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The street art in George Town, Penang is undoubtedly one of the city’s most popular attractions. Some travelers even come to George Town just for it. The colorful artwork decorates the alleys and old colonial buildings throughout the city.
Penang Street Art – A Highlight in George Town
What makes the street art in Penang special is that the artist Ernest Zacharevic combines real objects with graffiti, creating unique and creative works of art. However, not all the artworks in George Town are by him.
Today, we’ll take you on a short street art tour through George Town and show you some of the beautiful pieces we discovered.
Accommodation in Penang – Our Hotel Tip
For accommodation in Penang, we can recommend Campbell House. It has an excellent location, just a few meters from the bustling Lebuh Chulia street, making it a great starting point for exploring George Town on foot. The staff is very friendly and always ready to help. The rooms are very clean and elegantly furnished in colonial style. A highlight is the restaurant that offers breakfast on the rooftop terrace.
You can find a wide selection of budget-friendly hotels in George Town here.
Street Art in George Town, Penang
Most of the street art pieces in George Town are located in the old town. You can easily explore them on your own by walking around. Behind every building, in every alley, and even in the most unexpected places, you can find these artworks.
You can either look specifically for the artworks that interest you or simply wander around and let yourself be surprised. If you want to find certain pieces, check out the official Street Art Map from Tourism Penang. Another useful Google Maps guide can be found here.
The most famous artworks can be found on the following streets: Lebuh Armenian (Armenian Street), Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street), Gat Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street Ghaut), Lebuh Ah Quee, Jalan Penang (Penang Street), and Lebuh Cannon (Cannon Street).
As you can see, there are countless amazing things to discover, and if you want to see it all, you should definitely plan at least a full day. We only picked out the pieces that interested us most and then simply wandered around afterward.
Don’t be surprised if you can’t find everything. Some of the street art in George Town might no longer exist. Over time, artworks get restored, painted over, or simply fade due to weather conditions. However, new pieces keep appearing, waiting to be discovered unexpectedly.
To see what else you can do in Penang, check out our article on 23 things to do in Penang.
Insider Tip: Street Art in Ipoh
George Town isn’t the only paradise for street art fans. Ipoh is an authentic town full of fascinating cave temples and colonial buildings, and you’ll also find impressive murals hidden in many of its side alleys.
A visit is definitely worth it! You can learn more about the city and its attractions in our blog article about Ipoh.
Have fun exploring!
Penang: Tours and Tickets
Do you prefer to travel with a guide who knows the area very well? Then we recommend a guided tour with a local. This way you can get to know Penang in a completely different way. GetYourGuide offers a wide selection of exciting tours for Penang.
How to Get to Penang
To get to the Malaysian island of Penang, there are many ways of transportation available. The fastest option is usually by air, which you can often get at a reasonable price from various airlines, such as Air Asia. They fly to various destinations within Malaysia as well as international destinations like Thailand, China, or Indonesia. You can find more information about destinations and prices at Skyscanner.
Other options include the bus, which has many connections within the country, and the train. However, the train only goes to Butterworth on the mainland, where you will still need to transfer to Penang. Since the island is connected to the mainland of Malaysia by a bridge, there are some buses that go directly to Penang. You can find more information, as well as prices and tickets for buses and the trains, at 12go.asia.
Since Penang is an island, there is also the option of taking a ferry, either from the mainland or from the northwestern island of Langkawi and Sumatra. The travel time can range from 3 to 6 hours.
Have you ever been to George Town and seen the street art in Penang? Which piece did you like best?
