Independence Square is a popular stopping place on a city tour so visitors can walk around the structure or relax in the shade of the avenue of mango trees. Close to the Square is the Arcade, a modern shopping mall housed in former colonial government buildings brightened with a fountain, covered ponds, and more statues of lions.
The hall is an open-sided rectangle with ornately moulded cement columns and a tiled, hipped roof with statues of seated lions surrounding it, used for ceremonial occasions. The Independence Memorial Museum is located in its basement.