The island's story
From archaeology to independence.
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Penang's state museum and art gallery, in an elegant white colonial building at the heart of George Town that once housed the Penang Free School, one of the oldest English schools in Southeast Asia, and opened as a museum in 1965. The museum closed in 2017 for a major restoration and upgrade that took about nine years, and reopened in July 2026 with fifteen galleries holding some twelve hundred objects, telling the island's story from its earliest archaeological finds to the founding of George Town, the lives of its Malay, Chinese, Indian and European communities, and the years of war and independence. Among its more unusual displays are a section on the building itself, one wing of which was destroyed by bombs in the Second World War, a section on Peranakan furniture and jewellery, and old cars shown in the courtyard. A foreign adult ticket costs twenty-five ringgit, and it opens daily from nine to five except Fridays and some public holidays. It is a few steps from St George's Church and the Goddess of Mercy Temple, so make it the start of a walk around the historic quarter.
From archaeology to independence.
The Penang Free School.
Furniture and jewellery.
Lebuh Farquhar, George Town, next to St George's Church
St George's ChurchThe oldest purpose-built Anglican church in Southeast Asia, built between 1817 a1 minute walk
Goddess of Mercy TemplePenang's oldest Chinese temple, built in 1800 and known locally as Kuan Yin Teng3 minutes walk
Sri Mahamariamman TempleThe oldest Hindu temple in the state of Penang, at the heart of George Town's Li4 minutes walk
Chulia StreetOne of George Town's oldest streets, laid out soon after the city was founded in5 minutes walk
Pinang Peranakan MansionA green mansion on Church Street built in the late nineteenth century by Chung K5 minutes walk4.6Yes, it reopened in July 2026 after a restoration of about nine years; it closes on Fridays, and free entry ended at the end of August 2026.