Things to Do in National Museum of Mongolia

Hunnu Empire gold exhibit

You'll squint at fingernail-sized panthers picked out in 2000-year-old gold, each one catching the overhead spots until the case looks like a miniature sunset. The corridor smells faintly of metal and the carpet underfoot muffles the gasps of visitors who've just realized these tiny beasts once rode on nomadic belts.

Stone rubbing workshop in the basement classroom

A curator hands you charcoal and rice paper, then lets you drag it across a replica deer stone while the chalky scent rises and the etched reindeer slowly appear like ghosts. Your fingers come away dusted black, and you'll probably leave with a smudge on your nose - wear dark clothes.

Soviet-era propaganda poster alcove

Red inks have faded to brick. Yet the drawn workers still thrust coal with aggressive smiles. Loudspeakers overhead pump out a 1970s march at whisper-volume, so the whole nook feels like a time capsule someone forgot to seal.

Roof terrace overlooking Government House

Climb the staff stairwell (permission granted at the desk) and you'll step into wind that smells of pine from the nearby hills. Down below, soldiers goose-step in slow motion during the hourly flag ceremony while city taxis honk in counter-rhythm.

Temporary contemporary art annex

One room gets handed over every quarter to a Mongolian modernist. Last time it smelled of fresh tarp and drying acrylic, with canvases that stitched cyber-punk skylines onto traditional horseheads. The contrast with the ancient relics next door is jarring - in a good way.

Sükhbaatar District: old-money neighbourhood of embassies and 1950s brick hotels where the lobbies smell of beeswax

Peace Avenue: main drag, handy for late-night khuushuur stalls and neon-signed laundries

Zaisan: hillside bungalows south of the river, quiet enough to hear dogs bark across the valley

University district: student cafés blasting K-pop, cheap beds above pizza joints

Bayangol: Soviet micro-district turned backpacker hub, minibuses to the museum every ten minutes

13th Microdistrict: locals call it 'Tokyo' for its grid of sushi bars and karaoke boxes, mid-range hotels with hot showers that rarely quit