Persiaran Gurney

Overview

Gurney Drive, otherwise known as Persiaran Gurney, is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang. It is one of Penang’s most popular tourist destinations, famous for its street food and unique dining experience by the sea complemented by top class hotels, residential high-rises and retail complexes.

The locale was known as New Coast Road when completed in 1963, along what was known as the North Beach. It was renamed after Sir Henry Gurney, a Malayan High Commissioner who was assassinated by the guerrillas of the Malayan Communist Party during the Emergency Period in the early 1950s.

Gurney Drive also has affluent beach-side bungalows which have been incorporated into upscale condominiums. Longstanding mansions or bungalows of the colonial era still present include Loke Mansion and St Joseph’s Novitiate.

The construction of high-rises and shopping malls has led Gurney Drive to be proposed as the second central business district in George Town.

Currently, the shoreline off Gurney Drive is being reclaimed for the purpose of creating a public recreational park named Gurney Wharf which will include a food and beverages area, a man-made beach and water garden slated for completion in 2018.

 

Amenities and Facilities

Famously known for its F&B offerings, The Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is sought after for its char koay teow (fried rice noodle), hokkien mee (prawn noodle), jiu hoo eng chye (spinach with cuttlefish), koay teow th'ng (rice noodle soup), lok-lok (dip skewered foods), mee goreng (fried noodle), Jawa mee, mee rebus (boiled noodle in gravy), pasembur (local salad in sweet and spicy peanut sauce), rojak (fruit salad in prawn paste), satay (grilled skewered meat), soya beancurd and many more, offering both halal and non-halal sections.

Gurney Drive is also known for its retail offerings of Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon that is complemented by the existing hotels and residential skyscrapers there. Another shopping mall is One Stop Midlands Park Centre.

There is also the Gleneagles Hospital and Penang Adventist Hospital and educational offerings in the form of Penang Chinese Girls High School, Convent Pulau Tikus, College General Complex as well as St Nicholas School in the vicinity.

 

Accessibility and Transportation

Gurney Drive is well connected via inner driving routes such as Kelawei Road, Burma Road, Gottlieb Road and Codrington Avenue.

Rapid Penang buses 101 and 104 also pass by Gurney Drive, making it easier to travel around, besides ample taxis.

Getting to Penang is easy via the North-South Expressway by the Penang Bridge and those travelling by air can fly in to the Penang International Airport.