Melaka

The old port that the Portuguese, Dutch and British fought over, now a UNESCO World Heritage city: the red Dutch Stadthuys and Christ Church, the ruined Portuguese gate of A Famosa, Peranakan (Straits Chinese) shophouses and temples along Jalan Tokong, and the Jonker Street night market at weekends. Two hours by bus from KL, best with a night to walk the lit riverside. Little India, along Jalan Bendahara, has South Indian restaurants.

Highlights

• Dutch Square and the Stadthuys
• A Famosa and St Paul's Hill
• Jonker Street night market (Fri–Sun)
• Melaka River cruise at night
• Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum
• Cheng Hoon Teng, Malaysia's oldest Chinese temple
• Nyonya laksa and chicken-rice balls
• Trishaw ride round the old town
• Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi, one of Malaysia's oldest Hindu temples

Things to do

• Dutch Square, Christ Church & Stadthuys museumsMorning · 2h 30m
• St Paul's Hill & A FamosaMorning · 1h 30m
• Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum & Jalan Tokong templesAfternoon · 2h 30m
• Melaka River cruise after darkEvening · 1h
• Jonker Street night market (weekends)Evening · 2h 30m

Tours & tickets

When to go

Best time: December – February, June – August

• Chinese New Year — Two public holidays and a week of lion dances, lanterns and open houses, finest in Penang (Kek Lok Si lit up) and Melaka's Jonker Street. Many Chinese-run shops, hawker stalls and kopitiams close for 3-5 days, and buses and flights out of KL sell out the weekend before as people go home.
• Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri — During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk: Malay restaurants are quiet by day and the evening Ramadan bazaars, with food stalls at every mosque and market, are the best street food of the year. Don't eat or drink in the street in Kelantan and Terengganu. At its end, Hari Raya Aidilfitri brings the "balik kampung" exodus: buses, trains and flights sell out weeks ahead and KL empties for a week. Dates move about 11 days earlier each year; they are set by the new moon.
• Deepavali — A national holiday for Malaysia's Indian community: Brickfields in KL and Little India in Penang fill with lights, kolam and stalls of sweets and saris in the week before. Homes hold open houses on the day.
• Year-end school holidays — Malaysian and Singaporean families travel in December: Cameron Highlands' road jams at weekends, Langkawi and Penang resorts are at their dearest round Christmas and New Year, and Melaka is packed with Singaporean weekenders. Book rooms and buses early.