LIVING IN CITY'S BEST NEIGHBORHOOD: CENTRAL JAKARTA

If you love living in the midst of urban hustle and bustle, enjoying the view of the city of blinding lights, taste the best food, shopping and nightlife experience in town, Central Jakarta is definitely the one for you. It's an ultimate dream for most of its citizen to live in ‘garden city’ of Menteng, with all the gorgeous lined trees and comfortable park.

Who doesn't want to have the privilige to enjoy these at your front door? Or at least minimize crippling Jakarta's daily traffic experience. You would not be worry about it if you actually living in midst of it. We decided to sum up some of our favorite hidden gems in the city's most popular neighborhood.

HISTORICAL

Central Jakarta is surrounded with historical buildings like monuments and museums that are perfect for a functional weekend activity for your family. Some of the highlights are the National Monument, the National Museum—highlighting Indonesia's history, art, culture, geography and ethnology, the National Gallery of Indonesia in Gambir--offers 2,000 pieces of Indonesian art work which will takes you on a colorful journey, Jakarta War Cemetery (located in Karet area, the cemetery offers a scenic chapel in the Dutch area), and last but not least, you can go a bit farther to Kota Tua and experience ‘CBD’ of Old Jakarta where you can find The Jakarta History Museum, and The Fine Art and Ceramics Museum.

CULTURAL

Don't forget to take your cameras out at these areas! Central Jakarta is also filled with hidden gems of cultura. The Istiqlal Mosque, which means “Independence” in Arabic is the largest mosque in South East Asia with capacity for 200,000 people. There's a guided tour of the mosque and it's free, yet donations are appreciated. Across the mosque is the Catholic Cathedral that you can visit. Moving farther north, you will  Jin De Yuan, a spacious Buddhist temple located in Glodok, built in 1755, and Sin Tek Bo Temple, a Chinese worship place located in Pasar Baru Dalam, built in 1812. 

LIFESTYLE

Entertainment places for family or single people are spread in every corner of this area. You can find literally anything here in Central Jakarta to indulge your shopping desire or craving tummy! Places like Jl Surabaya, where you can get a lot of antiques with good price and the best malls like Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia are within your reach. Tons of culinary spots in Menteng and Sabang area, numerous coffee shops, modern restaurants and bars are also everywhere. One of the highlights is the Skye Bar where you can enjoy Jakarta;s beautiful skyline from the 56th floor of BCA Tower. There are also several historical theatres like Metropole and Djakarta Theater, or you can also visit Jakarta Art Building where you can watch musical or other entertaining cultural performance.

SPORTS

Thanks to the Asian Games, Central Jakarta is now redecorated with the new sport center, which is the newly re-opened Lapangan Banteng. It's perfect for a little morning run, biking, even playing skateboard or roller blades for your kids. Apart from it, you can also enjoy jogging at Suropati Park or just a little weekend stroll at Menteng Park. Another thing that you can't miss if you live in the Central Jakarta is the Car Free Day! You don't have to ride a car from your home and can actually start a healthy routine the moment you step out of your house.