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Malaysia
Melaka State
Central Melaka District
Melaka
Things to Do in Melaka
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum
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Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum

See all things to do
See all things to do
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum
4.5
#3 of 173 things to do in Melaka
History Museums
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:15 PM
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About
The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum is located in Melaka, a world UNESCO Site. The house is a combination of three terrace lots that were acquired by the Chan family in 1861. Four generations lived in the house before it was opened as a museum in March 1985. Visiting hours from 10.00am to 4.30pm every day.
Duration: < 1 hour
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See what travelers are saying

  • Christraveller10
    Oldham, United Kingdom117 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A lovely way to learn local family history
    A lovely way to learn about the history and way of life of local people. We were given a guide book to follow around this beautiful house filled with furniture, paintings and other exhibits. Costing RM18 each, great value for money.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 8, 2023
  • Sharon K
    Tanjung Bungah, Malaysia17 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    best history of Mixed marriage of Malay+Chinese
    very well presented n informative. rm18 worth spent on 2floors of history of mixed marriage . beautiful setting in Asian plus uk/Dutch furniture n dinnerware etc.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 19, 2024
  • Lovelynn C
    37 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Definitely a must see!
    Definitely worth a visit to understand the cultural heritage of Malacca. Either ask for a guide or a booklet provided to explain when going around the home. Fairly steep stairs to the first floor. Beautiful crafted features of the home, artefacts, clothing, old photos etc. There is a souvenir shop at the end.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 1, 2024
  • NottinghamRed
    Hockley Heath, United Kingdom933 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous Peranakan family home
    What a beautiful house to visit and so lovely inside to see the gorgeous inner courtyards open to the elements as they would have been. Very informative in an interesting way with lots of wonderful photographs explaining the wedding process - the hair combing ceremony - who knew? Loved the staircase with foldable panels and cover.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 2, 2024
  • Mya T
    Chelmsford, United Kingdom67 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautifully kept baba nonya heritage
    We visited as a large family . Worth every penny / quarter / cents ! To be able to see a heritage home preserved so well and opened to public is a privilege . I am glad we got to see a slice of baba nonya living !
    henrykcchan
    Tq. for taking time in visiting our Museum.
    Written August 23, 2024
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 17, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,086 reviews
Excellent
1,149
Very good
729
Average
158
Poor
22
Terrible
28
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
Angela M
West Sussex, UK113 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Brilliant museum about Peranakan lifestyle and culture
Jan 2020
If you're at all interested in the Peranakans (the Chinese traders who married local Malay women) this museum is not to be missed. Formed from 3 houses belonging to an extremely wealthy family, the museum showcases beautifully their fabulous lifestyle across three generations - the furniture, artefacts, clothes and jewellery.

Luckily it was a quiet day when we visited so our tour only comprised 4 people. Our Malay guide was brilliant, and extremely knowledgeable, giving us loads of really interesting info as well as some very amusing anecdotes. Always good to have a guide with a great sense of humour!
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryon B
Olympia, Washington, United States52 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Worth a Visit!
Feb 2020
Very cool house/museum. You get a very good idea of what the Chinese/Maylay culture was over the past two hundred years. The house and the furnishings are beautiful. The only slight negative is that you can't take pictures inside. I would still highly recommend visiting here if you are in Melaka.
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ziga v
16 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Perankan museum worth of visiting
Feb 2020 • Friends
This museum is a great opportunity to have a small peek in traditional lifestyle of local people. We did self tour and it was great. The lady in reception gave us a notebook with all important information written in it.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anita Rosaleh
Taipei, Taiwan1,281 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
A good place to spend an hour or two to walk around
Jun 2022 • Couples
Museum was clean and well maintained. Guided tour are available depends on the time of the day but it wasn’t available when we got there, but the information book was informative enough for us. RM 16 charge was money well spent, we learnt quite a bit whilst there. There’s signs clearly say don’t touch the antique items but sadly seems the signs were still ignored by some visitors. There was insufficient staffs to enforce any kind of control. People really need to respect these historic items to preserve them for our future generations..
Written January 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John W
Jindabyne, Australia577 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
A snapshot of Peranakan culture.
Sep 2023 • Solo
This museum is worth a good hour of your time. An old family home with its original fittings and furniture, it is a snapshot of Peranakan family life a century ago, frozen in time. The influences all hark back to China, except for some wall prints and photographs that hint at aspiration to European society, very little Malay influence visible. The self-guided tour brochure is helpful, but I feel that I would have learned much more with a tour guide.
Written September 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
henrykcchan
Thanks for your comments. We had plan to start guided tour by next year.
Written October 10, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Valter M
Milan, Italy3,426 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Holiday2024
May 2024 • Solo
Located at No. 48-50 along the lock of Jalan Tun Cheng in Malacca, the Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum is actually a collection of three beautifully restored houses arranged to look like a typical 19th-century Baba-Nyonya residence. Fine examples of the Palladian-Chinese style, these terraced houses, built in 1896, were transformed into a traditional Peranakan museum in later years; connected by a shared covered walkway, the museum features hand-painted tiles, elaborately carved teak wood exterior swing doors, and a sturdier interior door that provides additional security. Framed by Greco-Roman columns, two red lanterns, one with a familiar name and the other good luck messages, hang on either side of the entrance. The upper level of the house has a short Chinese tile canopy over the porch that frames the almost Venetian shuttered windows. With its unmistakable east-west-west charm, the glass windows feature wrought iron grills and the gutters and fascias are covered in painted floral designs. Inside the house there is a collection of gold leaf fixtures, black wood furniture of Chinese and Dutch design inlaid with mother of pearl, as well as expertly carved lacquer screens and Victorian chandeliers.
Google
Written May 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christraveller10
Oldham, UK117 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
A lovely way to learn local family history
Oct 2023 • Couples
A lovely way to learn about the history and way of life of local people. We were given a guide book to follow around this beautiful house filled with furniture, paintings and other exhibits. Costing RM18 each, great value for money.
Written November 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pdjtraveler
Calgary, Canada133 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Excellent museum and historical insight
Feb 2020 • Couples
We spent almost two hours wandering around the house including a 1 hour guided tour. The tour was excellent and our guide was very entertaining as he told us stories about the family and Peranakan life. We previously visited the Peranakan mansion in Penang but didn’t feel it was a duplication, rather a complementary visit. We were tickled to meet Mr. Chan, the 84 year old grandson of the original builder who still stays here on weekends. Highly recommended.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bazzer73
Shanghai, China80 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
1 hour walk into heritage era of pre-war colonial lifestyle as wealthy Baba family.
Dec 2022
Well preserved ancestor's home for the Chen family, Fujianese immigrants who started trading commodities and amassed wealth to be a landowner of rubber plantations and rubber supplier.

A slice of the origins of Crazy Rich Asians in Straits Settlement and illustrations of family life in the early 20th century and influences from the Chinese, British and indigenous Malay heritage.

It would be nice to have a corner that displayed the development of their children, in terms of their early years in education, toys and social bonds.
Written December 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leena
Ipoh, Malaysia232 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Things worth to see but staff quite unfriendly
Jun 2024 • Business
There’s a lot of things to see inside to know much more about baba and nyonyas cultures.
However,perhaps it was a long weekend, there were so many ppl that we could see nothing and get to keep moving forward.
And one of the staff there was quite unfriendly and impolite.
Once is enough.
Written June 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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