Just wandering the streets of Penang is a cultural exploration in itself but sometimes, we like to go a bit deeper, into the past of what makes a city and museums are a great starting point. With so many museums in Penang though, there are six that are worth your time and money.
Penang State Museum and Art Gallery
This museum is a fun interactive museum with displays of objects from the past that you can pose with. The art gallery also features works from local artists which are thought-provoking about modern ways of life.
Pinang Peranakan Mansion
Fans of the popular drama, The Little Nonya, would enjoy a tour of this Peranakan museum. Previously owned by Captain Chung Keng Kwee, the donor of the Kek Lok Si Temple, it stores over 1000 antiques and relics of the culture.
Colonial Penang Museum
Interested in finding out more about Penang’s colonial past? This British-styled mansion holds the personal items of wealthy merchants, in particular, the Chinese and Peranakans and British administrators. Admire stained glass windows, marble tables, and chairs as well as a bathtub of Eu Tong Seng, founder of Eu Yan Sang. Yes, he came from Penang.
Sun Yat Sen Museum
Displaying the life and journey of Sun Yat Sen, who was China’s first provisional president, this house hosts items from his personal life when he was living in Penang and of the work he did leading up to the Chinese Revolution in 1911.
Asia Camera Museum
A picture captures a thousand words, but the cameras used to take them are also an art in itself. In this museum, you will not only get to operate old vintage cameras but see them taken apart into its individual components. A definite must-see for anyone who loves photography and cameras.
The Blue Mansion (Cheong Fatt Tze)
Loosely considered as a museum, as it operates as a hotel and has tour-only admissions, the Blue House has been fascinatingly built for the best Fengshui. Many movies have also been filmed in this place including the recent Crazy Rich Asians.
The history of Penang comes to life in these museums and anyone who goes to Penang would be glad that they explored it.
