Malacca Top Five
Enjoy our Top Five picks when exploring Malacca:
1) The Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum is a delight, and family-owned. Tours through this fascinating house filled with Chinese and Peranakan antiquities are given by family members and friends. After your tour, visit the family’s pretty café, right next door. See Malacca Museums for details.
2) Villa Sentosa house in Kanpung Morten is owned by a Malay family that has been in the house for three generations. The artifacts, pieces of family history, furnishings and architecture are compelling, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have the charming Ima Haja-Hashim as your guide. Afterward, take a pleasant walk through the Kampung Morten neighborhood, featuring wonderful old houses. See Malacca Museums for details.
3) The River Tour, conducted by raconteur Bernard Kenneth, is not to be missed. Bernard started giving tours at the age of nine, and has been at it for 38 years. Funny and informative, Bernard provides a history of Malacca as well as notes on its progress, especially related to the transformation of the waterway. Departure times are typically 1, 2, and 3 p.m., and a minimum of 8 people must be on the boat. The tour lasts 40 minutes, and costs RM10 per person. The boat dock is located right behind the tourist information center at Town Square, GPS: N02°11.489’ E102°14.950’
4) An afternoon walk in the Jonkers Street District. Some of the best architecture, and finest antiquities shops are located on Jonkers Street, and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, which runs parallel. The best of each street is located on the first 500 meters from its southernmost point, just north of the river, a few meters from Town Square. See Antiquities Shopping in Malacca for more details.
5) A drink along the river by day or night is the nicest way to cool off after a day in the tropics. Most bars and restaurants are not crowded, and are seconds away from Town Square.
