Should you be visiting Melaka for the first-time, I have listed here some of the must- visited place in this city. Let me be your tour guide to help you maximize your time to this wonderful World UNESCO heritage Site.
1. Jonker Walk at Jonker Street
This is a good time to have explore Jonker Street and have a glance to those authentic handicrafts, souvenir items of Melaka, textiles, antiques and fabulous food around the corner of the street.
With the inclusion of the Chinese tradition, the places was well decorated with lanterns which now referred as the Chinese Town of Melaka.
Get extra drinking water with you as you stroll around this area. You can save on buying drinks to hydrate yourself. The best time to roam this place is at round 5 PM onwards. Its not that hot compared to around 11:00 am to 4.30 PM.
2. A' Famosa
This is a small place in Melaka but it is one of the prominent landmark in the city. The old building will give you a clear picture of the old structure during the olden times.
This place is a perfect background for photo sessions for tourist who are looking for a heritage site. Although this place is free entry, the author is not sure if the administrator of the site is allowing the place for wedding photo session.
3. Taming Sari Tower
The structure of the tower follows the shape of a keris, with peak of the tower resembling its hits. The ride to Taming Sari Tower offers an spectacular panoramic view of Melaka UNESCO Word Heritage City.
Measuring about 110 meters above the ground, the revolving structure offers a 360 degrees panoramic view of Melaka town.
4. Melaka River Cruise
This is best to be visited during night time. The river cruise will pass by the Melaka Riverside that allows you to feast on the scenic view of those lights coming from the bridges, and vibrant colours from those shop houses around the river side.
The boat ride is about 45 minutes with accompaniment of a recorded voice that explains all the historical places the boat is passing by.
5. St Paul Church
An old building situated in a hill which believed to be the Chapel of Mother of God by the Portuguese in Melaka during the olden times.
According to Asian Historical Architecture, the church is renowned as the place where the body of Francis Xavier, the pioneering Catholic missionary of Southeast Asia, was laid to rest for a period of eight months after his death at sea (from March 22nd, 1553 to December 11th, 1553).
Various artifacts are displayed in the old roofless building written in an old writing form.
6. Melaka River Pirate Park
This is located at the banks of Melaka River just opposite the old Cathay Cinema near Jalan Hang Tuah Bridge. This park housed the Ferris Wheel which was known as the 'Eye of Melaka'.
The Ferris Wheel stand at 25 meter above the ground and it is a permanent structure. Each pod can accommodate 5 adults at a time. This place is highly recommended to be visited during night time to enjoy the neon lights and colourful lighting of the place.
Other places of interest that can be found here include the Pirate Ship, Trampoline Bungee, Rode Bull, Rock Climbing, Haunted Castles and the Flying Fox.
7. Trishaw Ride
Melaka is one of also known for its small transporters or shall we say Melaka’s Trishaws which were designed with fake flowers with lights and accented with popular anime characters such as Hello Kitty, Pokémon, Barney and Friends, Frozen, and many more.
Majority of the Trishaws are also equipped with good sound system which the owner play during the ride.
The ride is about 20-45 minutes depending on your request. The longer place you request, the higher rate you need to pay.
8. Christ Church
This church is considered as one of the exiting oldest church in Melaka. It was believed to be built in 1753.
The whole building was painted with Red which remained as the hallmark of Melaka’s Dutch –era building.
This is also the popular meeting place of tourist around the area as it is all connected to other popular site in the area such as Jonker Street, the Maritime Museum, The River cruise, A Famous and many more.
9. Maritime Museum
This museum is also known as Flor De la Mar. This is considered as a replica of the Portuguese ship which sinked in the Coast of Melaka while on its way to Portugal.
Inside this museum is where various type of ships are displayed from different countries during the olden times.
When entering the museum, you are required to take of you shoes. The place inside is air-conditioned so you don’t need to worry about the warm weather. Photo taking is also allowed inside the place.
The pricing of Malaysian and foreigners to enter this museum are in different rate.
10. Visiting other Museums in the Melaka
If you are into the cultural heritage, you may want to visit various museums in Melaka. Here are some of those Museums:
History and Ethnography Museums ( built in 1650” by the Dutch )
Melaka Sultanate Place Museums (this was during the time of Sultan Mansur Shah that ruled Melaka in 1456-1477)
Submarine Museum ( this is a museums inside a Submarine)
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum (a family run private museums that talked about the heritage of the Peranakan- Chinese community)
Naning Heritage and History Museum (This museums is full of history showing the uniqueness of the Naning district. The building was built in 1951.)
11. Encore Melaka
One of the newest theater in the Melaka and in Malaysia that can cater up to 2000 audience in one time. Encore Melaka showcases an approximately 70 minute shows that recounts the long forgotten tales of the history of the city.
The thereat also highlight a 360-degree rotating audience platform and multi stage hydraulic sets which makes as the Southeast Asia’s largest permanent show theater.