Menara Taming Sari

The Taming Sari tower opened in 2008 beside the Malacca river mouth and is a gyro tower: a glass cabin holding sixty-six people rises on a central column to about eighty metres while rotating, giving a full circle of the city, the Strait, the reclaimed land and the old town below over a ride of roughly seven minutes. The name is taken from the kris of Hang Tuah, the legendary Malacca warrior, and the structure is shaped to suggest the blade. It is a straightforward built attraction rather than a heritage one - it sits beside the World Heritage area, and its visual impact on the low old town has been argued about locally. The view is genuinely the best overall orientation to Malacca available, which is the practical case for going up.

What you actually see

• A revolving glass cabin - rising to eighty metres while turning.
• A full circle of Malacca - the old town, river mouth, Strait and reclaimed land.
• A kris-shaped column - the structure modelled on Hang Tuah's blade.
• A seven-minute ride - the whole experience, up, around and down.

When to go

All year; late afternoon for the light. An hour.

Honest expectations

The ride is short for the price and there is often a queue. It closes in high wind and thunderstorms. Reflections in the glass make photography awkward.

Nearby

A Famosa, St Paul's Hill and the Malacca river cruise jetty are all within a short walk.