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There are several museums in Białystok. The biggest one is the Podlaskie Museum, located in the old Townhall in Rynek Kościuszki. It exhibits collections of archaeological and ethnographic treasures but, most importantly, the Gallery of Polish Painting from the period stretching from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th. Among the many works of art are paintings by Józef Brandt, Stanislaw Wyspiański, Jan Matejko, Józef Chełmoński, Aleksander Gierymski, Leon Wyczółkowski, Jacek Malczewski, Teodor Axentowicz, Juliusz and Wojciech Kossak. Also the thematic exhibitions attract many art lovers. Among such presentations are, e.g. "Folk sculpture in Podlasie", "The unknown Polesie", "Prussians - the history and culture of the Baltic state", "The Biebrza river as photographed by Wiktor Wołkow", or "Sculptures by Włodzimierz Naumiuk". The Archeology department is located at ul. Bema 11. The exhibits prove that the region was populated as far back as the stone age.

The art nouveau style villa of the Citrons at ul. Warszawska 37 is the place of the Historical Museum, a department of the Podlaskie Museum. Apart from the regular exposition presenting the history of the city and region, the museum presents thematic events, such as "The home of the bourgeois at the turn of the century", "Five centuries of the town of Supraśl", "The motive of independence in the Polish art of medal making", "Polish historical painting", "Polish dynasties of the 16th - 17th centuries".

The historical villa of general Mikołaj Fiedorowicz baron von Driesen at ul. Świętojańska 17 is the seat of the Alfons Karny Museum of Sculpture, which is another department of the Podlaskie Museum. The exhibition consists of a presentation of the artist's workshop and his own collection, mostly the "Portraits of Great Poles" - a gallery of the heads of historical figures sculpted by Karny. Temporary events are also quite frequent, such as the INTERGRART International Meeting of Sculpting in Granite in Maćkowa Ruda, organised by prof. Andrzej Strumiłło.

The Białystok Museum of the Village, located in the village of Osowicze by the road to Augustów, just on passing the "Wiking" motel, is an open air museum of historical wooden architecture gathered from the region of Podlasie. Some of the most interesting exhibits are the mansion of a land owner from Bobra Wielka, a grand forge from the area of Gródek, a water mill, a set of forest buildings from a forest settlement, a fire fighters building, a 19th century windmill and a small gentry house.

Those who are interested in the army and military equipment should pay a visit to the Military Museum founded in 1968. The role of this institution is to document and popularise the history 22 of the army in the region, starting from as far back as the 10th century. The collected exhibits include the so called Supraśl iron sword from the turn of the 11th century, a medieval helmet with a wide, sloping brim, a gold-plated armour from the end of the 16th century, the famous "Enigma" - or the German ciphering machine, a flag of the 3rd Cavalry Corps from Wołkowysk. Among the regular exhibitions are: "The Military History of North-Eastern Poland, 10th - 20th centuries", "The Room of the Knights", "The Hall of Combat Fame", "The Polish Soldier in Folk Art", "Gallery of Edmund Majkowski's Battle Sculpture".