The three things we enjoyed most about George Town — its street food, street art, and heritage houses — are coincidentally all kind of similar. They’re similar in the sense that they aren’t singular attractions. They’re spread out over a city so you can’t go to just one location to appreciate them.

As fascinating as George Town is, it doesn’t have any iconic landmarks. It doesn’t have a Sydney Opera House or a Golden Gate Bridge. Instead, what it has are many individual pieces like these heritage houses that collectively make George Town what it is — a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage City. Home to the largest collection of pre-war buildings in Southeast Asia, the city of George Town IS the attraction.

With all the heritage houses and street art to be discovered here, it almost feels like a giant labyrinthine playground. To fully appreciate it, you’ll need to explore it with a child’s curiosity and that’s exactly what we did. Here’s what we discovered.

The Heritage Houses of George Town, Penang
Without cars (or signs) it looks like you’re in a different time. This was taken on Muntri Street just a few steps from our hostel Ryokan Muntri. Muntri Street was home to rich Chinese tradesmen who favored an architectural style known as the “Straits eclectic-style”. I don’t know anything about architecture but the Straits eclectic-style is described as a fusion of Eastern and Western styles that was popular during a period of affluence in Penang.