A FREE self-guided George Town walking tour (6km)

Step-by-step route instructions

Not everyone is comfortable reading a map. If that’s you, don’t worry, as here we provide step-by-step route instructions with photos of the George Town walking tour for you to follow.

Lettering for each heading refers to point on the above map.

START: Penang Town Hall
Click here for Google Map location

Step 1 (A to B) Penang Town Hall to Fort Cornwallis

1. With Town Hall on your left and the Padang on your right, walk to the end of the road. The Padang (literally meaning ‘field’ in Malay) is a large open space which has had several uses over the years, from cricket field, military parade ground, recreational area, to now being the major cultural space used for modern-day George Town celebrations.

2. Turn right at the war memorial and walk along the promenade, with the sea on your left. This leads you past the naval base, with the walls of Fort Cornwallis on your right. This area is known as the Esplanade and is the oldest settled area of George Town, where Francis Light first landed.

3. Follow the road around to the right and enjoy a walk around the interior of Fort Cornwallis. Click here for our guide to visiting Fort Cornwallis.

Step 2 (B to C): Fort Cornwallis to Pinang Peranakan Mansion

1. From Fort Cornwallis continue along the road to the Jubilee Clock Tower, built in 1897 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

2. Walk to the road immediately opposite, on the other side of the roundabout.

3. Continue walking along Beach Street, passing HSBC and Bank of China on your left. This street is one of the oldest in George Town and, as the name suggests, once used to run parallel to the sea. The number of important and grand buildings along the street are testament to it originally being the financial and commercial hub of the city.

4. Take a right at Lebuh Gereja. You will spot the green walls of Pinang Peranakan Mansion (a Chinese heritage building) a little further down here on your left.

Step 3 (C to D): Pinang Peranakan Mansion to Restoran Kapitan

1. Take a left at the road immediately after Pinang Peranakan Mansion. You are now in Little India.

2. Cross the next road, and then take the next right, along Lebuh Pasar.

3. Then take a left at Lebuh King, towards Kapitan. Kaptian is a good place to stop for a bite to eat. If you’re following this George Town walking tour in the morning, they will be serving breakfast. We recommend tucking into a Thosai and chai.

Step 4 (D to E): Restoran Kapitan to Chew Jetty

1. From Kapitan, continue along the road walking away from the white mosque and take the lane on the left. This is directly across the side entrance to Kapitan. Follow the lane around to the right, then left, and right again.

2. As you exit onto the road, walk left. You will spot the ‘Boy on Motorbike’ street art by Ernest Zacharevic on the wall on the left.

3. Take a right at the main road (Lebuh Pantai). Continue along this road, past Cheah Kongsi Temple on the right (you will pass the main entrance to this temple a little further along this George Town walking tour).

4. At the junction you will be taking a left towards Chew Jetty. But before you do, detour right to spot the street art of children on a bicycle.

5. From the street art, turn back around, cross the road and continue along Gat Lebug Armenian towards the jetties. You will cross over Victoria Street, pass alongside The Jetties Food Court, and soon spot the red lanterns marking the entrance to Chew Jetty. This is one of the main Clan Jetties of Penang, where homes were built over the water and are still very much thriving family homes today.

6. Walk past the temple on your right and continue along the wooden boards of Chew Jetty all the way to the very end.

Step 5 (E to F): Chew Jetty to Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

1. We’re going to explore a little more of the jetties. Retrace your footsteps back along Chew Jetty and pick up the turning on the left, just after the open section with boats. Spot the ‘Folklore by the Sea’ street art on your right, opposite the turning.

2. This leads you away from the main thoroughfare, passing family homes. Follow the walkway to the right and back to the main walkway you came in on. Here, take a left and return to the jetty entrance.

3. Walk left along the main road, passing the fire station on your left. Look out for the next jetty – Tan Jetty – on your left. The entrance to Tan Jetty is much less obvious and easy to miss.

4. Follow Tan Jetty to the far end.

5. Walk back along Tan Jetty to the main road. Cross the main road and walk down Gat Lebuh Aceh.

6. Keep walking straight ahead crossing two roads, until you reach a nineteenth century mosque (Malay Central Mosque Lebuh Acheh) on your left.

7. Turn right down Lebuh Canon. After 20 metres, look out for the boy on a stool and the cat in the window, hidden behind walls to the left and right respectively.

8. A few metres on from the street art is the understated entrance to the largest Chinese clan house in Malaysia, Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi (RM15 per person).

Step 6 (F to G): Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi to St. George’s Anglican Church

1. Continue walking straight along Lebuh Canon. This is the easiest section of the George Town walking tour to navigate as you walk along the same road from Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi all the way to St. George’s Anglican Church. Along this relatively short stretch of road, you will pass by four more religious buildings before arriving to the Anglican church. This surely must be the most religiously diverse street in the world?

Step 7 (G to I): St. George’s Anglican Church to The Blue Mansion

1. From the main church exit, take a left past the bus stop. Just past the Church of the Assumption (next door to St. George’s), turn left down Love Lane. Walk under the pretty archways and if you fancy a beer, continue towards the end of Love Lane where there is a selection of lively bars.

2. If you don’t fancy a beer (or after you’ve had your beer), take a right down Lebuh Muntri. Enjoy the heritage buildings along here. There’s a Chinese temple to wander around towards the end of the road.