Impressive Old Towns in Indonesia, Unique Destinations for Your Next Vacation

Old Towns in Indonesia – Where do you usually go when exploring a city? Probably some of you prefer to visit museums. Some may prefer to search for good foods. Others want to stay in a cozy accommodation. But, how many of you are thinking about exploring old towns?

Linger longer in Indonesia, and visit the old towns in many cities such as Semarang, Jakarta, and Medan. The architecture and historical old buildings are very photogenic. We’re pretty sure you’ll love it!

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7 Interesting Old Towns in Indonesia to Visit

If you are still undecided about which city to visit, reading this article will help you get some ideas. Many cities in Indonesia have their old towns. At these places, usually, people can go shopping, or just strolling around. Here are some of them:

1. Cycling and Taking Photos at Jakarta Old Town

If the condition is getting better and the tourist attractions are open, you can plan to visit Jakarta Old Town. You may have seen this place online or some of you may have visited this place. 

Jakarta Old Town spans 1.3 kilometers within West Jakarta and North Jakarta. This place contains Dutch-style historical buildings. You can take some pictures there. There are also some museums you can visit, located around the area such as the Fatahillah Museum, the Puppet Museum, and the Fine Arts & Ceramics Museum.

Besides taking pictures, you can cycle around Jakarta Old Town. Colorful bicycles are available for you to rent! 

2. Bandung Old Town

Next, let’s move on to Bandung. Jalan Braga in Bandung is a very attractive place to visit. This iconic area is also famous among tourists, especially backpackers. In this area, there are many buildings with colonial styles. Unique and also instagrammable! 🙂

Usually, the Braga Festival is held annually there. Although this year you may not be able to see it due to the pandemic, you can still enjoy some artworks from the street artists on the sidewalks. Who knows if you can find one that you like and take it home with you.

3. Semarang Old Town

Let’s talk about Semarang, a city which is famous for its spring rolls as its yummy foods and also has an Old Town that you must visit.

Like other old cities, visiting Semarang Old Town will make you feel like you’re going back using a time machine. You’ll see lots of old and unique buildings. 

Blenduk Church is one of the unique church buildings and must be visited. As the name implies, this church does have a shape like a “blenduk” which in Javanese means something that is wrapped in something and stands out.

You can also stop by the Spiegel Bar which is a classic European building that is now used as a hangout place for young people. Evening walks around Jalan Letjen Suprapto also is a nice thing to do there.

4. Solo Old Town

In Central Java, there is also another city worth-visiting, called Solo. This is a city that is mostly associated with Javanese culture. This city is not that crowded; a good destination for those of you who prefer a quiet place.

Unlike other old towns in many cities in Indonesia that are centralized in one place, there are several old towns in Solo. The reason is that Solo has 2 kingdoms that contribute to the development of more modern architecture.

You can visit Jalan Jendral Sudirman. Over there, there are several old buildings such as Fort Vastenburg and Gedung Joeang 45, which have now been transformed into a gelato shop, without losing the impression of a classic building.

In addition, there are still many areas that you can visit, such as the Kasunanan Palace and Mangkunegaran Temple. For those of you who like shopping and culinary delights, just head to Klewer Market and Gedhe Market. You can enjoy a bowl of fresh and delicious iced dawet.

5. Surabaya Old Town

Okay, moving to East Java, let’s explore Surabaya, a city known as a strategic port. In ancient times, many traders came to Surabaya and engaged in services and trade businesses.

Surabaya is famous for its 3 villages, namely European, Chinese and Arab villages. There are many historical buildings that you can visit in Surabaya, t-mates. You can visit the Atom Market and Surabaya City Station which are thick with history.

There are hotel buildings such as the Arcadia Hotel which is a cultural heritage site in the Jembatan Merah Plaza area. You can really capture the beauty of architectural buildings freely. 

6. Mataram Old Town

Have you ever been to Mataram? If you haven’t, you should visit this destination. Mataram has an old town, which is called Ampenan Old Town.

At the Ampenan area, you can see many ancient buildings. Most of the buildings are typical Dutch architecture, which had occupied Mataram for a long time.

While walking around the Old City of Ampenan, you can go to Ampenan Beach to witness the sunset. Very beautiful, indeed.

7. Medan Old Town

How are you doing, t-mates? We hope you’re all safe and healthy. The last city with a unique old town on the list is Medan in Sumatra.

On your next trip to Medan, besides enjoying its delicious foods, you can visit its old town. Get around some of the buildings such as London Sumatra building which has been around since 1906. This 5 storey building still stands tall until today.

Other places that you can visit include the old Post Office building and also Bank Indonesia. Take some pictures in front of these historical buildings, it will be Insta-worthy!

Relax and Go Back in Time with tiket.com

Those are some of the old towns throughout Indonesia. You can visit those places for your next vacation. By the way, you can prepare for your trip with tiket.com. If you still don’t know which transportation to use in the destination, don’t worry.

You can book Car Rentals from tiket.com. You can select the type of car you want based on your budget. Okay, last but not least, we hope that you are safe all the time. So, don’t forget to get yourself vaccinated, always apply the health protocols while on vacation. 

 

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