Georgetown's street art is the most visible tourist attraction in the old town. The painted murals — most famously by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic — combine real objects with painted scenes: a real bicycle bolted onto a painted shophouse wall with two painted children riding it; a real swing with a painted boy bouncing on it; a real motorcycle and a painted boy with a dinosaur.
Alongside the painted works are 52 steel-rod cartoons by the local Sculpture at Work studio, each illustrating a small history or anecdote of the lane it sits on — a man washing his head at a former well, traders running away from rising rents, a colonial tax dispute. Pick up the official walking map from the Penang Heritage Trust or the tourist office; it locates the major pieces along Armenian Street, Lebuh Pantai, Lebuh Muntri and the lanes around the Khoo Kongsi.
Start at the Cannon Square area and walk east. Early morning is best — by mid-morning the crowds around the most famous pieces ("Children on Bicycle", "Little Children on a Swing") are intense. Many murals have been touched up or repainted over the years.