Medan travel guide: Kesawan, Maimun Palace, food and onward travel

Treat Medan as a stopover with one good day

The tourism ministry describes Medan as North Sumatra's economic hub and the largest city in Sumatra, a place people have moved to from all over Indonesia, and it warns that traffic is part of the experience: minibuses, becak and taxis compete for space with motorbikes. That shapes the plan. The sights worth your time are in and around the old centre, so choose a hotel there and do the city in one full day rather than trying to cross it several times.

Merdeka Square (Lapangan Merdeka) is the most practical base. The Railink airport train ends at Medan station on its edge, the old post office and the colonial-era hotels face it, and the Kesawan heritage street starts a few minutes' walk away. The Grand Inna Medan on Jalan Balai Kota, built in 1898 as Hotel De Boer, is the oldest hotel in the city.

If food is the point of your stay, look instead around Sun Plaza and Jalan Zainul Arifin on the edge of Kampung Keling, Medan's Little India, where evening food alleys and Indian restaurants are on the doorstep. Budget hotels also cluster near the Grand Mosque on Jalan Sisingamangaraja, the road that leads south towards Amplas bus terminal. Wherever you book, check the distance to Medan station or your bus departure point: a cheap room on the wrong side of the city can cost an hour in traffic on your travel day.

Eat your way through Medan

Food is the main reason to stay longer than a night. The ministry calls Medan a melting pot whose Chinese, Malay, Minang, Indian and Javanese communities have produced a cuisine of their own, and the city is a food-travel destination for Indonesians themselves. Plan meals around neighbourhoods rather than one famous name.

Kesawan in the morning. Kedai Kopi Apek on Jalan Hindu, which the ministry dates to 1922, serves Sidikalang coffee with toast and a soft-boiled egg in one of the city's oldest coffee houses. Tip Top on Jalan Ahmad Yani, opposite the Tjong A Fie Mansion, is a Dutch-era restaurant whose veranda looks out over the Kesawan street.

Jalan Selat Panjang at night. This street and its neighbours hold some of Medan's oldest Chinese eateries and are the ministry's pick for a night out eating: noodle houses such as Bakmi Tiong Sin, plate-cooked sweet martabak, steamed buns and Chinese-Indonesian restaurants. Many dishes here contain pork; if you avoid it, ask first.

Little India in the evening. The alleys of Kampung Keling around Jalan Pagaruyung come alive after sunset with satay, martabak telur, fried rice and Minang-style rice dishes, and the Indian restaurants nearby serve curries and vegetarian food. For halal food elsewhere, the ministry's own list includes Mie Aceh Titi Bobrok on Jalan Setia Budi, Sipirok for bone-marrow soup and the mie balap cooks on Jalan Wahidin.

• Durian: Durian Ucok on Jalan KH Wahid Hasyim, in business since the 1980s, is the city's best-known durian stop; when we checked on 2026-10-03, the ministry listed it as open 24 hours and said the sellers will replace a fruit you are not happy with.
• Take-home cakes: bika ambon and bolu (rolled sponge cake) are Medan's classic gifts; the best-known bika ambon shops are on Jalan Mojopahit and Jalan Sekip, and it is also sold at Kualanamu airport.
• Drinks: look for markisa (passion fruit) syrup and teh susu telur, a mix of tea, milk and raw egg.

Kesawan and the old trading town on foot

Kesawan, the corridor along Jalan Ahmad Yani, is the oldest part of Medan. The ministry's heritage guide says it was first a Malay settlement, then a trading centre for Chinese merchants from Malacca, and that after a great fire in 1890 it was rebuilt with the Chinese shophouses and Dutch colonial buildings that line it today. Some of them are worn; many have kept their old facades. Walk it in the morning before the heat, from Merdeka Square south.

The Tjong A Fie Mansion at Jalan Ahmad Yani 105 is the one interior to see. Tjong A Fie was a Chinese merchant who made his fortune in Sumatra's plantation economy; his official museum site says the two-storey, 35-room house was built in 1895 around a central open-air courtyard, following feng-shui principles, with Chinese, Malay and Art Deco influences. It opened to the public as a museum in June 2009. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the official site listed opening hours of 9:00 to 17:00 every day, with no entry after 16:30 and closure on Chinese New Year Day, and an entry fee of IDR 35,000 that includes a guided tour in English or Indonesian.

Around it, look for the London Sumatra building at Jalan Ahmad Yani No. 2, built in 1906 as the headquarters of the British plantation firm Harrisons & Crosfield and, according to the ministry, the first building in Medan with a lift; the curved two-storey Warenhuis at the corner of Jalan Hindu, designed by Gerard Bos in 1918 as the city's first department store; and the old main post office at Jalan Pos No. 1, now restored as the Pos Bloc Medan creative and community space. Nearby in Petisah, the Tjong Yong Hian flower garden on Jalan Kejaksaan, honouring Tjong A Fie's brother, opened in 2011 with a gallery of historical photographs.

The sultan's palace, the Grand Mosque and Little India

South of the centre, the Deli Sultanate's two great buildings stand a short walk apart. Maimun Palace (Istana Maimun) on Jalan Brigjen Katamso was built for Sultan Ma'moen Al Rasyid Perkasa Alamsjah: the foundation stone was laid on 26 August 1888 and the palace was finished on 18 May 1891. The ministry describes a 2,772-square-metre complex of 30 rooms in a main building and two wings, mixing Malay Deli, Middle Eastern, Spanish, Indian, Dutch and Italian elements, with the Meriam Puntung, a legendary broken cannon, in the grounds. Only some rooms are open, and visitors can hire Deli court costume for photographs.

The Grand Mosque, Masjid Raya Al Mashun, on Jalan Sisingamangaraja was begun in 1906 under the same sultan and held its first Friday prayers on 10 September 1909. Its octagonal plan and five black domes are the city's best-known silhouette, and the ministry notes marble from Italy and Germany, stained glass from China and chandeliers from France. It is a working mosque: dress modestly, cover arms and legs, avoid prayer times and take your shoes off where others do. Women may be directed to a separate entrance and section.

West of the centre, the Shri Mariamman Temple at the corner of Jalan Teuku Umar and Jalan Zainul Arifin is Medan's oldest Hindu temple, founded in 1884 for the city's Tamil community, in a South Indian (Dravidian) style. It marks Kampung Keling, the Little India quarter, which is also where you will want to eat in the evening. Ask before photographing people at worship, and keep your voice down in all three places.

• Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni: a Catholic shrine built in the style of an Indian temple, inaugurated on 1 October 2005, at Jalan Sakura III in Tanjung Selamat, about 11 km from downtown; worth a taxi if you have a second day.
• Maha Vihara Maitreya: in Cemara Asri, the largest Buddhist temple complex in Medan, with statues, a koi pond and a vegetarian canteen.
• Vihara Gunung Timur: a large Taoist temple about 500 m from Shri Mariamman, especially busy at Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh.

Getting in and getting around

Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) opened in 2013 in Deli Serdang Regency, replacing the old Polonia airport in the city, and lies about 23 km east of downtown. The Railink airport train runs between the airport and Medan station beside Merdeka Square in around 30 minutes, with an intermediate stop at Bandar Khalipah. It is the most predictable way in; Wikivoyage reports that tickets are paid by card rather than cash, so carry one that works in Indonesia and check the current timetable for an early or late flight. DAMRI buses run to Jalan Gatot Subroto by Plaza Medan Fair and to Amplas terminal and take 60 to 90 minutes or more in traffic; taxis and the Grab and Gojek apps also work from the airport.

In the city, metered Blue Bird or Express taxis and the Grab and Gojek apps avoid the haggling. The ministry's advice for other taxis and for becak motor, the noisy motorised rickshaws, is to agree the destination and price before you get in; Wikivoyage warns of drivers who quote one price and demand ten times as much on arrival, so confirm the amount clearly and keep small notes. The green Trans Metro Deli buses link Merdeka Walk with Pinang Baris and Amplas terminals on fixed routes, and are paid by electronic money or QRIS. The small sudako minibuses are cheap but hard to use without Indonesian.

The ministry's Medan page still mentions ships from Penang, but Wikivoyage reports that passenger ferries no longer run between Penang and Belawan, Medan's port. Unless you can confirm a current sailing with an operator, fly from Malaysia: Kualanamu has direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore among other cities.

A workable one-day plan

This is an editorial suggestion, not a timetable. Arrive the evening before if you can, and check the opening times of each place on the day.

• Morning — Kesawan: coffee and toast at Kedai Kopi Apek, then the Tjong A Fie Mansion soon after it opens, and a slow walk past the London Sumatra building, the Warenhuis and the old post office on Merdeka Square.
• Midday — the Deli Sultanate: a taxi to the Grand Mosque outside prayer times, then the short walk to Maimun Palace; lunch indoors through the hottest hours.
• Late afternoon — Little India: the Shri Mariamman Temple and Vihara Gunung Timur, then satay and martabak in Kampung Keling as the stalls open.
• Evening — Selat Panjang or durian: a Chinese noodle dinner on Jalan Selat Panjang, or Durian Ucok if you are brave.
• Next morning: leave early for Bukit Lawang, Berastagi or Lake Toba before the traffic builds.

Onward: Bukit Lawang, Berastagi and Lake Toba

Bukit Lawang, the jungle village on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park, is about 90 km north-west of Medan. The ministry says buses leave frequently from Pinang Baris terminal on Jalan Gatot Subroto and take about three hours, or you can hire a car with a driver; the Trans Metro Deli K1M bus runs to Pinang Baris from Merdeka Walk.

Berastagi, the old Dutch hill station in the Karo highlands, sits at about 1,300 m with daytime temperatures the ministry puts at 17 to 20 °C, a welcome change from Medan's heat. It is roughly 70 km from the city and about two hours by road, with views of the Sinabung and Sibayak volcanoes; check the current volcano status before planning a hike.

Lake Toba: Parapat, the lakeside town on the mainland shore, is 176 km from Medan. The ministry says public buses take under six hours on two routes, direct or through Berastagi, so you can break the journey in the highlands. The faster alternative is to fly from Kualanamu to Sisingamangaraja XII (Silangit) airport at Siborong-borong and continue by road. Each of these places needs at least two nights; do not try them as day trips from Medan.