The Rainbow Skywalk
A glass walkway at around 250 metres, the street below your feet.
HundenvonPenang — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christopher Harriot from Penang, Malaysia — CC BY 2.0 · *angys* — CC BY-SA 4.0
Komtar Tower, the tallest building in Malaysia when it was finished in the mid-1980s, has had its upper floors turned into an entertainment complex called The TOP. Its best-known feature is the Rainbow Skywalk, a glass walkway hanging in the air at around 250 metres on the 68th floor, where you look straight down at the street beneath your feet. From the observation deck next to it the view runs across all of George Town, the strait, the Penang Bridge and Penang Hill, clearest in the morning before the haze gathers. Lower down are a dinosaur centre with animatronic models and a small aquarium, both popular with children. Tickets are sold as bundles: the basic pass, around RM 69 for adults, covers the Rainbow Skywalk, the observation deck, the skybridge and the dinosaur centre, and a wider pass adds the aquarium. Note that the Rainbow Skywalk and observation deck are closed on Tuesdays, unless Tuesday is a public holiday, in which case they close the following day. The complex is air-conditioned inside a tower in the heart of the modern city, a good choice for a rainy day or the hottest hours, and easy to reach from anywhere in George Town.
A glass walkway at around 250 metres, the street below your feet.
George Town, the strait, the bridge and the hill in one view.
Animatronic models that children love.
Komtar Tower, Jalan Penang, George Town, Penang
Acheen Street Mosque (Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh)One of Penang's oldest and most storied mosques, built in 1808 on land given by 9 minutes walk
Khoo KongsiYou enter from a narrow lane and suddenly face a wide stone square with the most10 minutes walk4.3
Kapitan Keling MosqueFounded by Muslim traders from South India in the early nineteenth century, a fe11 minutes walk4.7
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion)An unmistakable mansion painted deep indigo, built in the late nineteenth centur12 minutes walk4.5
Clan Jetties (Chew Jetty)Villages of wooden houses on stilts over the sea, linked by narrow boardwalks, b14 minutes walk4.2Penang Hill has the finer view, cooler air and a richer experience. The TOP is quicker, central and suits a rainy day or anyone keen on the glass walkway. If you pick one, go for the hill.