Things to do in Penang Island

Standing at 232 metres, KOMTAR towers over all the city's other buildings, affording visitors unrivalled views of the city skyline and the hills and oceans beyond. Telescopes in the observation deck on the 60th floor offer a closer view of the distant hills while clear windows make it easy to capture panoramic Penang on your camera.

Towering high above bustling George Town on Penang Island is Penang Hill. Come here for cool sea breezes and amazing views. You’ll also get to see the remaining rainforest on Penang Island.

With its mint green walls, carved wooden doors inlaid with gold and wrought-iron balconies, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion is a sight to behold. Venture into this replica of a 19th-century, upper-class home for an insider's look at the grandeur enjoyed by wealthy Straits Chinese in the past. The grand mansion houses more than 1,000 antiques and collectibles, and you will notice gorgeous Asian lacquer ware boxes and trays, Chinese prints, and antique European furniture as you stroll through the grand entrance hall. The luxurious dining hall recreates a sumptuous Chinese dinner with its teak furniture and exquisite European dinner service.

It would be hard not to notice the elegant City Hall with its magnificent Corinthian columns and grand windows, reminiscent of British colonial times, as you are walking along Georgetown's expansive Esplanade.

As you ascend the stairway to the bright and elaborate Kek Lok Si Temple, you will find yourself amidst a bustling market filled with craft and souvenir stalls and the unmistakeably delicious scent of laksa noodles enveloping the air. Once within temple grounds, the cacophony of sounds fade away as serene gardens and sacred ponds greet your sight. Stop to feed a turtle or release one into the famous Liberation Pond, a Buddhist act of spiritual liberation believed to bring about good luck. Above you stands the lavish Ban Po Thar, a seven-tier, 30-metre high pagoda, on which 10,000 Buddhas are carved. An imposing giant bronze statue of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, presides over the pinnacle of the steep mountainside. Walk or take the small inclined lift up to get a close-up view, and be doubly rewarded with arresting views of the city.