Stand at the corner of Jalan Braga and look down a street of cafés, restaurants and boutiques that once earned Bandung the nickname Parijs van Java. The air is cooler here than in most Indonesian provincial capitals, and the volcanic mountains that ring the city are visible from the northern districts.
Bandung suits travellers who want colonial architecture, museums and mountain scenery within a short ride of each other, and who do not mind a complicated traffic system.
1. Gedung Merdeka and the Museum of the Asian-African Conference
Gedung Merdeka is the former Concordia Society building in Central Bandung, where the 1955 Bandung Conference was hosted by President Sukarno and attended by heads of state from twenty-nine independent countries. The museum inside tells the history of that conference, which was attended by figures including Sukarno, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Tito and Ho Chi Minh.
The building itself was renovated by Albert Aalbers, one of the key architects of Bandung's Art Deco period, so the visit combines the conference story with the architecture. It sits in the city centre, which makes it easy to pair with the other Central Bandung colonial buildings.
2. Gedung Sate
Gedung Sate in North Bandung was built in the 1920s for the Department of Public Works of the Dutch East Indies and is now used by West Java's provincial government. It is the main example of the government buildings designed by the Government Buildings Service rather than by the three famous private architects of the period.
Combine it with the Sunday Market in Gasibu, which is located to the north of Gedung Sate and sells food and handicrafts at affordable prices. Sunday morning is the practical time to see both.
3. Colonial architecture in the city centre and Dago
Most colonial buildings are found in the city centre, with further early 20th-century expansion in the Dago area. The city holds one of the world's largest numbers of Art Deco buildings, and the key architects of the 1920-1940 period were C.P.W. Schoemaker, A.F. Aalbers and Henri Maclaine Pont, all of whom combined modernist European architecture with Indonesian style elements.
Schoemaker's buildings include the Gedung Merdeka, Grand Hotel Preanger, the Bandung Cathedral and the New Majestic cinema building in Central Bandung, plus Villa Isola and the Pasteur Institute in Northwest Bandung and the Kologdam Building in East Bandung. Aalbers designed the DENIS Bank building, the Savoy Homann and the renovation of the Gedung Merdeka. Treat these as a walking or riding route rather than separate stops.
4. Alun-alun and the Grand Mosque
The Alun-alun is the central lawn square of the city centre, with the Grand Mosque adjoining it. The mosque was initially built in the 19th century and has been renovated and expanded many times, most recently in 2003, when the two 81-metre minarets were added.
During weekends, one of the minarets is open to visitors and gives a view across the city. The Kilometre Zero monument, marking the location of Bandung's establishment where the Great Post Road crosses the Cikapundung river, is nearby, so the square, mosque and monument fit into one stop.
5. Jalan Braga
Jalan Braga grew into a promenade street with cafés, restaurants and boutique shops, and the abundance of shops selling fashion items from Paris gave the city its Parijs van Java nickname. Two Art Deco hotels, Savoy Homann and Preanger, were built in the vicinity of the Concordia Society clubhouse.
Walk it as a street rather than a single sight, and look at the hotel facades as part of the same outing. It is in Central Bandung, close to the Gedung Merdeka.
6. Djuanda Forest Park
In the Dago area in the north of the city, Djuanda Forest Park is a conservation area and botanical garden in the mountains. Within the park are two man-made caves that were important locations during the Second World War and the Indonesian War of Independence, used among other things for shelter and ammunition storage.
This is the main natural sight within the city, so it pairs well with the Dago area's colonial buildings on the same day.
7. Geological Museum
The Geological Museum in North Bandung holds 250,000 rocks, a mineral collection and 60,000 fossils. It is one of the well-known museums in the city and sits in the same part of town as the Postal Museum.
Pair the two North Bandung museums in a single visit rather than crossing the city twice.
8. Postal Museum
The Postal Museum in North Bandung covers the postal history of Indonesia and the Dutch East Indies. It is a smaller counterpart to the Geological Museum and is best seen on the same trip north.
9. Museum Mandala Wangsit Siliwangi
This Central Bandung museum covers weapons and the history of Bandung in the War of Independence. It is one of the lesser-known museums, so it suits travellers who have already covered the city centre's main sights and want more of the independence period.
10. Museum Barli
Museum Barli in Northwest Bandung holds paintings and vintage toys. It is a lesser-known museum, useful if you are already in the northwest for Villa Isola or the Pasteur Institute.
11. Sri Baduga Museum
The Sri Baduga Museum in South Bandung holds archaeological and geological exhibitions on West Java province. It is the southern option among the city's museums and covers the wider provincial context.
12. Car-Free Day on Jalan Dago
Every Sunday, Jalan Dago is closed to traffic from Cikapayang north to Simpang-Siliwangi between 06:00 and 10:00. Come as early as possible, because it can become hectic, as it is only a small street.
13. Tangkuban Perahu
The Tangkuban Perahu volcano is about 20 km north of Bandung, near Lembang. It is one of the mountain excursions that make up the outdoor side of a Bandung trip.
Note that the pendopo of the old Bandung palace was built facing Tangkuban Perahu, which was believed to have a mystical ambience, so the mountain connects to the city's own history as well as its scenery.
14. Kawah Putih
The Kawah Putih (White Crater) lake is about 40 km south of Bandung, near Ciwidey. It is the main southern excursion and is best treated as a separate day from the northern mountain sights.
15. Ranca Upas
Ranca Upas is a camping ground in a protected area where campers can interact with and observe deer from up close. It suits travellers who want to stay overnight in the southern highlands rather than return to the city.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at the Alun-alun and the Grand Mosque, and if it is a weekend, climb one of the minarets for the view across the city. Walk the short distance to the Kilometre Zero monument, then continue to Gedung Merdeka and the Museum of the Asian-African Conference.
Afternoon: Walk Jalan Braga for the cafés, restaurants and boutique shops, and look at the Savoy Homann and Preanger hotel facades. If time allows, head north to Gedung Sate, and on a Sunday combine it with the Sunday Market in Gasibu.
Evening: Return to the city centre for the culinary diversity the city is known for, and finish around the Alun-alun area, which stays lively into the evening.
When is the best time to visit the Grand Mosque minaret?
During weekends, one of the minarets is open to visitors, and from the top you get a view across the city.
What can I do in Bandung on a Sunday morning?
Every Sunday, Jalan Dago is closed to traffic from Cikapayang north to Simpang-Siliwangi between 06:00 and 10:00 for Car-Free Day. Arrive as early as possible, because it can become hectic, as it is only a small street. The Sunday Market in Gasibu, north of Gedung Sate, also runs on Sundays with food and handicrafts at affordable prices.
Which museums in Bandung are close to each other?
The Geological Museum and the Postal Museum are both in North Bandung, so they can be visited together. Museum Barli is in Northwest Bandung, Museum Mandala Wangsit Siliwangi is in Central Bandung, and the Sri Baduga Museum is in South Bandung.
How far are the mountain sights from the city?
The Tangkuban Perahu volcano is about 20 km north of Bandung, near Lembang. The Kawah Putih lake is about 40 km south of Bandung, near Ciwidey.
Decide which side of the city you want to base yourself on, check whether your visit falls on a Sunday, and start mapping the colonial buildings and museums into a route.