5 heritage sites in Yangon

Tourism Burma Building

About 80 people live in this sandy yellow historic building and supported a renovation, turning it into one of the first Heritage sites in Yangon to be restored. On the ground level there are local tea shops, a hair salon and a wine seller. Up top are apartments housing Burmese families.

Secretariat Building

The red bricked Secretariat was once the home and administrative seat of British Burma. The six-hectare estate is slowly being upgraded with new gardens, a cafe and exhibition spaces. The renovation project is currently in the hands of Yangon Heritage Trust .

Alleyway projects

Doh Eain , a social enterprise that renovates private properties and upgrades alleyways, is converting back lanes commonly filled with trash into spaces full of art and play equipment for children. Take a walk down 27th and 29th streets, or the alley between 31st and 32nd streets, to see the results.  

Burma Bistro

Burma Bistro is a contemporary Burmese restaurant on the corner of Shwe Bon Thar and Merchant Street. It’s up a well-worn stairwell that suddenly opens to a large stately property with columns and a sweeping veranda. The owners renovated the heritage site to maintain its signature high ceilings, original floor tiles and exposed brick wall.

Gekko

One of Yangon’s most sophisticated restaurants, Gekko features a dimly lit bar with wooden counters and a salon upstairs, all housed in a colonial-era building. Yangon Heritage Trust named it the best example of adaptive reuse last year. With a selection of sushi and cocktails, this spot is a great stopover after a day of sightseeing.

This story was originally published in January 2019 and updated in September 2020.