Exploring George Town is like a treasure hunt, where a surprising discovery awaits at every turn. Within the 200-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site is an impressive collection of structures representing the city’s unique mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Arab, Acehnese, Siamese, Burmese, and European cultural heritage.
Cities with such character and allure as George Town are best explored on foot, especially when you don’t have much time. If you only have one day in Penang’s capital city, here is a recommended route for a walkabout that will have you falling in love with Penang.
Start in the heart of the city
The Core Zone of George Town covers a 109.38-hectare area bounded by the Straits of Melaka on the northeastern cape of Penang Island, Lorong Love (Love Lane) to the northwest, Lebuh Carnarvon, Lorong Carnarvon, and Gat Lebuh Melayu to the southwest corner.
Just within the Core Zone are more than 1700 historic buildings scattered along the four aligned main streets of Pengkalan Weld, Lebuh Pantai, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, and Lorong Love, and numerous perpendicular streets.
As you appreciate the stunning architecture around George Town, be on the lookout for whimsical steel-rod caricatures with accompanying descriptions that tell the stories of the streets’ communities. 52 steel-rod sculptures to date were created in 2010 as part of a project called Marking George Town, an initiative to brand the city as a UNESCO World Heritage site physically.
There are accommodations of every price range around the area too. Our advice would be to book a stay somewhere within the Core Zone and start early in the morning for a fun-filled day out.
Here’s a helpful tip: turn on your mobile phone’s GPS and set it to walking mode.
Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay)
With so much to see and do in one area, deciding where to start can be somewhat overwhelming. The ferry terminal and bus station at Pengkalan Weld are common entry points into the city, which makes this street the ideal starting point for a walkabout.
From the ferry terminal or bus station, head north to your first stop at Tanjung City Marina (Church Street Pier). Adjacent to the ferry terminal is Malaysia’s first inner-city marina, constructed in 1987. Now a favourite hangout spot, a walk along the pier offers a picturesque view of the Straits of Melaka. There are restaurants nearby too, where you can enjoy breakfast with a view and the soothing sea breeze.
Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street)
After a dose of Vitamin Sea at Tanjung City Marina, cross the street and go to Lebuh Pantai through Gat Lebuh China.
As you emerge at the junction, turn left onto Lebuh Pantai, and you will find the Wonderfood Museum a few doors down. Penang is one of Malaysia’s food capitals, and here is where you can see many of Malaysia’s iconic dishes rendered in hyper-realistic sculptures. It takes approximately 30 minutes to an hour to complete a museum tour, where you can learn all about Malaysian traditional cuisines, food cultures, and customs.
Perhaps inspired by what you see, you may be eager to try some of the dishes yourself. Head north up Lebuh Pantai and make a turn into Lebuh Gereja. Along this street and the intersecting Lebuh Pinang is where you will find a variety of places to eat, from kopitiams to hipster cafes.
One building that is impossible to miss as you pass Lebuh Gereja is the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. Built in the late 1980s, this grand building is the former residence of a Chinese Kapitan. Occasionally used as a film set, the opulent building is open to the public for a glimpse into the past and Peranakan (Straits Chinese) culture that Penang is known for.
Further up the road at the intersection of Lebuh Penang, head northwards near the end of the street, and you will find the Penang 3D Trick Art Museum. Stimulating the imagination, this interactive museum offers guided tours for visitors to ensure the most creative photos are taken.
After your museum visit, keep going north towards the junction of Lebuh Light. Across the street are two impressive structures, the Town Hall and City Hall. Built in the early 1900s, these buildings serve as the venue for various social and civic events. Make a quick stop to admire the buildings’ Palladian architectural style from the outside.
Located just behind these buildings, on Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, is the Penang State Art Gallery. If time is on your side, stop by to see the permanent collection of artworks, sculptures, photography, film, and various emerging art forms from 1965 to the present.
Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street)
From Lebuh Light, make a turn into Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. Along this street are three notable places of worship.
The first landmark is St. George’s Church, the oldest Anglican Church in Southeast Asia. A little further south, you will see the Goddess of Mercy Temple, reputedly the oldest Chinese temple in Penang, built in the 1800s. Keep walking down the street, and you will arrive at the Kapitan Keling Mosque, the brick mosque built in 1803 by the Indian Muslim community.
From Kapitan Keling Mosque, head back to the intersection that turns into Lebuh Pasar (Market Street), where you will find Little India, the historic street where early Indian immigrants first settled in Penang.
In this epicentre of South Indian culture in George Town are savoury cuisines to discover and places to shop for authentic goods like spices, kitchen wares, sarees, and jewellery. At the end of Lebuh Pasar, you will arrive at the junction of Lebuh Pantai once more, completing your mini tour of George Town!
This one-day walkabout is just a taste of what George Town has to offer. If the sun has yet to set by the time you have made your way around town, you may want to take a few detours to see what you might discover along the way.
