Best Tourist Places to Visit in Penang, Malaysia

Best Tourist Places to Visit in Penang, Malaysia

Penang is one of the states situated in northwest part of the country sharing its borders with Kedah in north and east and Perak in south. Penang is one of the highly developed states in terms of economy and infrastructure in Malaysia and is one of the busiest tourist hubs in this part of the country. Penang has a total area of 1048 sq kms and is well known for industries, banking sectors, agriculture, festivals, cuisines, shopping, entertainment and health care services and George Town being its capital city. Penang coordinates with 5.24’ degree North Latitude and 100.14’ degree East Longitude.

Penang History in Brief:

Penang was initially ruled by Straits Settlement in the year 1826 and was a part of Crown Colony in the year 1867. The Japanese invaded Penang in 1941 and it became a part of Malay Union in the year 1946. Finally in the year 1963, Penang became a state of Malaysia.

Tourism in Penang:

Penang has many tourist attractions for the visitors to deliver which are mentioned below:

Tropical Spice Garden
Penang Butterfly Farm
Pinang Peranakan Museum
Dharmikarama Burmese Temple
Kek Lok Si – Monastery on Crane Hill, Georgetown
Penang National Park
Khoo Kongsi known for museums and religious sites.
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
Wat Chayamangkalaram famous for religious sites.
Old Protestant Cemetery
East Wind Watersports known for wonderful beaches and coasts in Penang.
Ben’s Vintage Toy Museum Penang
Penang Hill
Kapitan Keling Mosque
Han Jiang Ancestral Temple
Penang State Museum and Art Gallery
Penang Botanical Gardens
Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple
Sri Mariamman Temple
Sun Yat Sen Museum
Fort Cornwallis
One East Museum
Chew Thean Yang Aquarium
Acheen Street Mosque
Jubilee Clock Tower
Cathedral of the Assumption
Bats Cave Temple
Ibox Glass Museum
The Owl Museum
Penang Bird Park

Festivals, food, sports and shopping in Penang:

Penang hosts many festivals like Chinese New year, Mid Autumn Festival and Hungry Ghost Festival. Buddhists observe Wesak Day and the Hindus celebrate festivals like Sankranthi, Mahashivaratri, Deepavali and Baisakhi with much pomp and show. Muslims living in Penang host many major festivals like Ramzan, Bakrid, Muharrum and Id-Ul-Fitr with much devotion and faith.

Penang is called the food capital of Malaysia as it offers many varieties and cuisines. Cuisines in Penang have a mix of Chinese, Thai, Indian and Malay with added flavors and spice. Penang is also known for its noodles, sea foods and traditional biscuits called tau sar pneah.

Penang is well known for shopping malls and hypermarkets which sell all goods ranging from modern electronics items to textiles, garments, apparels, foodstuffs, deos, perfumes and local stuffs. Penang is also well known for conducting many international sporting events like horse racing, Malaysian Grand Prix, golf, squash, polo, soccer, equestrian and Penang Bridge Marathon race.

Connectivity to Penang in Malaysia:

Penang is well connected by road, rail, air and sea. Several National Highways, Expressways and Bypasses crisscross Penang which makes it most accessible by road. Regular bus services are available from Jetty Bus Terminal to nearby cities and suburbs in Penang on frequent intervals. Penang is also well linked by rail and monorail means of transport which carries bulk passenger traffic and cargo. It has approx 35 kms of railway network within its jurisdiction. Penang is also well connected by airways as it has direct flights to Kualalumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru and Langkawi on regular basis. Flights also operate from Penang International Airport to Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, Australia and Middle East.

Hotels in Penang:

Penang has several high luxury world class hotels offering excellent accommodation facilities to the tourists. Hotels range from 1 star to 5 star and provides hosts of luxurious amenities besides serving exotic Malay cuisines and dishes. List of hotels located in Penang are: