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Bandung, Indonesia
Photo: User:Anton Leddin, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
North Bandung covers some key urban expansions of Bandung during the early 20th century. It covers the Dago area with the ITB university campus and many cafés, restaurants, and the former colonial government centre of Gedung Sate.
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One of the most well-known Dutch colonial buildings in Indonesia, the Gedung Sate was built in 1920-1924 to a design by Dutch architect J. Gerber. The building's name (literally 'Satay Building') refers to the ornament on the roof, that looks like a satay skewer. The building uses a combination of style elements, including European neoclassical architecture and Indonesian aspects. The building was built for the Department of Public Works of the Dutch East Indies. Nowadays, it is used as the provincial government building (for the governor and the provincial parliament) of West Java. On Sundays, the surrounding gardens are also open for public.
Institut Teknologi Bandung; ITB
The Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng was established by the Dutch colonial administration, and its campus was built 1918-1920 on the north side of Bandung, to a design by architect Henri Maclaine Pont. The most prominent examples of Dutch East Indies architecture include the entrance gate and the two assembly halls (Aula Barat and Aula Timur), which incorporate West Sumatran style elements. The entire campus of the university (after independence renamed ITB) is a nice green oasis in the bustling city. Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, studied architecture at the university.
Dutch Colonial house built in 1937 to a design by A.F. Albers, in modernist/Art Deco style. The building's name, De Driekleur, is Dutch for 'the tricolour' and refers to the Dutch flag. The building is now a branch of a bank.
Pos Indonesia headquarters
Built by the Dutch East Indies government in 1920-1931 as the headquarters of the postal, telegraph and telephone service. The building is now used as the headquarters of Indonesia's postal service, and for the Postal Museum.
Museum Geologi Bandung
Houses 250,000 rocks, a mineral collection, and 60,000 fossils. There are 3 major rooms in the museum: the geology of Indonesia, the history of life and the geology of human life. The building itself has an art-deco style, built in 1928 by a Dutch architect H. Menalda van Schouwenburg. Recommended museum by locals. Part of museum fully Indonesian and English texts but part with almost none.
Museum Pos
The Postal Museum was established upon the completion of the building, in 1931. Initially, the collection mainly consisted of postal stamps from the Dutch East Indies. Nowadays, it is a complete museum, covering Indonesia's postal history from the beginning of colonial times in the 17th century, until the present. An audio tour guide is available in Indonesian and English.
Kebun Binatang Bandung
Zoo of 14 hectares next to the ITB university campus. The zoo was established during the colonial time, in 1933. It is a popular attraction for domestic tourists, but the zoo is not well maintained and therefore not recommended.
Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Jawa Barat; "Monju"
Monument established in 1995.
Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Djuanda
The forest park is a conservation area and botanical garden in the mountains on the north side of the city, and serves as a water catchment area for the city. There are some interesting parks for children or to have a picnic. Some people walk through the forest to reach Maribaya park in Lembang. There are two caves in the park that can be visited. You will need to rent a torch, because there is no light in the caves.
Gua Belanda
Cave built in 1918 as a water tunnel. During the Second World War and Indonesian War of Independence, it was used as an arms and ammunition storage, prison, communications centre, and shelter.
Gua Jepang
Second cave, built during the Japanese occupation in 1942. The cave was built by using a forced-labour system, as a defence shelter for the Japanese.
Lapangan Gasibu
Large lawn square in front of Gedung Sate. It's a favourite spot for a walk around a park and all the way towards Monju (Monumen Perjuangan), some 500 metres away. The square is a fairground on Sunday mornings, with food stalls at the Monju Park. People's favourites include dim sum ceker (a chicken foot cooked dim sum style) and nasi liwet (rice cooked in coconut milk, with chicken and vegetables).
Dago Endah
One of the oldest golf courses of Indonesia. 18 holes.
18 holes golf course designed by Peter Thompson.
Selling the Sundanese specialty nasi timbel for lunch.
WaLe
On the hill side with a nice view to the city. Try yamien, a dried boiled noodle, mixed with soy sauce. There are sweet yamien and salt yamien. Try also chicken noodle and the strawberry juice as a dessert.
A variety of Italian dishes for budget prices, popular among students of the nearby ITB university.
Popular streetside warung serving varieties of Javanese noodles, originally from Gunung Kidul.
Very popular roadside food stall selling goat and beef soup, either with regular meat, with offal, or a combination. The stall is set up every evening around 17:00 and has seating for about 40 people.
Roadside food stall selling fried duck and chicken, along with a signature sambal (chilli sauce). It is a very popular place, and around dinner time there are often people waiting for seats.
Sundanese restaurant
One of the two Bandung branches of the all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant chain Hanamasa.
Popular seafood restaurant.
European dishes with homemade bread and pastries.
Café with nice garden, serving Indonesian, Chinese, and Western dishes.
International place for lunch and dining. Italian food: antipasti, pizza, salad, soup, pasta, main course, dessert.
Sushi restaurant.
Located on the hill of Dago Pakar, Sierra has a relaxing and indulging ambience with a breathtaking view of Bandung's city lights. International cuisines include Western, Japanese and Thai.
The most well-known Thai restaurant of the city. There are two other branches at the Istana Plaza and Festival Citylink malls.
Small bar with cheap beer and Mexican snacks.
Bar, restaurant, lounge.
Coffee house in the mountains with a great view.
Specialised in local variety of coffees such as Java, Bali, Toraja, and Papua.
Try the "Eggs in Hell" with chorizo, or a smoothie bowl. Some customers found the WiFi hard to connect or the signal quality is mediocre.
Spacious café on two floors. Shallow pool you can cool your feet in. Regular live music. Western and Asian brunch items.
It has many flavours of fresh yogurt with fresh fruits. Very suitable as a resting place after walking in the hot weather.
A/C rooms, all with private toilet and bath, cableTV. Room is not too big with double bed, but has high roof for overhead single bed with consequency AC is not sufficient for overhead single bed. Good for family.
Guesthouse with single, twin, and triple bedrooms, with private bathroom, western appliances and hot water. Free continental breakfast, internet access, cableTV in common room, trilingual host; English, Dutch, Indonesian. Taxi, tour, and car rental can be arranged.
Budget chain hotel from the Tune Group.
Budget hotel in the Tubagus Ismail neighbourhood (an area with many student dorms).
All rooms have A/C, cableTV, and mini-bar. Business centre, spa, wifi and travel services.
Lower Dago area. 4 Stars.
Hotel near the ITB campus. With outdoor swimming pool.
Upper Dago area. 4 stars.
4 stars.
Scarlet Dago
3-star hotel with good online ratings.
A 3-star hotel. You may request a room facing Gedung Sate.
Upper Dago area. 5 stars.
Boutique hotel with well appointed rooms, bar, cafe and resto, meeting room and business centre.
A villa/guest house in the Dago hill area with Bandung city views.
Relatively small shopping mall with a Yogya department store and various other shops and restaurants.
Baltos
Shopping centre with mostly small independent shops, the large ACE Hardware store, and several cafés.
Pasar Tradisional Simpang Dago
Market near the Simpang Dago junction. Fresh meat, fish, produce, rice, etc., for low prices.
Galeri Le'Laki
The dedicated factory outlet solely for men, from formal to casual wear.
Colonial style exterior with humongous options of clothing. The outdoor café is very wide, has greenery, and a playing area. The top floor has a dedicated section for outwear or sweaters, as well as scrapbook making.
A modern style outlet, the first outlet you'll encounter when you enter Jalan Riau. There is a huge section for kids at its back, but it is for generally all ages. Casual and smart casual options.
International fashion. Also a specialised section of clothes, bags, etc. for hiking/trekking.
Well-known local fashion brand, with the slogan "This is not made in China" to promote its local production.
Clothes popular among students. New items monthly.
Bandung distro that now has shops in multiple Indonesian cities.
By bus
To get to North Bandung by public transport, you can take a bus or angkot (public minivan).
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Bandung · Regional · BDO
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