Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park is a cultural park where impressive replicas of traditional Malaysian and ASEAN homes can be seen. Similar to the Karyaneka Handicraft Centre in KL, each house contains furnishings, fixtures and works of art depicting the culture of each state or country. Located in Ayer Keroh, the Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park showcases the country’s 13 states represented with houses that actually look alike to the untrained eye (save for the Borneo house). However inside each abode is where the differences can be seen with life-sized wax dummies dressed in respective traditional costumes as well as local handicrafts. At the Mini Malaysia Complex there is also a model of an Orang Asli village. Exploring the park is a good way to spend an afternoon and entrance into both Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park is included in one ticket price. A great place for families, kids can learn to play traditional Malay games such as congkak or even hone their skills on an Iban blowpipe at Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park; on the weekends there are cultural dance shows.

Melaka Maritime Museum is a replica of the Flor de la Mar, a Portuguese ship said to have been carrying loot plundered from Malacca when it sank off the coast of Malacca on its way back to Portugal. Opened to the public in 1994, this unique museum is an enlightening trip back into Malacca’s past. The 34m-high, 36m-long and eight-metre-wide structure is located at Quayside Road (right beside the. Set 10 minutes away from the Dutch Square, the Melaka Maritime Museum is divided into the different eras that Malacca has gone through, from the Melaka Sultanate period, to Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. The Melaka Maritime Museum aims to highlight Malacca’s importance back in the day as ‘a regional and international business centre’. Displays include artefacts and documents from the Malacca Sultanate, Portuguese, Dutch and British administration era that reveal why political control of Malacca was essential to maritime dominance of the region. Additionally, there is a collection of model ships as well as reading material on Malacca’s history and famous Malaccan legends such as Hang Tuah.

The mosque is located on Pulau Melaka which is a man-made reclaimed 40 hectare island just off the city centre of Melaka. The island has been plagued with difficulties since construction commenced in 1996. First of all conservationists were opposed to the location of the island which is where many submerged historical artefacts, including the wrecks of many Portuguese ships, were believed to be lying. These have now been buried forever under tonnes of rocks and sand. Then the ambitious construction project ran into financial difficulties due to the global economic crisis. In the past couple of years, Melaka's state government has taken over responsibility for the project and construction has resumed. On the drawing board, or at various stages of completion, are mixed residential and commercial units and a number of leisure/tourism projects.

A’Famosa is more than just quick photo stop opportunity for tourists. Built in 1511, the settlement used to sprawl across a whole hillside but now only a lone gate (Porta de Santiago) remains. One of the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia; it is set beside the Istana kesultanan on Jalan Kota. A’Famosa is perhaps Malacca’s best known sightseeing spot. Originally constructed by Alfonso de Albuquerque (who led the Portuguese invasion on the Malacca Sultanate), the remains of the fort is now a crumbling whitewashed gatehouse and is located downhill from St. Paul’s Church. In the 16th century A’Famosa housed the entire Portuguese administration, including its hospitals, five churches, elongated stockades and four key towers. One tower was a four-storey keep; the others were an ammunition storage room, captain’s residence and an officer’s quarters. The rest of the bastion comprised of townhouses clustered inside the fortress walls. The fort was expanded in 1586 to accommodate Malacca’s growing population. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Portuguese were establishing outposts in Macau, China and India in order to create a string of friendly ports for their ships plying the routes between China and Portugal. Malacca’s growing popularity meant that it was fast becoming an important link for Portugal to the Spice Route in China. In 1511 the Portuguese fleet, under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque arrived and launched an attack on the armies of the Malacca Sultanate and defeated them. Albuquerque moved swiftly to consolidate his gains by building a fortress around a hill near the sea. He used 1,500 slaves to construct A’Famosa as a stronghold to defend against foreign invasion. Dutch History In 1641 the Dutch wrested control of A’Famosa from the Portuguese and drove them out of the city. What remains is largely the Dutch reconstruction as they carried out renovation works in 1670, following the siege. To this day you can see a small inscription (ANNO 1670) on the fort’s arch as well as the coat-of-arms of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). A’Famosa changed hands again when Malacca fell into British hands during expansionist Napoleonic times. Initially under the impression that the VOC was to act as a caretaker administration until a time when the Dutch were able to fully resume control, they had no idea the fort would soon be lost to them forever. British History Due to the fact that they offered too little and asked for too much, the Dutch forces soon lost the respect of their Malay subjects and in the early 19th century Malacca was fully conquered by the British. Wary of maintaining the fort, should it fall into enemy hands, the English ordered its destruction in 1806. Fortunately, Sir Stamford Raffles (founder of Singapore) who was visiting Malacca in 1810 arrived in the nick of time. Due to his love of history he stepped in before the complete destruction of the old fortress. It was a close call though and the crumbling remains of Porta de Santiago, a small gate house, were all that could be salvaged from total destruction. When work was undertaken on the Menara Taming Sari revolving tower in 2006, another part of the A’Famosa was discovered. As a result the revolving tower was relocated further inland and A’Famosa’s newly-discovered fortress walls were reconstructed.

The simple, sturdy Stadthuys in Dutch Square originally served as the official residence of the Dutch governors and was used as a town hall throughout the British administration; it now houses a collection of museums. A few of the galleries in the renovated building merit a visit – such as the Islamic Museum, Architecture Museum and the Muzium Rakyat (Peoples Museum), which covers everything from gasing uri (top-spinning) to Malay and Chinese ceramics and weaponry. Also interesting is the History & Ethnography Museum: it has an endless collection of maps, prints and photos giving a blow-by-blow account of Malaccan history and development. Also check out the upstairs reconstruction of a 17th-century Dutch dining room. The inside of the Stadthuys is beautiful with white, monumental staircases and high windows: it looks like a typical 17th-century Dutch municipal building and is very attractive and well maintained. The view from the back windows is of whitewashed homes lining the courtyard – a picturesque sight indeed. Turning to the right as you leave the Stadthuys is Christ Church. Also facing the fountain, it was built in 1753 to commemorate the centenary of Dutch occupation in Malacca and to replace an earlier Portuguese church, which was by then a ruin. Check out the elegant collection of sacramental silverware which bears the Dutch coat-of-arms and also the intricate painting of the Last Supper on the glazed tiles of the altar. Christ Church Design Malaysia’s oldest Protestant church, Christ Church’s red bricks were shipped all the way from Zeeland in Holland. The cool, whitewashed interior has decorative fanlights high up on the walls, the floor is studded with Dutch tombstones while the walls have plaques recording WWII and epidemic deaths. The church is of simple Dutch design, with neither aisles nor chancel: its most significant features are the original, elaborate, 200-year old hand-carved pews plus its heavy timber ceiling beams, each carved from a single tree trunk, which span more than 15m long. The porch and vestry were added in the 19th-century. After that your journey will continue to Jonker walk or may riding the Trishaw / Tricycle or going for a Malacca River Cruise