I had no idea what to expect when arriving in Georgetown, Penang. I had read a few blog posts and my trusty lonely planet guidebook but hadn’t planned out any activities. Within a few hours, I was in love with the city! With its colorful facades, hip cafes and beautiful architecture, I was simply blown away. One of my favorite parts was the amazing street art in Penang!
Everywhere you turn in Georgetown there are beautiful murals on the buildings. The street art in Penang is an art lover’s dream!
The city of Georgetown partnered with artist, Ernest Zacharevic, to commission several pieces across the city that capture the essence of Georgetown and its people. The art features mainly children going about their daily lives in Penang.
Most of the art is focused in the Old Georgetown Streets. You can wander around this area and find new pieces of street art around every corner. This area is also great for picking up souvenirs and grabbing a bite to eat.
After Zacharevic’s art became a tourist attraction, many other street artists began creating murals in the area. Some streets are filled to the brim with murals and paintings squeezed between shop windows.
My favorite part about Zacharevic’s art is that many pieces are somewhat 3D! One of the most famous murals depicts a painting of a small boy atop a real motorbike.
I also loved that much of the art was interactive like this swing set mural! It was fun to pose for silly photos with the murals.
You can book a walking tour to see all of the street art, but we just did it DYI. Most of the guesthouses in the area have a map with all the famous street art pieces mapped out. You can also find it through a quick Google search if you prefer to navigate on your phone.
Penang Basics-
- Getting to Penang- You can either fly or take a ferry from the mainland. Flights from Kuala Lumpur are ridiculously cheap on Air Asia if booked a few days in advance. We took the ferry to here from Langkawi and then flew on to Kuala Lumpur.
- Where to stay- We stayed at a basic but charming guesthouse called Star Lodge. It’s centrally located and the staff behind the desk was so helpful in pointing out the best places to visit and the most delicious food to eat. They don’t have online booking, so you need to book a room upon arrival. There are several guesthouses in the area if they are full.
- What to Else See & Do-
- Hike to Monkey Beach in Taman Negara Pulau Pinang. This hike is beautiful, taking you through the jungle and a Cliffside path. It is definitely a moderately difficult hike, but if you aren’t up to it you can reach the beach by boat.
- Wander through Georgetown’s Chinatown and Little India to take in the sights and sounds.
- Try something from all the stalls at Red Garden, an amazingly diverse food hawker stall located not to far from Lebuh Chulia (the main tourist street in Penang).
Like this post on street art in Penang? PIN IT!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of the product links, I’ll earn a small percentage at no extra cost to you. All proceeds go to keeping this site up and running.
I really like the swings. Really interesting street art!
It was such a cool place, Erin! I’m sure you would love a lot of the more funkier pieces too. Definitely different then a lot of the street art I’ve seen before!
Wow, that is probably some of the best street art I have ever seen! How cool that you were able to see it in person. I would love to wander the streets just to see all of it.
Maggie recently posted…Halloween at Disneyland-2016
This is awesome! I love the swing one, and the bike! Just added Penang to my bucket list! 🙂
I love interactive street art like this! The one of the little boy walking a monster is amazing.
That was my favorite one too!
Great to know that flights from KL to Penang are ridiculously cheap! I am going to KL in March and would love to stop in Penang as well. Have heard such good things about Georgetown, and your photos of the street art are spectacular. Thanks for sharing!
You’ll love both cities! They are very different but amazing. Enjoy and safe travels 🙂
Oh, I would have loved this place. I visited Malaysia twice & never bothered to step out of KL. The pics of the kids on the bicycle & the little boy on the bike are amazing!! I’m imagining you get a nice Penang curry here too!
I love KL too but some of the best parts of Malaysia are outside of the city! Langkawi was really nice too, if you do decide to go back someday!
Nice memories from George Town, such an eclectic city. Done the routes to the National Park by foot, are not very difficult, if you don’t get lost (as I did) but fund the way.
Love your pics!
I love street art so really enjoyed this post. I like how this street art kind of seems natural if you know what I mean? It’s not the bright colors and bold designs that i see in most places.
Thats what I really liked about the street art in Penang too! It was different from most of the street art I’ve seen around the world.
Exploring local street art is one of my favorite things to do when traveling! These photos are really awesome. I love seeing how art is different and similar throughout the world.
When I was younger, I visited Penang except I never noticed the street art! I wonder how long it’s been there… I feel like I definitely need to go back – it looks unreal. Banksy of SEA? Hahah.
Really like how you’ve included the Penang basics! Lovely photos too 🙂
Caroline @ The Travelling Sloth recently posted…Hiking: Trolltunga
I think that the art has only been around for a few years so it might not have been there when you visited! Definitely worth a trip back though 🙂
Thank you for sharing Kassie! I didn’t know that Penang had such cool and unique street art. Your photos look great and sometimes the 3D tricks our eyes to thinking it’s real!
Love,
Alessandra
Great post and some lovely pictures of Ernest Zacharevic’s works. I will have to add this location to my places to visit list!
Yes, he is an incredible talented artist! I loved how his art inspired so many more to come and create in Penang!
This is probably one of the best street arts and murals I’ve ever seen. I will definitely have to visit Penang as soon as possible. How many days would you recommend staying there?