Things to do in George Town
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit George Town
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Driest and best overall, clearest Hill views and calmest seas, but most crowded and expensive.
Shoulder good with fine mornings and afternoon showers, plus durian season and George Town Festival.
Wettest and most disruptive, peaking October to November, with flood and outdoor cancellation risk.
Hottest and most draining for walking and hiking. Sightsee at dawn and stay indoors at midday.
What's on
- Thaipusam 1 February
Chariot procession from Little India to the Waterfall Hill temples, with kavadi, crowds and road closures.
- Chinese New Year 17 February
Kek Lok Si lights up for about a month and the old town programmes events, but many hawker stalls close for days.
- George Town Festival 1-9 August
Nine days of mostly free arts programmes across heritage buildings and streets. Book heritage hotels early.
- Durian season peak May-July, best June
Balik Pulau farm tastings of named cultivars. Eat durian at the farm, as hotels and Grabs ban it for smell.
- Hari Raya Aidilfitri March
Malay open house food culture and festive markets, with some Malay stalls closing and heavy domestic travel.
- Deepavali October/November
Little India lights up with stalls, sweets and decorations in the preceding weeks.
- Nine Emperor Gods Festival ninth lunar month, usually October
Temple processions and nine days of vegetarian versions of Penang classics across the city.
Best things to do in George Town
Armenian Street
Start early for street art, clan houses, temples, a mosque and Little India in one walkable heritage loop.
Pinang Peranakan Mansion
The best interior in town, a Peranakan mansion packed with antiques that shows how a wealthy family lived.
Cheong Fatt Tze - The Blue Mansion
Indigo blue Hakka tycoon mansion, feng shui driven and architectural, best seen on a guided daytime tour.
Chew Jetty
Wooden clan houses on stilts over the water, best at golden hour and visited quietly as people live here.
Kek Lok Si Temple
Malaysia's largest Buddhist temple complex, with a pagoda mixing three styles and a huge Kuan Yin statue.
Penang cooking class
Market first, then cook Nyonya and hawker classics in a heritage shophouse and eat what you make for lunch.
Hin Bus Depot
Former bus depot turned arts space, with galleries and cafes daily and the Hin Market with makers on Sundays.
Fort Cornwallis
Star fort and waterfront Esplanade walk by Town Hall, a short pick stop best at sunset, not a half day.
Where to stay in George Town
UNESCO Heritage Zone core, Armenian Street, Chulia Street, Love Lane and Beach Street
first trip, default base
Walk to almost everything worth doing and eating, with hawker lanes and boutique shophouse hotels at your door.
Heritage Zone edge and waterfront, Pengkalan Weld, Church Street and Farquhar Street
luxury and a quieter heritage stay
Grand hotels and the best boutique conversions, still walkable to the core with sea air, pools and proper service.
Gurney Drive and Pulau Tikus
modern comfort, malls and longer stays
High rise hotels and apartments with space and sea views, plus Pulau Tikus food, at the cost of Grab rides to the core.
Batu Ferringhi
split stay only, pool and sunset nights
Resort strip good for one or two nights after George Town, but a poor only base behind one congested coastal road.
Think twice about
- Komtar, Prangin Mall and Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong after dark
Declined, poorly lit and rundown around shuttered shopfronts, making the walk home unpleasant. Do not base there.
- Love Lane and upper Chulia Street
Backpacker bar strip with loud bars, street drinking and hostel noise through thin walls. Bad for sleep before midnight.
- Bayan Lepas airport and Free Trade Zone strip
Business hotels by factories and expressways with no walkable food or heritage. Only useful for a dawn flight.
- Mainland Butterworth and Seberang Perai
Across the bridge in an industrial port town with no visitor infrastructure, despite listings marketing it as Penang.
Best restaurants in George Town
Restaurant Au Jardin
18 seat tasting menu using French technique on local ingredients, the splurge booking of the trip.
Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery
Family run Peranakan cooking at its best, with nasi ulam, pie tee and curry kapitan in a no frills room.
Siam Road Charcoal Char Kuey Teow
One dish done one way, flat noodles wok fried over charcoal with prawns and cockles, worth the long queue.
Deen Maju
The local consensus top nasi kandar, rice flooded with mixed curries plus spiced fried chicken.
Penang Road Famous Laksa
Asam laksa with mackerel, tamarind, pineapple and herbs, intense and sour in the way that converts people.
Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
Shaved ice with coconut milk, palm sugar, red beans and pandan jelly, the classic George Town cool down.
New Lane Hawker Stalls
Evening hawker lane and the best one stop intro to Penang street food, dozens of stalls along one lane.
Tek Sen Restaurant
Chinese home style sharing plates, double roasted pork and asam fish, fast and loud with local families.
Best bars in George Town
Backdoor Bodega
Speakeasy style cocktail bar hidden behind a streetwear shop, with Penang flavoured drinks in a small room.
Good Friends Club
Cocktail bar riffing on kopitiam culture, a few doors from Backdoor Bodega on the Gurdwara bar strip.
No Bar Here
Nostalgia leaning cocktail bar on Jalan Gurdwara, the third stop in the city's tightest bar cluster.
Outdoor things to do in George Town
Penang Hill
Ride the funicular up for cooler air, then walk The Habitat rainforest trail and its canopy and treetop walks.
Penang National Park
Small national park with jungle hikes to Kerachut and Monkey beaches, the island's real nature and beach day.
Tropical Spice Garden
Landscaped spice terraces in a jungle valley by the sea, best with a guided walk or its cooking school.
Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm
Large nature park with free flying butterflies in a planted garden plus a strong indoor insect exhibition.
ESCAPE Penang
Jungle adventure and water park with high ropes, zip coasters and one of the world's longest tube slides.
Balik Pulau cycling
Guided countryside ride through Malay villages, paddy fields and nutmeg farms on the island's rural west side.
Penang Golf Club
On island 18 hole course in hilly terrain with city and bridge views, tight fairways and night hours.
Bukit Jawi Golf Resort
Mainland 36 hole resort called Penang's A course, the serious round, best as a day trip from George Town.
Best hotels in George Town
Eastern & Oriental Hotel
The 1885 grande dame on the waterfront, with a Heritage Wing, sea facing pool and a ritual afternoon tea.
Cheong Fatt Tze - The Blue Mansion
Sleep inside the sight, 18 courtyard rooms in the Blue Mansion with a garden, pool and Indigo restaurant.
Seven Terraces
Restored Anglo Chinese terraces with large suites, a lap pool and the Kebaya Peranakan dining room.
The Prestige Hotel
Modern luxury design hotel in the banking quarter with a rooftop infinity pool and proper new plumbing.
Campbell House
Small heritage boutique in the core with spacious styled rooms, a library and an Italian restaurant.
Noordin Mews
Restored 1920s Peranakan mews hotel with character rooms, a small pool and a calmer street than Love Lane.
Royale Chulan Penang
Partly in a restored 1892 waterfront building, with chain reliability and a large saltwater pool.
Chulia Heritage Hotel
Clean, central, no frills private rooms in the Chulia budget heartland, a long standing budget pick.
Is George Town expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MYR 200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MYR 450 a person |
| Splurge | MYR 950 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cheong Fatt Tze - The Blue Mansion: a few days ahead
- Penang cooking class: a few days ahead
- Backdoor Bodega: a few days ahead
- Penang Hill: a few days ahead
- Tropical Spice Garden: a few days ahead
- Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm: a few days ahead
- ESCAPE Penang: a few days ahead
- Balik Pulau cycling: a few days ahead
- Au Jardin needs weeks ahead and Auntie Gaik Lean days ahead. Book Gen group restaurants for weekends.
- Buy Penang Hill fast lane tickets online ahead on weekends and holidays, or take the first train.
- Book ESCAPE and Entopia online. Heritage boutique hotels sell out first in festival windows.
Is George Town safe?
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
- Traffic is the top hazard. Motorbikes mount pavements and cars may not stop at crossings. Look both ways.
- Heat and humidity are medical risks. Walk before 11am, hydrate, and take a midday indoor break.
- Use repellent for park, garden and hill days, as dengue risk is year round and higher in wet months.
- Wear bags cross body on the building side. Snatch theft by motorbike is a known Penang pattern.
- Drink bottled or filtered water and pick busy hawker stalls with high turnover cooking in front of you.
- Malaysia drug laws are severe with no tourist exception. Dress modestly and remove shoes in mosques and temples.
George Town travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is convenient and marketed, but local consensus rates the food mid tier at higher prices.
- Line Clear Nasi Kandar trades on reputation, with reviews citing hygiene and pricing opacity. Try Deen Maju first.
Getting around George Town: public transport and more
- Walk the compact heritage core, Grab everything else. Grab is cheap, fixed price and air conditioned.
- The free CAT bus loops the heritage zone and Komtar. Rapid Penang buses are cheap but slow in traffic.
- Do not rent a car for a George Town trip. Hire a driver only for Balik Pulau or mainland golf.
- Penang airport is 30 to 50 minutes away. Allow the longer figure at peak hour.
Who George Town suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make George Town your trip
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