse (Number 11 in Colombo 3) run on limited timed slots booked through the Geoffrey Bawa Trust website, and reserved seats on scenic trains from Colombo Fort to Kandy or Ella open thirty days ahead. Compare bases in where to stay in Colombo.