The red building
The oldest surviving Dutch building in the East, c. 1650.
User: (WT-shared) Slleong at wts wikivoyage — CC BY 1.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0
Everything around you is red: the Stadthuys, completed by the Dutch around 1650 as their governor's residence and the oldest surviving Dutch building in the East, the neighbouring Christ Church of 1753, the clock tower and the Queen Victoria fountain. This Red Square is the heart of old Malacca and its best-known spot. The building is now a museum of history and ethnography telling Malacca's story from its Malay sultanate through Portuguese, Dutch and British rule to independence, with costume, weapons and furniture from each era, linked to several small museums on the same ticket. The building itself, with its thick walls and wooden shutters, is part of the show. In front of the square line up the trishaws, bicycles with seats decked in plastic flowers, coloured lights and loud music; a short ride is good fun with children, so agree the price before you climb in. Foreign adults pay RM 10 for the museum, which opens daily, until five on weekdays and until late in the evening at weekends. The square itself is free and loveliest after dark, when the buildings are lit.
The oldest surviving Dutch building in the East, c. 1650.
Bicycles decked in flowers, lights and music.
From the Malay sultanate to independence.
Dutch Square, Jalan Gereja, Malacca
Jonker Street Night MarketEvery Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening Jonker Street closes to cars and turns1 minute walk4.4
St Paul's ChurchThe roofless ruin of a church on top of the hill overlooking old Malacca and the2 minutes walk4.5
Melaka Sultanate Palace MuseumBefore the Portuguese arrived in 1511, Malacca was the capital of a Muslim sulta2 minutes walk4.3
Melaka River CruiseA boat ride of about forty-five minutes on the river Malacca grew up around, pas4 minutes walk4.2
A FamosaAll that remains of the oldest European fortress in Southeast Asia is a single s4 minutes walk4.3With children, yes: it is fun, short and passes the nearby sights. Agree the price and length before you climb in, and beware the loud music with a baby on board.