Malaysia
When
Dec to April
Price
From 1 800€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
4 nights
Ideal length
George Town, Penang's historic capital UNESCO-listed for its unique Sino-Portuguese architectural heritage, has transformed since 2012 into an open-air gallery thanks to dozens of murals painted by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic and his successors. The city, renowned for hosting the country's richest street food scene, blends Chinese temples, mosques, and colonial churches within a maze of largely pedestrian lanes.
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, invited in 2012 as part of an urban art festival, painted a series of interactive murals blending painted characters with real objects, such as children on an actual bicycle or a girl perched on a real chair, which sparked an unexpected craze. Dozens of other local and international artists have since added to this open-air gallery spread across the entire historic centre, making George Town a world reference for street art.
George Town, UNESCO-listed in 2008 alongside Malacca, owes its status to an architectural blend unique in South-East Asia, where colonnaded Chinese shophouses, porcelain-adorned clan houses, and British colonial buildings sit side by side across a handful of streets. The city also hosts one of Asia's most celebrated street food scenes, where hawker stalls generations old continue to serve emblematic dishes like char kway teow or laksa assam.
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A Renovated Shophouse in the Historic Centre
A former Sino-Portuguese shophouse renovated at the heart of the listed historic centre, a shaded inner courtyard, within walking distance of the main street art murals.
A Boutique Hotel near the Waterfront
A boutique hotel housed in a former colonial warehouse near George Town's waterfront, a short distance from the street food stalls of Chinatown.
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