What to do in Melaka – Trip to Malaysia – 20 Tips for Malacca
What to do in Melaka…. or also Malacca/Malacca, as it was formerly called. Melaka is a city with hugely rich history made up of fused cultures. That made me choose Melaka to spend a month in spring 2023. Melaka’s background, of course, has to do with its strategic position on the Malacca Straits. As a result, the streetscape is diverse and colourful. Melaka gives you new impressions to take in at every street corner. And now I can give you the best 20 tips for Malacca!
Something you cannot avoid in Melaka are the trishaws. They are overloaded with stuffed bears or other sweets and carry a sound box that you can hear coming from miles away. It’s the most normal thing in Melaka. When I was here in 2014, they were already driving tourists around and now anno 2023, it is exactly the same.
The Best 20 Tips for Malacca
Melaka’s full name is Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah. Melaka, or Malacca/Malacca, is a historic coastal city in Malaysia and also the capital of the Malacca state of the same name. In 2020, over 930,000 people lived in the city.
Very telling for the city is that it was ruled by different settlers in different times, the Portuguese in 1500, the Dutch in 1600, the English in 1800 and then also the Japanese until 1946. After this, it came into Malay hands. This turbulent history is of course reflected in the city. But precisely also in the people, the culture, the food and the diverse street scene.
How many days for melaka?
If you want to see the highlights of Melaka, you could do it in one (1) day. In fact, most of Melaka’s highlights are within a 1 or 2 km radius in the centre of Melaka.
If you have a bit more time, you can take the time to visit some museums and possibly the mosque that seems to float above the sea. Also, you might then choose to do the walk on Bukit Cina or visit the Portuguese Settlement as well. All interesting places that require a little more time from your day in Melaka.
So my advice is to spend at least 2 full days in Melaka. Take your time to properly experience the atmosphere of this historically rich city. Especially as a Dutchman, you will encounter quite a few recognisable elements from the VOC era.
Does Melaka have beaches?
Does Melaka also have a fine beach where you can lie down and sunbathe? Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you then, I have not come across a fine beach in Melaka. I have visited quite a few places along the coast in and around Melaka city. If you want to sunbathe and relax, the best option is to book a hotel with pool in Melaka. Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and it is not appreciated to sunbathe anywhere on the beach. I went to a beach at Pantai Puteri. There, I did take a nice walk along the beach and visited the local fishermen’s market. There you can enjoy the views but sunbathing and relaxing on a beach as we know it is out of the question there.
Tip: Do you want to lie on a beach near Melaka? If you want to lie on the beach, go to Port Dickson. This is about 100 km up the Malaysian coast. I heard there were many fine beaches and resorts on the coast here. A real holiday resort according to the locals.
What to do in Melaka? 20 Tips for Malacca
What must you really have seen in Melaka? The first 10 Melaka tips out of these 20 tips are definitely not to be missed. These really complete a visit to this beautiful city. If you have been to Melaka but haven’t been to e.g. Dutch Square, then you haven’t actually been to Melaka.
Dutch Square ( Red Square)
Of course, as a Dutchman, this piece of history is not to be missed at all. The buildings are all coloured red, so the whole thing is very striking. In VOC times, these buildings were all white but the British later painted them red. On the facade of the church you can see Christ Church Melaka and on the other building Stadthuys.
Photo Tip Melaka Dutch Square: Go up the stairs at the Stadthuys to grab a nice overview of the square. (See first photo in this blog) By this I mean the stairs that lead to a kind of terrace at the front of the building, not the stairs to the museum.
The Stadthuys houses the Museum of History and Ethnography. I found it an interesting museum and at the back it turns out to be another stretch with a garden and another beautiful old building in which you may watch a show.
If you stand in front of the Stadthuys and then look towards the Malacca River, you will see some cows and a windmill by the bridge. It can’t get any more Dutch right?
The square in front of the church and the Stadthuys also has the Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower and Queen Victoria’s Fountain. Take a good look at that fountain, I really liked it too. I sat there quite often and just enjoyed the hustle and bustle, the vibe of the square and the beautiful buildings and surroundings. From here, you can nicely overlook the whole square and sit in the shade for a while.
And you know what’s also nice? Dutch Square has free wifi!
Tip: Visit the museum at Stadthuys to get some more background on how Melaka came to be and what the role of the Portuguese, British and Dutch were here. And find out that there are even more cultures fused together in Melaka. This culture is called the Nyonya culture and originated from a marriage between a Malay woman and an e.g. Indian or Chinese man.
Jonker Street
Jonker Street is Melaka’s shopping street. The city centre seems to be built around this street 🙂 If you then include the side streets in your walk, you get a good sense of the city as it is built. On one side the Malacca river and on the other side you end up just walking into the residential areas. Pay special attention to the beautiful wooden facades, the many Chinese accents but also European ones like the Heerenhuis.
Streetfood / Market on Jonkerstreet
Every weekend it’s party time on Jonker Street. The whole street is closed and there are double rows of foodstalls on the road. But also all kinds of other trinkets, nice for tourists but locals also like to come here.
Malacca River
Take a lovely stroll around Melaka’s city centre. This involves a nice stroll along the waters of the Malacca River. I loved wandering around it. There are many terraces and eateries where you can sit for a while. Especially towards evening, of course, there is a lot to see and do. The temperature drops a little and the evening life starts up. At the waterfront foodhall, it is usually busy. It is a foodhall where many locals enjoy all the goodies on offer.
Use these 20 Tips for Malacca for the Best Citytrip
Meanwhile, you’ll come across lots of beautiful street art along the river. Take a walk down some side streets too, or stroll on the other side of the river for yet another completely different view of Melaka.
Take a boat on the Malacca River
Even though I was in Melaka for over a month, I didn’t get around to this. Strange isn’t it? I did have it on my list but every time I was in the city centre, I didn’t get around to it. There are different tickets you can buy. Just a tour, or a half-day or full-day tour where you can get off at the various spots along the river and go explore the area. An ideal way, though, if you only have 1 day in Melaka, to see a lot.
Trishaw trip along the highlights Melaka
I haven’t ventured there so far…. But will you take a tour in a noisy trishaw? There are plenty of them!
See the many Bastions in and around Melaka
The ancient city of Melaka was an important strategic spot on the Straits of Malacca and so the city had to be well defended. For this reason, several bastions had been built. Close to the Stadthuys you will find Bastion Middleburg.
Bastion Middleburg
Very little of it remains but it gives you an idea of how the city used to be built. If you are in Dutch Square, you can find some pictures from the old days. They are remnants from the time of the VOC, the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie). You can find this VOC sign on the many old cannons that can be found here and there.
If you follow the road to A Famosa, you will pass several places where you can see the outer walls of the old fort. There are some explanations and old photos.
At the end of this road you come out at a sort of square. It is often busy selling all kinds of children’s games and if you ask me trinkets but many Asian tourists love this. And, of course, it keeps the children busy for a while. Around this stretch of road/square you will see some nice buildings like the Proclamation of Independence Memorial, some museums like e.g. Malay and Islamic world and the Melaka Sultanate Palace.
A Famosa / Bukit St. Paul
From this street, you can go up Mount St. Paul’s Hill. You will then have to pass the A Famosa fortress gate first. This fortress was built in 1511 by Alfonso de Albuquerque (the leader of the Portuguese fleet that conquered Melaka). Only the gate, Porto de Santiago, is still standing from this fortress.
These A Famosa and Bukit St. Paul’s are free to visit and during my month-long visit, I walked up St. Paul’s mountain several times. You can get on from this side and then off on the other side, near the Dutch Square but also at the back. Then you end up at the Dutch Graveyard.
On Bukit St. Paul, you will find a church ruin in which a number of tombstones can be seen. Not surprisingly, there are again quite a few Dutch texts to be read on the various tombstones. When I was there the first time, I had quite a conversation with an artist who was painting there. He thought it was super to practice his Dutch on me for a while.
GPS A Famosa / GPS Bukit St. Paul
Dutch Graveyard
Leaving Bukit St. Paul at the back, you descend to a place where there is a cemetery. The Dutch Graveyard and so there you will see more Dutch graves from the 17th and 18th centuries. When you leave the cemetery at the front, turn left and at the end of the road you can take a narrow road to the left. After this, you’ll end up in Dutch Square again.
Street art Melaka
- Orangutan House
There are quite a few places to find nice street art in Melaka. In the city centre, you have two places where you can see beautiful paintings on the wall close to each other. Enter Orangutan House on your GPS and enjoy the nice view. Then also drop in on Charles Cham, the artist who sells his work at Orangutan House.
- Kiehl’s House
If you walk from Orangutan House towards the water you will pass Kiehl’s house. You can’t avoid it because the whole street is painted in colourful drawings. It is also called 3D street art because of the structure of the planes and colours, I can imagine. It is just a very nice and colourful street to walk through for a while. After this, you walk nicely back to the water, then if you turn right, you soon end up in front of the Hardrock Cafe again and so by the bridge back to Jonker Street or Dutch Square.
- Heerenhouse
On the other side of Jonker Street you will find the famous Heerenhouse. Just down Heerenstraat, diagonally opposite the local tourism police. The Heerenhouse is a large white old building, a former Heerenhuis. It now houses a hotel and the beautiful white building can be admired from all sides. At the front, the letters Heeren House are on the façade and on the side you will find all Chinese characters.
Walk down the little street located to the right of Heerenhouse in the above photo. Admire several old buildings in the street there, they all look beautiful. Some are old and not maintained, which brings a whole other charm. But many of the properties in this street are really super maintained.
GPS Kiehl’s House / GPS Heerenhouse
Wander through the narrow streets of central Melaka and you will find a lot more fun street art. I always find how the shops advertise too admirable. It is incorporated into the wall and made visible in relief. Such a pity that with us, it is ‘too expensive’ or even not approved because it does not fit into the ‘streetscape’.
Baba & Nyonya Heritage museum
On this street, if you walk further you will come to the Museum Baba & Nyona Heritage house. It is a beautifully maintained house where a baba and nyonya lived. This is a mixed family of, in this case, a Chinese man who came to Melaka as a trader and married a local woman. The children from such a marriage were called Peranakan ( meaning descendant). So this could also be India, Arabic or Dutch mixed.
From 1861, four generations of the Chan family have lived in this beautiful house. They had a rich life, a big family and to this day visibly live well in this beautiful house. The old furnishings are still intact and beautiful paintings and furniture show well how they used to live.
I really thought it was a super house and interesting to walk around.
Entrance is RM18 for adults, children RM13. Read more about the Baba & Nyonya museum
GPS Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum
Temples in Malacca – 20 tips Melaka citytrip
Temples in Melaka you can’t miss
- Poh San Teng Temple
The Poh San Teng temple is strategically placed at the foot of a mountain, this mountain is called Bukit Cina. The temple is also called Sam Po Keng Temple. Legend has it that the legendary fish saved Zheng He’s boat from sinking by putting his body in/before the hole.
Poh San Teng Temple is one of the oldest Chinese temples in Malaysia. The cemetery at Bukit China is the largest Chinese cemetery in the world outside China.
- Sultan’s Well / Hang Li Poh’s Well
Next to the entrance of the Poh San Teng temple, you will find Hang Li Poh’s Well. In former times, it was an important water source that, it seems, never ran dry. No matter how hot and dry it was this well always remained full.
And check out the mountain that this temple sits against. There I took two walks there and found it very interesting but also beautiful to see how a Chinese cemetery integrates so much with nature. I wrote a blog about it, read more about Bukit Cina.
- Next to the Poh San Teng temple, at the big intersection you can see Melaka’s World War Japanese Resistance Monument. Quite an impressive monument to see and read the background to it. This is a reminder of all the Chinese victims of the Second World War who rebelled against the Japanese occupation of Melaka.
- Gurdwara Sahib Melaka
I have not been inside this Gurdwara but I understood that you can have an early-morning meal with it. But I do know this tradition and hospitality from India. In India, I have been to a Gurdwara several times and have also been served a meal. A beautiful tradition that I really respect. This Gurdwara is diagonally opposite Poh San Teng Temple.
- Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
Very nice large and, of course, freely accessible temple. You walk through a beautiful gate and enter a spacious courtyard. You immediately smell the abundant burning incense and see many people praying their prayers at the various beautiful, large statues.
Years back, I was also here and took a beautiful photo of a praying monk. Such a picture also continues to colour your memory of a temple. The monk was chanting and meanwhile he was making a rhythm on the . I sat there for a while and then it sometimes seems like time stood still for a moment and you are hundreds of years back…. Until someone with a mobile phone comes and sits next to you 🙂
Cheng Hoon Teng is the oldest traditional Chinese temple of Malaysia.
Across the street from the temple is the Teng Choo Hall. During ceremonies, the street will be cordoned off and they can be linked together. Now, the opposite side was closed with a large fence and not open to the public. To the left next door is also the Xiang Lin Si Temple. This one was not accessible at the time I was there.
Because there are two temples and a beautiful hall on a small stretch, the street is super nice at this spot. For that reason alone you should walk there.
GPS Cheng Hoon Teng Temple / GPS Xian Lin Si Temple
- Francis Xavier Church
There are, of course, churches in Melaka. And not just their ruins. This church is still in full use and also free to enter. It is a Catholic church and easy to find from Dutch Square. You don’t see the tall tower right away because it’s kind of hidden behind other buildings and behind Bukit St. Paul anyway.
- Melaka San Duo Temple
I came here in the late afternoon and actually they were just closing. I struck up a conversation with the man sitting there and ended up getting a comprehensive tour. He told me at all the altars which God was being worshipped and which prayers were being offered by the people. Super nice when people have that kind of time and attention for you. The interest was apparently mutual because people asked a lot about my work as an agent, what the legislation was like in NL for instance. Always nice to have such conversations.
What to do Melaka – Citytrip Malacca
Do you have a bit more time in Melaka and can go a bit further outside the centre of Melaka? Then I have the following places for you to visit. They are a little further out of the city centre, I always like to walk to soak up the atmosphere of the city but a trishaw is an option. They are also there without all the fuss though.
Hiking on Bukit China
This one is still in town, at the Poh San Teng Temple but to bewnadlene the mountain will take you a couple of hours. If you’re only in town for a day or two, I don’t think you should do this. If you have a bit more time, this is a really nice thing to do. It is the largest Chinese cemetery outside China.
Hiking on Bukit Beruang Trail
So there are other mountains in Melaka that are a bit further out of the city centre. Going up Bukit Beruang, I was warned by a local man not to get lost…. Well I certainly wasn’t going to but I also had no idea how the trail ran so I ended up taking the short trail that ran at the front of the mountain. This one takes you past some nice viewpoints over the city. It does take a bit of a climb to the telecom pole. You also get the idea of being in the wilderness right away because there are a lot of monkeys walking at the start. You don’t encounter these once you get onto the dirt tracks. I did see a large monitor lizard walking away in front of me.
Prison museum Melaka
I did find this an impressive visit. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that capital punishment was still carried out here. So when I walked into a corridor where I was not allowed to take photos, I didn’t immediately realise that I was entering a place where capital punishment was carried out. Nothing was further from the truth, suddenly I was standing in front of a window with a large hatch in the ground behind it. Above the hatch I saw a leather sling hanging…. It felt really sinister to me.
Afterwards, I had a whole conversation with a custody officer, he sincerely did not understand my outrage I also sincerely don’t understand his attitude towards the death penalty. Even so, we parted by shaking hands and wishing each other a good day. That too should be possible… and I just hope that I still struck a chord in his opinion and that he recalls it.
St John’s Fort
I wanted to visit this Dutch heritage site as well. It is well maintained but not much else to see. If you want to visit the prison, you could take it with you on the way there or back. This fort was aimed at the interior, so not at attacks from outside but from the interior. That makes this fort different from the other forts in Melaka.
Portugese Settlement
Fairly close to the prison museum, but then again on the coast, you will find the Portuguese settlement. So typical how the atmosphere is suddenly different in such a little neighbourhood anyway. When you get to the heart of the Portuguese settlement, there’s just a big Jesus statue. The kind you know from Brazil… A lot smaller but still quite impressive.
If you walk to the sea there, you pass some old colonial buildings where there is a museum and some restaurants. They are totally developing it now and I think when you come there in a few years’ time, more will have been restored.
Melaka Straits Mosque
An amazingly beautiful mosque to visit for sure in this ‘floating’ Melaka Straits Mosque. They have built the mosque on stilts above the water and thus it seems to float.Know that if you are going to visit the mosque you do have to wear long trousers or skirt and have the shoulders covered. To go inside as well you will also have to put a headscarf on.
The peninsula where the mosque is located is also now being built a very Portuguese-looking shopping centre/restaurants but also a Middle Eastern-looking resort. This does look set to become a place that will attract a lot of tourism in the future, my guess is that it will be Asian tourists and not Western ones.
Shoppingscentres Melaka
Are you in Melaka on your Malaysia tour and looking for some clothes? If you just want to walk around cooled off and score an ice cream or something else tasty, you can of course pop into a shopping centre. The air conditioning is always on high so you can cool down. Outside, the temperature can reach over 30 degrees and it stays nice and cool inside.
There are several shopping centres on Jalan Merdeka. ( Melaka Megamall, Mahkota Parade and the more expensive Hatten Square ) Outside on the street you can still find tasty restaurants and some souvenir shops but once inside you have e.g. the H&M or other chains.
Mahkota Parade and Hatten Square is on one side and on the city centre side of the road you will find Dataran Pahlawan (Melaka Megamall) This is more the local shopping mall. I bought a yoga mat at Sport Direct when I was just in Melaka. If you go down, you enter a large hall. Here is a huge bazaar with all kinds of small shops and games halls. Everything that Melaka locals like so to speak! This is under the big field which is next to this centre. This field also hosts markets and other activities like live music on weekends.
Want to explore the venue in advance? Check streetview
Cookingworkshop at Cooking School Melaka
You discover the real food by also making it yourself. You learn how to handle the ingredients and how they come together in a full dish like e.g. Rendang. It is also enriching for your own cooking skills once you are back home! I try to catch a cooking workshop as often as I can during my travels.
Read all about how to cook yourself in in Melaka.
Food in Melaka
- Donald & Lily
At Donald & Lily you can eat delicious food. It is just a bit outside the tourist centre. You leave the centre on the Little India side. I ate the delicious Nyonya Laksa soup there. If you want to read more about that you should check out the Donald & Lily blog.
- Lutan 21
I lived in the Imperio Residence apartment complex for a month and across the street were all kinds of nice and fine restaurants. This was one of them. I ate the vegetarian Nasi Lemak here. It costs only 2 euros but then you have a very fine nasi lemak. I thought it was delicious!
- Restoran Melaka Raya
Almost every day I ate here. Delicious local food, super cheap. And great outdoor seating. If you get around to eating here also order a fine chai with ginger to go with it.
Ps. They are always closed on Sunday
- The Windmill Station
Need some potato fries sometimes anyway? You can do that here! With mayo! Know that they put almost no or no salt on the fries here. You miss that. Other than that, you really don’t need to go here is my opinion. It’s a fast food restaurant with some local touches.
- Wa Zen Sushi
It is said to be the best Sushi in Malaysia and so of course I had to try it. The first night I didn’t succeed because you have to make a reservation. I was neatly sent back out with a business card in my hand. I could call or send a whatsapp to reserve a table. So I did!
I loved it but my intestines didn’t like it as much and the same evening they emptied themselves. Whether it was because of the fish ( I was once told that my body does not like fish…).
- Dachongqing
A little further up the street, I found this nice restaurant. Also really a local restaurant where I only saw many Chinese local people, especially young people. I had a delicious meal there only the red chillies I skipped, the green ones were fine for me.
Practical Tips for Melaka – Malaysia
Where to stay in Melaka?
I stayed at Imperio Residence for a month and found this flat it a lovely place. I can imagine that if you are only staying in Melaka for a day, this is just too far out of the city centre. It is in a quieter part of the city, on the coast and close to the ‘floating’ mosque and the Portuguese Settlement. I had a nice flat there with a balcony which overlooked the city and the sea. There is also a swimming pool and sports area.
Check for your options at Imperio Residence
But there are plenty of nice options in the old town in all sorts of price ranges.
I have no experience with them but take a look at these hotels in Melaka
Coming & Going Melaka
Flying to Malaysia
- For me as a Dutch it is not possible to fly directly to Melaka.
Most likely, you will make a stopover in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. You can then also choose to do a city trip in one of those cities and then travel on to Melaka later.
I did start my trip in 2023 with a citytrip in Singapore.
Of course, you can book a plane ticket between Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to Melaka. This will cost you around 100 euros and will take you just as much time. Especially since you then have to get to and from the airport, be on time for check-in and the like. If you then pay attention to your boarding and disembarkation points in the easybook app, you will always be faster and cheaper.
Of course, the latter option is also better considering your footprint you leave behind while travelling. So my advice for travelling on to Melaka is by bus.
From & to Singapore
- This bus trip takes about 4 hours and will cost you around 10 and 30 euros.
I grabbed a bus for a few euros after my Singapore city trip to travel to Melaka, Malaysia. This bus is easy to book via easybook’s app. You can then choose from different boarding points and different departure and arrival times. They also offer tickets through different bus organisations so the price is also different.
Because there are many choices of times and prices, I found easybook to be a really nice app.
You will cross Singapore’s border with Malaysia on this bus tour. The bus driver will also explain to you what you need to do. You take all your luggage with you when you get off the bus and cross the border. You get a stamp in your passport and your luggage goes through the scan and the bus is already waiting for you on the other side.
Once, when I got back outside after customs, there was another bus already leaving and going to the same place (Ban San Street – Singapore) as where I wanted to go. That driver invited me to ride on that bus. So I rode on faster than expected and was very happy about this. I love the flexible attitude in Asia!
From & to Kuala Lumpur
- This bus trip takes about 2.5 hours and will cost you around 2 to 3 euros.
After my stay in Melaka, I travelled further within Malaysia by bus. I travelled via Kuala Lumpur to the Cameron Highlands. Again, you can use easybook to book different boarding points and places where you would like to get off in Kuala Lumpur. Take a good look at all the options in the app so that you book the boarding and alighting spot that is right for you.
Have you ever been to the great city of Melaka?
I have lived there for a month now and I could so live there for another month. When I was in Melaka, I studied and still didn’t take enough time to see everything. However, I did leave with a very good feeling about the city. If you go to Melaka, I hope you can use this Melaka travel guide. And… do you have any other tips for Melaka for me?
Will you share these 20 tips for Malacca travel guide for me? Or save it to your favourites?
After this month, I travelled on towards Thailand.
But first I visited the teaplantages of the Cameron Highlands
I also went to Gunung Machinchang on Langkawi
Hiking on Ko Adang & Snorkeling at Koh Lipe – Thailand
Or go to Borneo and book a 3 day trip on the river Kinabatangan
Do give Kuala Lumpur a chance!
And then if you are at Khao Sok NP Thailand, make sure to do a yoga class!
Yoga class at Khaosok Yoga in Khao Sok National Park – Thailand
I hope you enjoy this beautiful world as much as I do
Jacomijn is een politieagent uit Nederland die jou graag laat zien hoe je veilig, actief en gezond de wereld kan over reizen. Safe and Healthy travel is a MUST
