Kota Lama, Semarang

Kota Lama is the old commercial quarter of Semarang, a compact grid of Dutch-era offices, warehouses and houses that was flooded and half-abandoned for decades before a thorough restoration reopened the streets, repaved them and fixed the drainage. At its centre stands Gereja Blenduk, a Protestant church from the 1750s with a copper dome and a wooden gallery inside. Around it are trading houses with tall shuttered windows, some now cafes and small museums, along streets that are pleasant to walk in the early evening. Ten minutes south, Lawang Sewu, the colonial railway company's headquarters from the 1900s, has long arcaded corridors, stained glass and a basement that guides make much of.

What you actually see

• Gereja Blenduk - the domed eighteenth-century church at the heart of the quarter.
• The trading houses - shuttered facades along the main street and the side lanes.
• Lawang Sewu - the old railway headquarters with its arcades and stained glass.
• Sam Poo Kong - the red and gold Chinese temple complex on the city's west side.

When to go

The dry season, May to September, matters here: Semarang is low-lying and parts of the old town still take standing water after heavy rain. Late afternoon and evening are the best hours, when the heat drops and the restored streets light up. Weekends bring wedding photographers and crowds to the square in front of Blenduk.

Honest expectations

The restoration is handsome but has a staged quality in places, with new paving and lamp posts giving a film-set feel and several buildings still empty behind their facades. Semarang is hot, humid and prone to tidal flooding in the low streets. Lawang Sewu's ghost stories are pushed hard by guides, and the building itself is largely empty rooms.

Nearby

Sam Poo Kong temple is west of the centre; the mosques of Demak and Kudus are an hour east along the coast road.