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Include Melaka (Malacca) In Your Itinerary for Malaysia
During a trip to Malaysia, you may want to set aside at least a day to visit the city of Melaka (which was called Malacca prior to 2017). Here you’ll find a golden-domed mosque floating on the water, historic 17th-century Dutch buildings, temples, museums, and much more. It’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. The city boasts more than enough sightseeing opportunities to fill up a very busy day.
Keep reading for our guide to Melaka and highlights you don’t want to miss.
How to Get to Melaka
If you’re based in Kuala Lumpur, one way to get to Melaka is through an organized excursion from a reputable tour company. We arranged one through Kuala Lumpur Tour, and it cost less than $150 total for two.
Expect the drive to take about 1.5 hours to get from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka.
13 Things to See and Do on a Melaka, Malaysia Tour
St. Peter’s Church
At the outskirts of Melaka, one of the first sights you’ll encounter is St. Peter’s Church. Built in 1710, this white structure has a roof like the curved wooden hull of a sailing ship. The Portuguese built it, and it has the distinction of being the oldest working Roman Catholic church in the country. Our tour guide parked the vehicle on a hill to give us a good look at it.
Porta de Santiago
Proceed from St. Peter’s Church to Porta de Santiago, which has the remains of a Portuguese fort (A Fomosa) from 1511. It was part of a vast complex that once housed Portuguese administrative officials, hospitals, churches, and towers.
This fort has traded hands between major powers quite a few times over the past few centuries between Portugal, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. The British later destroyed much of it in 1806 to prevent Napoleon from taking control of it.
Haran Kemerdekaan (Proclamation of Independence Memorial)
A short walk from the fort, this memorial building commemorates an announcement from the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, declaring the country’s independence. Inside is an exhibition about the history of the Malaysian independence movement.
Nearby you’ll also see the small Bastion House Malay and Islamic World Museum, housed in a building that dates back to 1910.
Dutch Stadthuys Square
Check out the impressive main square that holds the Dutch Stadthuys (municipal town hall) building, which dates back to the 1600s. The surrounding area looks like a mini-Holland, with windmills and a canal.
Be aware that this place can get very crowded with tourist groups eager to take photos.
In the center of the square, you’ll see a tall fountain that was dedicated to Queen Victoria.
Christ Church
Still on the Dutch square, you can’t miss the pink-reddish brick of the Christ Church from the 1750s. It has a distinctive big white cross at its top.
Walk inside. You’ll see Armenian and Dutch tombstones.
Look up at the gigantic ceiling beams, each of which was cut from a single tree.
Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
Take a look at the first in a series of temples and mosques. The Chinese temple of Cheng Hoon Teng is Malaysia’s oldest temple and dates back to 1673. It’s popular among Buddhist, Confucianist, and Taoist worshippers. The temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy.
Masjid Kampung Kling Mosque
Nearby you’ll find the Masjid Kampung Kling Mosque, built in 1748. Its appearance is an interesting blend of Dutch, English, Hindu, and Moorish architectural styles.
Jonker Street
Spend some time shopping on the famous Jonker Street. If you’re looking for a souvenir postcard or lapel pin, you’ll find them here. It’s a particularly great place to be in the evening, when it comes alive with Malaysian street foods. Here you can try kebabs, fried quail eggs, sticky rice filled with meat and wrapped in leaves, seaweed- and rice-based desserts, watermelon slushies, soft spring rolls, and other exotic treats.
Maritime Museum and Naval Museum
Make your way over to the two water-themed museums: the Maritime Museum, which is housed in a recreated model of a sunken Portuguese ship called Flora de la Mar, and the Naval Museum. In the former, you can climb aboard the deck and romp around between its floors while perusing information displays about maritime history, going back to the Malay Sultanate period in the 15th century and up to the present.
Then check out the Naval Museum across the street, which holds boats and a helicopter.
Masjid Selat Melaka
This remarkable mosque is perhaps the top attraction in Melaka, so I wouldn’t miss this one.
About 70% of the golden-domed Masjid Selat Melaka is located on the water, and 30% on land. Women must cover their heads with a scarf or shawl before entering, and men must also don robes beforehand if they’re wearing shorts.
It’s a beautiful white and gold building with symmetrical seashell-shaped fans on each side and colorful stained glass. From here, you’ll obviously get terrific views of the sea. Don’t forget to get some good photos here.
Lunch Break – Malaysian Cuisine
After seeing the mosque, you may be ready for lunch. Restaurant Seroni is a decent choice. Here I dined on rice, chicken, eggs, greens, cabbage, and Malaysia’s top dessert—cendol (pronounced “chen-dohl”), which consists of rice flour, ice shavings, and coconut milk. It’s quite refreshing on a hot day.
Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum
Early in the afternoon, head over to the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. If the lunchtime traffic is bad, you can just get out of the tour agency’s car, agree to meet the guide at the museum after your tour, and walk the last few hundred meters.
The museum is interesting, but unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside beyond the entry hall. It’s set inside a 19th-century Baba-Nyonya building with three restored houses. The museum’s several rooms are spread across multiple levels. I’d recommend spending an hour or so here to take the full tour.
Inside, you’ll see superb furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay, fancy murals, screens with narrow slits and holes in the ceilings to permit observation without being noticed, wedding outfits, a traditional kitchen and old ice cream maker, and more.
Villa Sentosa Malay Village
For the final stop on your day trip, drive out to Villa Sentosa, which is set in a traditional Malay village. The centerpiece is a 1920s kampung (village) home. You’ll see a number of interesting objects, such as Ming vases, an old Quran, and photos of members of the household.
Then meet your tour guide and return to your hotel.
Onward from Melaka
If you’re wondering what to do in Malaysia after the tour company drops you off at your hotel in Kuala Lumpur, you can take your pick from a variety of other tourist attractions if you’ll be spending more time in and around Malaysia.
Consider taking another fun day trip to Putrajaya, which is not only the administrative center of Malaysia but also has buildings that look like they’ve been taken out of a science fiction movie. You can also take more time to see the sights of Kuala Lumpur if you haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet.
If you have more time in Southeast Asia, you may want to explore a few of the neighboring countries. Consider flying out to the tiny but remarkable Brunei, which hosts a giant rainforest and opulent buildings, or perhaps Vietnam’s Halong Bay and trekking in Sapa.