The largest standing fort in Malaysia, built where Captain Francis Light landed in 1786. Its star-shaped ramparts mark the birthplace of colonial George Town.

Local tip: Combine with a walk along the Esplanade seafront at sunset.

The indigo-washed 38-room mansion of a 19th-century tycoon, restored to award-winning glory. One of the finest surviving Chinese courtyard houses outside China.

Local tip: Entry is by guided tour only - book the 11am slot before crowds peak.

The grandest clan house in Malaysia, dripping with carved stone dragons and gilded beams. The Khoo clan built it as a statement of Hokkien prosperity in 1906.

Local tip: The theatre hall opposite the temple stages performances during festivals.

Home of Children on a Bicycle and the street-art trail that made George Town famous. Shophouse cafes and craft stores line the walk.

Local tip: Go before 9am for photos without queues at the famous murals.

A lavish green-hued townhouse museum recreating the world of the Straits Chinese Babas and Nyonyas, with over 1,000 antiques.

Local tip: The jewellery vault at the back is easy to miss - ask staff to point you there.

The Mughal-domed centrepiece of the Street of Harmony, founded by Indian Muslim traders in 1801 and still George Town’s main mosque.

Local tip: Visitors are welcome outside prayer times; robes are provided free.

The oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia, completed in 1818 with gleaming white Greek-revival columns.

Local tip: The lawn pavilion memorial to Francis Light is a quiet photo spot.

Century-old villages on stilts over the strait, each jetty settled by a different Chinese clan. Chew Jetty is the liveliest, with homes, shrines and snack stalls on the boardwalk.

Local tip: Sunrise turns the water gold and the boardwalk is empty.

A sensory blast of Bollywood soundtracks, flower garlands, sari silk and banana-leaf restaurants packed into a few streets of George Town.

Local tip: Sri Mahamariamman Temple opens early - visit before the lunch rush.

Thai temple housing a 33-metre gold reclining Buddha, one of the longest in the world, with the Burmese Dhammikarama temple right across the road.

Local tip: Visit both temples together - they face each other on Lorong Burma.

The largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, cascading down a hillside in Air Itam beneath a 30-metre bronze Kuan Yin. Its seven-storey pagoda blends Chinese, Thai and Burmese styles.

Local tip: During Chinese New Year the whole complex glows with tens of thousands of lanterns.

A 19th-century temple in Bayan Lepas where live pit vipers drape themselves over the altars, said to be rendered docile by the incense smoke.

Local tip: Ten minutes from the airport - an easy first or last stop.

A 19th-century hillside shrine that draws over 100,000 pilgrims every July for the Feast of St. Anne, one of the largest Catholic festivals in Southeast Asia.

Local tip: The original 1888 stone church behind the new basilica is the photogenic one.

Ride one of the world’s steepest funiculars 730 metres up to cool air, colonial bungalows and a panorama across the island, the bridges and the strait.

Local tip: Buy the fast-lane ticket on weekends - the standard queue can pass an hour.

A 1.6 km rainforest canopy walk along the ridge of Penang Hill, ending at the 360-degree Curtis Crest tree-top viewpoint, the highest public point on the island.

Local tip: The sunset guided walk is the standout - book ahead.

Founded in 1884 around a waterfall valley, these gardens are the green lungs of George Town - and the local favourite for a morning jog among long-tailed macaques.

Local tip: The Moon Gate trailhead here is the classic hikers’ route up Penang Hill.

The smallest national park in Malaysia packs jungle trails, a canopy walk, a meromictic lake and boat rides to hidden beaches into the island’s wild northwest corner.

Local tip: Registration at the entrance is free - bring your passport or IC.

A golden crescent inside the national park, reached by jungle trail or a short boat hop from Teluk Bahang. Macaques patrol the sand, so guard your snacks.

Local tip: Negotiate the boat both ways - phone signal on the beach is patchy.

A wild, usually empty beach fronting a green-turtle conservation centre, with a rare meromictic lake where fresh and salt water refuse to mix.

Local tip: The 1.5-hour trail in is proper jungle hiking - wear real shoes.

Penang’s resort strip: a long sweep of sand with parasailing and jet skis by day and a kilometre-long night market by dark.

Local tip: Swim in the morning - jellyfish warnings are commonest in the afternoon.

An award-winning eight-acre valley garden of 500 tropical species on the road to Teluk Bahang, with cooking classes in a bamboo pavilion above the sea.

Local tip: The Sunday cooking school books out weeks ahead.

Former mining pools on the mainland that turned into a surreal landscape of turquoise lakes and red clay ridges - Seberang Perai’s favourite sunrise photo spot.

Local tip: The clay gets slippery after rain; go at golden hour on a dry day.

The largest lake in Penang state, ringed by a landscaped 12 km loop that mainlanders treat as their open-air gym, with the Bukit Mertajam hills mirrored in the water.

Local tip: Rent a bicycle at the entrance - the full loop on foot takes half a day.

The most famous hawker address in Penang: char koay teow, asam laksa, rojak and grilled satay by the seafront promenade.

Local tip: Stalls open around 5pm; the char koay teow queues form fast.

After dark this heritage street becomes a food crawl: wantan mee tossed over charcoal, curry mee, and Penang’s best-known char koay teow cart.

Local tip: The famous wantan mee stall at the Carnarvon junction opens around 6pm.

The locals’ evening hawker street: chee cheong fun, oh chien oyster omelette, ais kacang and grilled stingray, all within fifty metres.

Local tip: Closed on alternating Wednesdays - check before you walk over.

The legendary roadside asam laksa stall at the foot of Kek Lok Si, ladling tamarind-sour mackerel broth since 1955.

Local tip: Eat a bowl before climbing to the temple - it earns the stairs.

Duck koay chiap, four-decade-old kuih chap and charcoal-roasted chestnuts on one of George Town’s oldest eating streets.

Local tip: The koay chiap stall sells out by 9pm most nights.

Adventure park in the Teluk Bahang hills with the world’s longest tube water slide - 1.1 km from hilltop to splashdown - plus ropes courses and zip lines.

Local tip: Gravityplay and Waterplay are separate zones; the combo ticket needs a full day.

A living dome where 15,000 butterflies drift over koi ponds and waterfalls, backed by an indoor discovery centre of glowing larvae labs.

Local tip: Butterflies are most active on sunny mornings - go at opening time.

Penang’s tallest tower topped with a glass-floored Rainbow Skywalk 249 metres above George Town - the best man-made viewpoint on the island.

Local tip: Time your visit for blue hour to watch the city lights come on.

A restored 1930s British fortress on Bukit Batu Maung, with underground tunnels, gun emplacements and barracks telling Penang’s WWII story.

Local tip: Wear covered shoes - the tunnels are steep, dark and genuinely atmospheric.

Malaysia’s first aviary park, in Seberang Jaya on the mainland: 300 species in walk-through enclosures, from hornbills to flamingos.

Local tip: The free-flight feeding sessions run mid-morning - check times at the gate.

The biggest mall in Penang, stretched along the seafront at Bayan Lepas with a view of the second bridge from its promenade.

Local tip: The seafront boardwalk behind the mall is a good sunset stroll.