Malacca, Malaysia

Malacca is the capital of Malacca state in Malaysia, a coastal city of roughly 930,000 residents positioned along the Strait of Malacca. Founded around 1400 by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince in exile, the settlement later passed through Portuguese, Dutch, and British rule before joining Malaysia in 1957. The 1512 Porta de Santiago gate at A Famosa ranks as the oldest European architecture in Asia, while the red 1641 Stadthuys is the oldest Dutch building in the East. The 1753 Christ Church is the oldest Protestant church in Malaysia, and the city shares UNESCO World Heritage status with Georgetown, granted in 2008. The 1450 Baba-Nyonya culture here still blends Chinese and Malay traditions into something visitors rarely see elsewhere.