Kesawan and Merdeka Square are centres of Medan.

Both areas are connected starting from Ahmad Yani Street to Balaikota Street. In these areas there is a collection of important historical buildings which were built mainly by plantation companies and rich merchandisers in the past . The most famous is Tjon A Fie whom his mansion still exist until today. The architecture in these area are mixture of Chinese, western and traditional styles.

There is also an office belongs to London Sumatra Plantation Company who has the first elevator in Medan and still actively used.
Other interesting old building is the former City Hall. It was build in 1908 and firstly used by Baron MacKay. In 1918 as the Mayor of Medan, next to the former Town Hall
is Bank Indonesia, used to be called De Javasche Bank .It began in 1907 and was responsible for withdrawing the circulation of Spanish money and straits Dollars and converting them into Dutch money.

Also don`t miss the Central Post Office with its dove symbols on its window glassess and beautiful interior.

Actually, this palace was originally called the Deli Sultanate Palace, however now it is known as Maimoon Palace. It is open for public. It was built on 26 august 1888 by Sultan Makmun Al Rasyid and officially opened on 18 May 1891. It used to be an administrative center until the end of the Second world war. This Palace is still occupied by the Deli Sultanate family.

According to the history of the Deli Sultanate and Maimoon Palace, there was an interesting legend called Meriam Puntung(Canon Stub). The Canon Stub is still kept in a small building in front of the Palace. In the legend, it was said that there was a princess called Putri Hijau from The Great Eastern Kingdom. She was very beautifull and her beauty made a king from Aceh felt in love with her. The king asked her to marry him, unfortunately he was rejected. In his anger, he attacked the Great Eastern Kingdom which was at that time led by Putri Hijau elder brother, Mambang Yazid. During the battle, the first miracle happened. The Princess younger brother, Mambang Khayali who had been continuously defending the Palace, suddenly transformed into a cannnon which kept shooting the enemies.

One part the barrel flew off and felt on a mountain near Kabanjahe ( Karo Highland ) and the other one ( the stub ) stayed at the Deli Palace and it is still there. Eventually,Putri Hijau was arrested, However, when the Acehnese King took her by ship through the Malacca Straits, the second miracle happened. Suddenly an enormous dragon, which was the incarnation of her brother, King Mambang Yazid, destroyed the ship and taking his sister back. Afterwards,Putri Hijau who was in a glass box was taken into the sea by the dragon.

The Grand Mosque, as also Maimoon Palace, are parts of the legacy left by the Deli Sultanate. The Mosque is still used for praying today. Many tourist from various countries visited this mosque. It is the biggest and most beautifull mosque in North Sumatra. It was built in 1906 by Sultan Makmun AL Rasyid, and first used on 19 September 1909. It is located just about 200m ( meters ) from the maimoon Palace. The architecture is a mixture of diffrent style. Some materials of the Mosque were imported from Italy.

Crocodile Farm

This farm is located at Asam Kumbang village in the sub-distric Medan Selayang, about 10 km from the center of the City. The attraction is crocodile are of all ages, from young ones to 25 years old. They Live either in the swamps or small tanks. You can buy a chicken to feed the crocodiles.

The best tourist attraction and famous all over the world is the Orang Utans Rehabilitation Center in Bukit Lawang, about 90 km from Medan. In this place, the Orang Utan are rehabilitated to be ready to come back to their original habitat in jungle . Around the Center is thick jungle of Leuser National Park with clear water river where you can swim or tubing. This place is a very popular tourist destination and very hectic during weekends and holidays.It provides lots of option for accomodations and attractive activities such as trekking and rafting.