5 Best Sights in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

This might be the world's only museum that teaches you about the hows and whys of flatulence, complete with sound effects. Appropriately, it comes at the, um, tail end of your walk through a giant gastrointestinal tract. If that doesn't satisfy your appetite for the offbeat, you can learn about vomiting, sneezing, and body odor, too. It's all part of the immensely popular El Cuerpo Humano (Human Body) section of Tegucigalpa's fun, interactive new children's museum, which plenty of adults enjoy, too. Other exhibits acquaint kids with conservation of the environment and skills of commerce. Displays are all labeled in Spanish, but the friendly museum staff can help you if your abilities in that language are weak or nonexistent. As you'd expect, weekends are mobbed here. A visit during the week lets you take in the activities in relative peace and quiet. Just look for the blue-and-purple building on the hill down the road from Las Cascadas shopping mall. Chiminike, by the way, is the name of a frog in a popular Honduran children's story.

Housed in the 1694 Convento de San Pedro Nolasco and adjoining the Iglesia de la Merced, the bright and airy National Gallery of Art displays some wonderful artifacts, including finely detailed pre-Columbian ceramics and intricate Mayan sculptures from Copán. The museum has a dozen exhibition halls holding lovely examples of religious and colonial art; these serious works contrast nicely with the more comic modern works on the patio. Upstairs you'll find paintings by Pablo Zelaya Sierra and other 20th-century Honduran artists. The building has had many uses through the centuries, including as an army barracks and a cockfighting arena. To our minds, the building's current incarnation is its best so far; though small, this is one of Latin America's top art museums. As a bonus, this is one of the few such facilities in the country to present information in both Spanish and English.

This hillside mansion near Plaza La Concordia, once home to President Julio Lozano who was ousted in a 1956 military coup, houses the National Museum of History and Anthropology. (Despite the name, the focus is entirely on history here.) For those who read Spanish, there is some quirky information on the republic's struggles after it gained its independence, but the information gets extremely detailed—likely more than you need unless you are a student of Honduran history.

The Museum of National Identity is a recent addition to the pantheon of downtown galleries and museums, and has established itself as one of Tegucigalpa's most rewarding attractions. A 19th-century building that served first as a hospital and then as the government's Palace of Ministries has been converted into the country's foremost museum of history—and the results are impressive. The second-floor installations take you through everything that has happened in Honduras from its geological formation up to the present day. (That includes not shying away from the 2009 political crisis.) A film entitled Copán Virtual is presented several times a day and guides you through the Mayan city's construction. It's a good introduction to Copán if you're headed that way, and is included in your admission price. The first floor contains temporary exhibits. Everything is labeled in Spanish here, but for an extra L50 you can rent a portable audio unit that gives you commentary in English about what you're seeing. Although the concept of the museum gift shop hasn't really caught on in Honduras, this facility is an exception. Stop by the small shop on your way out and browse the selection of candles and leather goods made by an area women's cooperative. Admission is free on Thursday to school groups, and they come en masse; if your schedule permits, another day of the week is more peaceful.

Little Valle de Ángeles has a surprisingly decent museum, the Museo Santa María, with a flashy, musical Web site. The museum houses several displays about the history and culture of Valle and surrounding area, and is especially strong on the region's mining heritage.