Kuching's waterfront promenade runs along the Sarawak River in front of the city's old town, past the Old Courthouse, the Chinese History Museum and a run of colonial-era shophouses that have stood since the Brooke era. It's the most natural place in the city for an evening walk — food stalls set up as the light fades, and the river turns gold with the sunset.
Across the water sits the Astana, the former residence of Sarawak's White Rajahs and now the Governor's official residence, along with Fort Margherita standing guard on the ridge above it. Since 2017, the Darul Hana Bridge — a striking, golden pedestrian bridge with a distinctive Y-shaped support tower — has connected the old town directly to the new government precinct on the far bank, making a river crossing that once needed a boat now just a ten-minute walk.
Timing a visit for late afternoon is worth it: the walk across Darul Hana as the sky turns orange over the Sarawak River, with the old town lit up on one side and Kuching's newer skyline rising on the other, is one of the city's best free views.
Cross the bridge and the north bank has its own afternoon in it: Fort Margherita and the Brooke Gallery, the Astana grounds, and the Cat Museum further out in Petra Jaya. Back on the south bank, the Borneo Cultures Museum is a few minutes' walk from the promenade.
