Bandung is the capital city of the West Java Province, which is located approximately 150 km from Jakarta, and can be reached in 2 hours through the free way, Cipularang. It lies at an altitude of 725 m above the sea level, and this geographical location makes Bandung much cooler than major cities in Indonesia. This agreeable climate and scenery have made Bandung a popular holiday resort. Nicknamed as Paris Van Java, Bandung is known for its colonial architecture, tourist attractions, and shopping destinations.
Bandung is full of solid Dutch houses and tree-lined streets, fashionable shops and elegant architectures, so that it used to be called the Parijs van Java. Some remnants of the golden era of Bandung are Gedung Sate, Villa Isola and ITB campus. You can also find a multitude of architecturally unique old houses on major streets of the city, which was originally planned to become the capital of the Netherlands Indies in the Dutch colonial era.
Today, Bandung is described as a city of education – with the population of more than 2 millions, covering an area of 9.000 hectares. In and around Bandung, there are three state universities, and a lot private ones. Those universities attract a large number of students from all around the country and neighbouring and western countries every year. This large number of students adds to the diversity of people residing in. According to the QS Rankings 2023’s best student cities, Bandung is considered the best in Indonesia.
The major ethnic group living in Bandung is Sundanese, with the Sundanese language being widely spoken by the locals at home and on informal occasions. However, as a multi racial city, most people speak the national language, Bahasa Indonesia (or Indonesian language). English is also widely spoken at major shops, hotels and universities.