What to See in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On my first visit, when I was only here for a day or two in between my flight to Krabi, Thailand, I was not impressed with Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t even like the city at first, it seemed dirty. Probably because I was coming here straight from Singapore and compared to that, every city in Southeast Asia is dirty. On my second visit, I had already spent 12 days here and had already picked up more experiences than the average tourist on a longer stopover. And this time Kuala Lumpur has already won me over!

Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur

The area around the Petronas Twin Towers is considered the centre, if you want to be more in the centre of the action, then around Jalan Alor, but for me not exactly right next to it, more in the wider area within the Bukit Bintang district. I chose the quieter area of Bukit Ceylon. The area around Central Market is also nice.

Tickets, day trips and experiences in Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Towers are often sold out, booking ahead is almost a must. Trips outside the city have limited capacity and are worth securing in advance.

• Petronas Towers and KL Tower – combined ticket – Both viewpoints in one. Without a booking you often won’t get into the Petronas Towers; time slots sell out even days ahead.
• Batu Caves – guided trip – Hotel pick-up and drop-off. No need to sort out transport or find your way around on your own.
• Half-day Kuala Lumpur tour – A good pick if you only have a stopover and want to fit in the maximum in a few hours.
• Genting Highlands – day trip with cable car – A mountain resort about an hour from KL. The cable car is an experience in itself and it’s a few degrees cooler up there than in the scorching city.
• Fireflies in Kuala Selangor – evening trip with dinner – A river cruise among thousands of fireflies, seafood dinner included. Not something you want to arrange on your own; it’s out of town and hard to reach without a guide.

Transportation around Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur has a rich transport network. There is LRT (Light Rail Transit) and MRT (Mass Rapid Transit). Metro stations crisscross the city. You can buy a token at the station for a single ride (which is chipped on entry and thrown into a turnstile on exit) or for multiple rides, get a Touch ‘n Go recharge card that works on both the metro and buses. In addition, there’s the RapidKL bus network. You can also buy tickets by swiping your card on the bus.

There’s also the GO KL City Bus, which is convenient for tourists, free of charge and goes around important places in Kuala Lumpur. It departs from the station a short walk from Central Market.

Anyway, it’s useful to have the Grab taxi app installed, it’s cheap and fast to get anywhere you need to go, shorter trips within the city centre cost just a couple of euros.

Things to see in Kuala Lumpur

The beautiful thing about Kuala Lumpur is how it mixes a modern city full of skyscrapers, with old Asian monuments and nightlife in the streets full of good food.

Petronas Twin Towers

The iconic symbol of Kuala Lumpur are 2 identical skyscrapers, the Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysian Menara Berkembar Petronas. They are 452 metres high and until 2004 were the tallest buildings in the world.

Today there are many taller buildings, for example: the Burj Khalifa (828 m, Dubai), Shanghai Tower (632 m, China), Abraj Al-Bait Towers (601 m, Saudi Arabia), Ping An Finance Centre (599 m, China), Lotte World Tower (555 m, South Korea), Taipei 101 (508 m, Taiwan). To this day, however, the Petronas Towers are the tallest “twin towers” in the world.

Even in Kuala Lumpur itself, the Petronas Towers are no longer the tallest. The tallest is now Merdeka 118, built in 2023. At 644 metres, it is the second tallest building in the world. This skyscraper is really unmissable wherever you stand in KL.

The towers are open for tourist visits (except Mondays), you can visit two places:

• Skybridge (41st and 42nd floors) – only the 41st floor is open to the public, a 200-metre long bridge connecting the two towers, which you can walk on,
• Observation deck (86th floor) – with a view from an even higher height.

Tours are in Tower 1 (north), Tower 2 functions completely as corporate offices.

Skybridge closes at 5pm (usually, check) but I probably wouldn’t be particularly sad to miss it. There are lifts upstairs, first to the 41st floor of Skybridge, then to the 83rd floor, where you need to change to a smaller lift that goes higher up. There’s then a cafe and souvenir shop on this floor on the way back. Unlike Skybridge, where they let you stay for about 10 minutes, and the observation deck, where you have about 15 minutes, you can probably stay longer here, but the view from here isn’t great. So the best plan is to head up in the afternoon and enjoy the golden hour, the sunset and the lit up city in the dark. The views are all through glass.

Petronas Towers are in KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre), if you’re not staying in this part of the city and can’t walk, there’s a metro station, also KLCC.

The Petronas Towers are of course the main highlight of Kuala Lumpur, but consider if you need to pay to go up. For one thing, it’s not exactly cheap; you can enjoy views from many of the city’s high-rises (including, perhaps, your hotel if you’re smart and stay in one or some rooftop bars) as well as the KL Tower, where the entrance fee is considerably lower. Most importantly, the viewpoint of the Petronas Towers is unfortunately one of those places in the city where you can’t see the Petronas Towers. Although here it’s a bit of an exception, from one tower you can see the other. It’s sunlit in the morning.

KLCC Park

In the heart of Kuala Lumpur, right next to the Petronas Towers and Suria KLCC shopping mall is a large park that serves as a relaxation zone in the middle of the bustling city. The park has a pond with a fountain called Tasik Simfoni, where a light show accompanied by music takes place every evening. In addition, there is a children’s playground, a jogging and walking trail

At the entrance to the park from the Suria KLCC shopping mall is a brass model of the city, showing the major landmarks of Kuala Lumpur.

Saloma Link

If I had to single out one place not to miss in Kuala Lumpur, and where I felt the need to return several times, it is the Saloma Link Bridge, which spans the roads around the (dry) Klang River and lies between Kampung Baru and Petronas Towers.

The bridge was built in 2020 and is inspired by the traditional Malaysian wedding gift of sirih junjung, made of leaves. It is named after the Malaysian singer Saloma and the covered section is made of steel and glass. This is lit up with coloured led lights that constantly change colour, so it’s a popular place to take photos and most importantly, you’ll see the view a thousand times differently.

Down past the bridge, towards the Petronas Towers is, if I may say so, the very nice Islamic cemetery of Tanah Perkuburan Islam Jalan Ampang.

Streetfood and Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor is a lively streetfood street in the heart of Bukit Bintang. There are food stalls offering not only Malay, but also Thai, Chinese and other Asian specialties. It’s a night market, and it’s besieged by people especially in the evening.

This street is definitely the most famous and the most touristy. Actually, it’s primarily touristy. Perpendicular to Jalan Alor, Changkat Bukit Bintang stretches to the north and is full of bars and nightclubs that are packed to bursting from the evening hours.

For me, the more interesting choice of streetfood is Kampung Baru or Chow Kit market.

KL Tower TV Tower

The TV tower, Menara Kuala Lumpur, is the city’s other unmissable landmark alongside the Petronas Twin Towers. It also offers a great view of the city and has the added advantage that the Petronas Towers are visible from here.

At 421 metres, it is not much lower than Petronas Towers, but the observation deck is at 276 metres (which is still more than 100 metres higher than the Skybridge on Petronas Towers). The platform has a 360 degree view. In addition to the viewing platform, there’s the Sky Box, a glass floor protruding from the edge of the tower where you can see the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve right beneath your feet, but it’s kind of pointless Instagram crap.

KL Forrest Eco Parc

Malay Taman Eko-Rimba, an eco park around KL Tower. It’s an oasis in the middle of a city full of skyscrapers. It’s also one of the oldest protected jungles in Malaysia. One of the entrances to the park (the “upper” one) is about 200 meters from KL Tower.

The main attraction of the park is the treetop trail, several high suspension bridges. Several hiking trails lead through the dense forest, there are information boards about the plants and animals that live here.

Chinatown

The heart of Chinatown is Jalan Petaling, a street that is alive with a night market full of food stalls and more. There’s the Taoist Guan Di Temple and Kuala Lumpur’s oldest Hindu temple , Sri Mahamariamman.

But what I find most beautiful is walking through the streets of Chinatown, often decorated with red lanterns and with beautifully painted walls of houses.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple

Sri Mahamariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur and one of the most important religious buildings in the country. It was built in 1873, originally as a private shrine to the Pillai family of South India, but over the years it has grown to become a public place of worship.

A classic feature of Hindu temples is the spectacular tapering gopuram entrance gate, which is 23 metres high and decorated with dozens of colourful statues of gods, goddesses and mythological figures.

Inside there are several shrines and especially beautifully decorated and painted walls and columns. Inside, you need to take off your shoes and wrap your knees and shoulders, and scarves are available to rent for a small fee.

Central market

There is a large covered market in China Town called Pasar Seni. Stalls offer Malaysian art items, fabrics, carvings, ceramics, jewellery and other things. If you want to bring back an authentic souvenir from Malaysia, this is the place.

The market is divided into several zones representing Malay ethnic groups (mainly Malay, Chinese and Indian). Apart from shopping, you can of course enjoy plenty of food here.

The nearest metro station is Pasar Seni, or the Masjid Jamek station near the mosque of the same name.

Merdeka square

Merdeka square(Dataran Merdeka) is the site where Malaysia’s independence from British colonial rule was declared in 1957. Merdeka means “independence” in Malay.

On one side of the square stands the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in the late 19th century in the Moorish style of architecture, which served as the headquarters of the colonial administration and now houses several ministries. The building has a tall clock tower and long arcades.

Masjid Jamek Mosque

One of the most important and oldest (1909) mosques in Kuala Lumpur stands at the confluence of two rivers, Klang and Gombak, which is where the city of Kuala Lumpur was historically born.

Thean Hou Temple

One of the largest and most important Chinese Taoist temples in Southeast Asia. It is dedicated to Thean Hou, the protector of fishermen, sailors and all those who travel by sea. It is also the site of the cult of Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and Shui Wei Sheng Niang, the goddess of water.

It is quite new, dating from 1989, combining traditional Chinese architectural elements with modern ones. The red columns are particularly striking, as are the beautifully decorated roofs covered with intricately carved wooden panels, statues of dragons and phoenixes and a host of other ornamental details.

The temple is six storeys high. In the main halls there are statues of deities, then there is a prayer hall and a garden with turtles swimming in a pond. The turtles symbolize longevity and good luck.

Brickfields – Little India

Like any Indian neighbourhood, Kuala Lumpur’s is very colourful and it makes sense to just go here and walk the streets with shops and lots of Indian food and Indian eateries. The district is known for selling traditional Indian dresses such as saris and kurtas, as well as a wide selection of jewellery, textiles and handmade souvenirs.

There are several Hindu temples and mosques in Brickfields. Among the most notable is Sri Kandaswamy Kovil, a magnificent Hindu temple with a richly decorated facade.

Along the main street of Jalan Tun Sambanthan are colourful arches that are a distinctive aesthetic feature of the area. The arches feature brightly coloured motifs such as flowers, birds and traditional Indian designs.

Perdana Botanical Garden

Tasik Perdana was originally a recreational park established for British civil servants in 1888. The park includes:

• Orchid Garden – with more than 800 species of orchids from Malaysia and around the world,
• Hibiscus garden – Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and they have lots of species here,
• lake gardens – there are many water areas in the park,
• deer park – a small enclosure with deer,
• Herb Garden – with a range of medicinal plants and herbs used in traditional Malaysian and Asian medicine,
• Japanese garden and English lawn.

You can enter the gardens without an entrance fee (there wasn’t even an entrance fee for the orchids, although I thought you already had to pay there). It’s a cool place to walk around, for a couple of hours if you like, but probably appreciated mostly by those who spend more time in Kuala Lumpur. I was most impressed by the lakes and orchids, though I expected there to be considerably more of them (though they were the most I’ve ever seen).

Bird Park

The bird park is adjacent to Perdana Botanical Garden, also located in Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens. It is one of the largest aviaries in the world. Hundreds of bird species are here, including rare and endangered ones.

There is quite a high entrance fee here, but I have to say it was worth every penny. The whole bird park is covered with nets, so you move freely among the birds. Some are in separate aviaries, but even there you enter through double doors (so they don’t fly out). There are lots of ostriches and pelicans, birds I don’t even know, and parrots. I spent over an hour there and it was quite an experience. I hand fed the parrots too. But then again, I think it was my first “bird zoo”.

Istana Negara – Royal Palace

Not many tourists may come here individually, but there are quite a lot of tourist buses parked here and of course it is one of the stops of the hop-on hop-off bus. It’s quite a bit out of the centre and you can only see the palace from the outside. So it’s a stop for a few minutes and it’s not that necessary to come here from the centre just for that. The Royal Palace is near the Botanical Gardens though, and it already makes quite a bit of sense to connect.

It is best to go here first thing in the morning (I was there around 9:30), the palace is oriented to the east, so the sun shines on it from the front. The sunset over the palace might be nice.

Merdeka 118

At 644 metres high, it is the tallest building in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia and the second tallest building in the world. It’s a modern structure, completed in 2023, and it shows. It’s interesting to see it in the same view as the Petronas Twin Towers, because those (originally the tallest in the world for a while) are really funny tiny compared to Merdeka 118.

What to see in Kuala Lumpur in one day

Most people here only have a stopover for one or two days and that’s not enough to catch all the sites. As for me, I wouldn’t miss it for sure:

• Saloma Link – for a nice view of the Petronas Towers, preferably just before or after dark when the towers and bridge are lit up,
• Chinatown – and the alleyways and restaurants around Petaling street, the Sri Mahamariamman Hindu temple and the Central Market a short walk away,
• Thean Hou Temple – it’s further away from the centre, but if you have time, it’s a really nice temple,
• Drink on a rooftop overlooking the city – or stay in a hotel with a rooftop pool,
• Streetfood – for me, probably Kampung Baru.

The best sights in Kuala Lumpur

As I said, it’s not a bad idea to choose a hotel with a rooftop and a view of the Petronas Towers, there are plenty of them and you don’t have to go to any paid viewpoint for a view of the city, because you’ll probably have a comparably good one directly accessible from the hotel whenever you want. Directly behind KLCC is one of the best viewpoints from Eaton Residence. There are plenty of other high rises and great views in the city, I’d single out the ones I discovered that I liked:

• Saloma Link – for me the best view, although the Petronas Towers are slightly obscured by other buildings. In the evening, both Petronas Towers and Saloma Link are lit up in colour. It’s also nice slightly before dark, when Saloma Link is already lit up in colour, but it’s still not as visible in daylight.
• Wet Deck Bar – bar on the 12th floor of the W Kuala Lumpur (Marriot network). The bar itself isn’t very interesting (a bit of a party bar), but there is a pool and it’s practically right opposite the Petronas Towers, so you can see the lights on during an evening drink.
• Heli Lounge Bar – views from the heliport converted into a rooftop bar. It is on top of Menara KH and has 360° views of Kuala Lumpur.

Where to go for food and coffee in Kuala Lumpur

In Kuala Lumpur, you need to go for streetfood at least once. Kampung Baru for me is the best and also closer to the center. Generally the Bukit Bintang and Chinatown districts are the most interesting gastronomically for me.

Of the specific places I’ve frequented, Rabbit Hole for coffee and work, but also for good food, and Feeka Coffee Roasters a short walk away. I’ve been to Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng @ Bukit Bintang, which has a Bib Gourmand award in the Michelin Guide, my first Michelin notch having not been fine-dining but a hawker stall. The chicken on a plastic plate was great, with broth and iced tea together for around 15 RM. There are more places like this in Kuala Lumpur.

In Chinatown, I would highlight Bunn Choon Restaurant. A Chinese restaurant where they make quite small dishes (like 3 dumplings) to share, so you can taste according to the size of your hunger. All great, I found the place by the queue in front of it. Right next door is Attic Bar, a bit of a “hidden” rooftop bar (but on the 2nd floor, no height and no nice view, but nice seating and a drink. Around the corner from there is Da Bao Restobar, where they specialize in traditional Chinese bao (fluffy, steamed “buns/pancakes” filled with all sorts of meats, vegetables and sauces).

What to taste in Kuala Lumpur

Here you can taste satay, small skewers of meat grilled on a fire right on the street, and lots of seafood and exotic fruits. There are hawker stalls with all kinds of noodles like char kway teow (noodles with prawns, sausage and egg), laksa (spicy noodle soup) or different types of rice, starting with the Malaysian national dish nasi lemak.

For more detailed tips on Malaysian cuisine, including pictures, see the article Malaysia and food.

Excursions from Kuala Lumpur

Batu caves

One of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites outside India. It is 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur. It is a complex of caves and temples carved into limestone cliffs, and at the entrance is a huge golden statue of the god Murugan, one of the largest in the world. The main cave, Temple Cave, is accessible by 272 colourful steps.

You can get here by train from KTM Komuter station directly to Batu caves station, the journey takes about 30 minutes. Check out Grab before you go, especially if there are more of you. Off-peak you can get there pretty cheaply and at least the trip won’t eat up so much of your time.

The statue and the stairs from the cave are south-facing, so the best view is sometime after noon (which is when you probably don’t want to go out). But basically it doesn’t matter, I was there at 8am, it was hot and there were already people there, though probably considerably less than I’ve seen from other people’s shots.

Unpopular opinion: it’s a big “must-see” when visiting Kuala Lumpur, but it’s not quite worth it for me. The cave itself isn’t particularly worth it if you’ve seen big caves before, there are much bigger ones elsewhere. The temple is tiny, there are nicer temples right in the city. Wow is the big golden statue and together with the colourful stairs it’s quite photogenic. I’m not saying I wasn’t impressed, but giving this sight with the drive here about 3 hours of time, which most visitors to Kuala Lumpur have quite a bit of, is really something to consider. If it’s your first time in SE Asia then of course it will be a bit different and you might go nuts. Otherwise, it’s an important place especially for Indians, a lot of them come here.

Putrajaya

The administrative and judicial centre of Malaysia is about 25 km south of Kuala Lumpur. The city is named after Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. It is a modern city full of modern architecture, green parks, impressive bridges and Lake Putrajaya.

You can get here by train from KL Sentral to Putrajaya & Cyberjaya station, a journey of about 20 minutes.

Where is Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is in Southeast Asia in Malaysia, on the Malay Peninsula, about 40 km off the coast of the Strait of Malacca, in a tropical lowland just above the equator (approximately 3° north latitude). The city was founded at the confluence of the Klang River and the Gombak River, in a valley surrounded by low hills in the interior of the western part of the peninsula. Regionally, it lies between Singapore to the south and Bangkok to the north.

How to get to Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur Airport is one of the key hubs in Southeast Asia. A lot of long-haul routes connect here, often with a longer stopover that lets you pop into the city. Emirates, Qatar, Turkish Airlines, KLM and China Airlines all fly in.

From here a lot of people carry on with local low-cost carriers like Air Asia. Even so, it’s worth acclimatising in Kuala Lumpur for two days before moving on.

There are also train and bus connections to nearby Singapore.