6 Must-Visit Cultural Attractions in Jakarta for a Meaningful Holiday

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia that has lots of interesting tourist attractions. The tourist attractions range from the historical, natural to the cultural ones. If you are nature lovers, consider these nature tourist attractions in Jakarta.

In this city, you will a lot of places to explore. You can even learn about the culture, customs, traditions and history of Indonesia. Jakarta has several attractive museums, such as Batik Museum and Jakarta National History Museum.

If you are fond of leaning Indonesian culture, then you can visit some of the cultural attractions in Jakarta. The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot of money to learn about Indonesian culture. So, let’s see these 7 must-visit cultural attractions in Jakarta for your memorable holiday.

• Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah)

Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park is a place which has the rich cultural heritage across Indonesia. The six parts in this miniature park represents the main islands of Indonesia, which are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua. While you’re here, do these things to do in Taman Mini, Jakarta as well!

While you’re exploring this miniature park, you will be able to enjoy the traditional houses from various provinces, such as Torajan Tongkonan from South Sulawesi and Balinese house.

Furthermore, you can also observe the traditional clothes, handicrafts, historical objects coming from all the provinces in Indonesia. You can visit this miniature park with your family or your friends and it will be a very interesting experience to explore Indonesia!

•  Textile Museum

Museum does not only allow you to learn about history, but also culture. Textile Museum enables you to observe the history of textiles and more specifically, the Indonesian most popular fabric, Batik.

You won’t only be able to enjoy the exhibition of Indonesian textiles, but you can also learn how to make batik. There are some workshops behind the museum that will show you how to make batik.

You can also join some courses, such as natural dye courses, silk painting, embroidery and creating textile patterns on pottery. If you love art and culture, then Textile Museum is a perfect place for you! If you love visiting museums, make sure you visit these best museums in Jakarta too!

• Petak Sembilan (Chinatown)

Petak Sembilan is located in the Chinatown area, namely Glodok, Pancoran. This place is a lively neighborhood with Chinese-style buildings, temples and the most authentic Chinese food in the city. You can just stroll around to see the buildings and feel the Chinese atmosphere in this area.

If you are hungry, you can also try the delicious Chinese street food while exploring the ornate neighborhood with temples, houses and stores. Do you know that Petak Sembilan, Glodok is listed as one of the best Chinatowns in Indonesia?

• Jakarta Cathedral and Istiqlal Mosque

Jakarta Cathedral is the most well-known cathedral stands at tall at the heart of the city. Jakarta Cathedral was built in the neo-gothic style, the most common architectural style to build churches at that time.

This cathedral is located in Central Jakarta. There is a tower from the southern side that has the old clock. On the second level of the tower, there is a museum dedicated to the history of this Catholic church. Find inspiration on the things to do in Cathedral Jakarta.

Across the cathedral, there is Istiqlal Mosque. Istiqlal Mosque is the largest mosque in South Asia and the sixth largest mosque in the world. It is also listed in mosques in Indonesia. It was also built to commemorate Indonesian Independence, as this mosque was named “Istiqlal” that is an Arabic word of “independence”.

These two religious centers sitting closely show us the great religious tolerance in Indonesia. If you want to learn about Indonesian culture, then you can start by learning the religions and their traditions as well.

• National Monument

Who never sees National Monument before? National Monument is a 132-meter tower topped with gold. The gold is in the shape of flame, which weighs around 33 kg. The torch is made of bronze and there are lift motors inside the item.

National Monument represents the country’s struggle for its independence. Also read things to do near Monas. There’re a lot of things you can do here.

Inside it, there are many halls which will show you the relief patterns of historic events. Those relief patterns are carved on the walls.

•   Museum Taman Prasasti

This may not be the common tourist attraction as it consists of gravestones and old funeral carts. This museum is an open-air museum which was discovered on the site of an old Dutch cemetery.

The cemetery was used to bury nobles and rich people. Soon, the cemetery was full and forgotten. Then, on the 19^th century, the government decided to make this area as an open-air museum.