Dutch Square (Red Square) Melaka: Malacca Travel Guide

Maroon walls, a clock and a fountain

Everything here is the same dark red. The Stadthuys, Christ Church, the Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower and the low walls around the Queen Victoria Fountain all share one coat of maroon paint. That is why the whole plaza gets called Red Square.

The Stadthuys dates from the 1650s. It was built as the Dutch governor’s offices and is often called the oldest Dutch building in Asia. It now holds the History and Ethnography Museum.

Christ Church went up in the mid-1700s and is still a working Anglican church. The buildings got their red paint under British rule, and nobody agrees on why. The square is part of the Melaka and George Town UNESCO World Heritage listing, inscribed in 2008.

Getting to Banda Hilir

The square marks the centre of the old town, so most routes finish here.

• From Melaka Sentral bus terminal: Panorama Melaka bus 17 stops at Dutch Square.
• From Kuala Lumpur: long-distance buses run from TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) to Melaka Sentral. From there, take bus 17 or a Grab.
• By Grab: ride-hailing is the easy option in Melaka. Ask to be dropped at the Stadthuys.
• On foot from Jonker Street: cross the bridge over the Melaka River. The clock tower is right in front of you.

Beating the trishaw traffic

The square never closes, but that doesn’t mean it’s ever empty. On weekends it is busiest from 11am to 5pm. Tour groups stack up in front of the fountain and the church steps during that stretch.

On weekdays, the calmest time is 7am to 8am. Low sun lights up the red facades, and you can take a picture of Christ Church without a crowd in it.

Plan for about 45 minutes for the square alone. Allow two to three hours if you’re going into the Stadthuys museum and walking up the hill behind it. The museums keep their own hours, separate from the square, so check them before you go.

Riding, paying and stepping inside

Trishaws line the edge of the square. They’re covered in plastic flowers and cartoon characters and play loud music from built-in speakers. Here is how it works:

• Agree the fare before you get in. Say whether it’s per ride or per hour, and confirm the route out loud.
• Pay the rider in cash. Carry small ringgit notes, because card payment isn’t a given on the street.
• At night, the lights come on. The trishaws switch on LED strips after dark, and plenty of people ride then just for that.

Christ Church is a place of worship first. Cover your shoulders and knees, keep your voice down, and don’t take photos during services. Around the square, everyone waits their turn for the classic shot of the fountain steps, so step aside once you’re done.

Afterwards, walk up the path beside the Stadthuys to the ruins of St Paul’s Church on St Paul’s Hill. Then go down the other side to Porta de Santiago, the last gate left of A Famosa fort. On Friday to Sunday evenings, cross the river to the Jonker Walk night market.