48 Hours In: Jakarta

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WHY GO NOW?

Late May and June are perfect times to visit the Indonesian capital; the wet season is over, school holidays are a month away, and most tourists don't arrive until July.

TOUCH DOWN

There are no direct flights between the UK and Indonesia. The most common transfer point is Singapore, with good links from Heathrow on Singapore Airlines (0844 800 2380; www.singaporeair.co.uk). Emirates (0870 243 2222; www.emirates.com) has more departure points, from Birmingham, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow and Heathrow via Dubai. Or try KLM (08705 074 074; www.klm.com) via Amsterdam.

Taxis from Soekarno-Hatta airport to most hotels take between 45 and 90 minutes depending on traffic, and cost around 100,000 rupiahs (£6).

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Jakarta sprawls more than 25km from its northern docks to its most southern suburbs. Merdeka Square (1) is at the city's heart, although Jakarta has grown so large it contains many "centres". Most visitors head straight for Jalan Thamrin and Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta's main thoroughfares, lined with plazas and upmarket hotels; or go to Jalan Jaksa, the backpackers' haunt. Both are directly south of Merdeka Square. To the north is Kota, the historic centre, and Sunda Kelapa, the harbour.

The visitor information office (00 62 21 3154094; www.jakarta.go.id) is inside the Jakarta Theatre (2) building at Jalan Wahid Hasyim 9. It opens 9am-5pm from Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm Saturday.

CHECK IN

The Grand Hyatt Jakarta (3) on Jalan Thamrin (00 62 21 390 1234; www.jakarta.grand.hyatt.com) leads the way in luxury with double rooms from US$175 (£125), excluding breakfast. The Batavia Hotel (4) at Jalan Kali Besar Barat 44-46 (00 62 21 690 7926; www.batavia-hotel.com), is surprisingly plush for a top double-room price of 423,500Rp (£25), excluding breakfast. Hotel Marcopolo (5), Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro 19 (00 62 21 230 1777), has huge, spotless rooms from 290,000Rp (£17), excluding breakfast. For a cheap bed head for Jalan Jaksa; Bloem Steen Homestay (6), Gang 1 173 (00 62 21 31925389) offers budget rooms from 30,000Rp (£2).

TAKE A RIDE

Jakarta is blessed with good public transport, but cursed with traffic jams. Battered and rusty buses (fare 2,000Rp; £0.12) transport the majority of Jakartans, while express, air-conditioned buses (3,500Rp; £0.22) are used by those with more cash. Bajaj, three-wheeled motorbikes in the tuk-tuk and rickshaw mould, are everywhere and good for rush hour, but bargaining is a must. Taxis are plentiful and cheap.

TAKE A HIKE

Nobody walks in Jakarta, but Kota can be tackled on foot. Start at Kota train station (7) and head north along Jalan Pintu Besar Utara to Taman Fatahillah (8), the old city square. Here you'll find the History Museum, the Wayang Museum and Fine Arts Museum. The first is open 9am-3pm Tuesday to Sunday and the latter two 9am-1.30pm Tuesday to Friday and Sunday, 9am-12.30pm Saturday; each costs 2,000Rp (£0.12). A block west of the square is Kali Besar (9), once an important canal. Its west bank is lined with 18th-century homes, crumbling reminders of former Dutch wealth and colonial days. A 10-minute walk north of Taman Fatahillah is the old port, Sunda Kelapa, and its colourful Makassar schooners. Close by is the Maritime Museum (10), the frantic fish market known as Pasar Ikan (11) and an early 19th-century watchtower (12).

LUNCH ON THE RUN

There's no better place to sample Indonesian food than on the streets of Jakarta. Warung - simple, open-air eateries consisting of a handful of tables and chairs - offer a small selection of dishes. You can't go wrong with the nasi goreng (fried rice) or Java's favourite, gado gado (vegetables with peanut sauce). Jalan Pecenongan (13) is a particular hot spot. Otherwise watch out for the kaki lima (literally "five legs"), food carts offering one or two dishes.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

The National Museum (14), on Jalan Merdeka Barat (00 62 21 3812346; www.museumnasional.org) is the city's finest cultural piece. It contains a vast array of objects from the four corners of the country, including woodcarvings, musical instruments, costumes, ceramics and a great collection of bronze statues from the Hindu-Javanese period. Its opening hours are 8.30am-2.30pm daily except Mondays; but on Fridays and Saturdays it closes at 11.30am. Admission is 750Rp (£0.05).

WINDOW SHOPPING

Antiques, handicrafts, batik, electronics, bags, clothes, shoes, live animals - you name it, someone in Jakarta will be selling it. The city's flea market (15) on Jalan Surabaya is the perfect place to start a retail therapy course - pick up an antique lampshade or unusual woodcarving, but bargain hard.

For a more sedate shopping experience, take in either the Pasaraya department store (16) on Jalan Iskandarsyah or Sarinah department store (17) on Jalan Thamrin; both feature entire floors devoted to batik and handicrafts from around the country.

Plaza Indonesia (3) is the city's most exclusive shopping mall with a plague of designer stores, but prices match those in Europe. More fun are the crowded, buzzing, bottom end options, such as Blok M (18) in the south and Mangga Dua Mall (19) to the north. Get your super-cheap DVDs, clothes, bags and electronic goods here, but always check the quality.

AN APERITIF

For a taste of the colonial era and one of the city's best cocktails, take a seat at Café Batavia (20) at Jalan Pintu Besar Utara 14 (00 62 21 691 5531). Apart from Hollywood stars lining the walls, it has changed little since the 19th century when Dutch traders sipped coffee and wrangled for better deals.

DINING WITH THE LOCALS

With imaginative dishes from across the archipelago and rustic decor combining Indonesian and North African styles, Lara Djonggrang (21) at Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro 4 (00 62 21 3153252) will appeal to many. Its myriad rooms have cosy corners for the romantically inclined, while its front bar is often alive with both locals and expatriates.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO THE MOSQUE

South-east Asia's largest mosque, Istiqlal Mesjid (22) at Jalan Kathedral, holds a reputed 250,000 people. While it's not the most attractive mosque you'll ever see, its dimensions will impress, and if you ask nicely (and are appropriately clad), a guard might take you on an impromptu tour.

OUT TO BRUNCH

Jakarta's four- and five-star hotels serve sumptuous Sunday brunches. The Shangri-La Hotel (23) at Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Kav 1 (00 62 21 5707440) offers one of the finest for 170,000Rp (£10) in its Satoo restaurant, overlooking the hotel's garden and pool.

A WALK IN THE PARK

Jakarta has precious few green spaces, but only 30 minutes away is a string of 130 tropical islands known as Pulau Seribu. The closest can easily be visited as a day-trip. Boats leave from Ancol Marina (24) around 8am and return at 2pm.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Buy a postcard of the 132m-high National Monument (25), dubbed " Sukarno's last erection", and walk 10 minutes east to Lapangan Banteng, the city's most serene square. Jot down a few thoughts before sending the card from the main post office (26) on the northern side of the square.

TAKE A VIEW

Even on a good day, Jakarta is blanketed in smog, but when the wind blows strong head for Blowfish (00 62 21 5799 1678; www.theblowfish.net), a slick Japanese restaurant on the 35th floor of the Menara Bank Danamon tower (27). It opens for lunch weekdays and dinner daily, while the bar opens evenings only (till 2.30am Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).

ICING ON THE CAKE

End your stay with the ultimate relaxation therapy, a full-body massage. Bersih Sehat (28), in the Hotel Sahid Jaya at Jalan Jend Sudirman 86 (00 62 21 570 4444), has a reputation for quality and expertise; one-hour massages for 100,000Rp (£6).

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