Franz ElizTypically, travellers visiting Malaysia stop by Kuala Lumpur first before moving on to other states. Also known as the ‘Garden City of Lights’, Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s capital city – and is also home to the country’s iconic building, the Petronas Twin Towers.
Suppose it’s your first time in Kuala Lumpur. Then keep reading as I discuss 10 places to visit when you stop by this vibrant city. Since the places listed in this list are close to each other, you could visit all, if not most, of them within a day.
Note: Since KL Sentral is the country’s largest transit hub, I thought it would make a suitable guiding point for travellers. But for more detailed guidance on getting around the city, you can refer to local websites that cover different travel routes, such as the MRT, LRT, KTM, or KL Monorail sites. Rome2Rio and Google Maps are also apps you can use to guide you.
1. Petronas Twin Towers
Do you know that the Petronas Twin Towers used to be the tallest building in the world? The architecture of the building is so fascinating that thousands of international visitors come to Malaysia annually to see it.
If you don’t mind spending RM85 to learn more about the towers, take a tour to level 86, where the towers’ observation deck is located. There are digital displays that’ll take you into the towers’ history.
Then check out the double-deck Skybridge, where you can look at the city better.
For tickets, visitors usually need to queue up at the Petronas Twin Towers’ ticketing counter, located on the ‘CONCOURSE’ level. Otherwise, the tickets can also be purchased online.
The attraction is only open to the public from Tuesday through Sunday (9.00 a.m. – 9.00 p.m.). It’s closed on Monday, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and Hari Raya Aidiladha. Note: This attraction is also closed on Fridays from 1.00 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.
Special thanks to my friend Duky from Slovakia for inviting me to explore the double-deck Skybridge with him! It was our first visit.
Suppose you don’t want to take the tour. Go ahead and enjoy the towers for free. Don’t forget to take a photo in front of the towers. At night, the KLCC park is popular for its light show.
Getting to the Petronas Twin Towers
From KL Sentral, take the LRT to the KLCC station. You’ll arrive at the mall. Find the ticketing counter on the Concourse level if you want to do the tour. Otherwise, take a stroll around the mall or access the park via the Ground floor.
Tip: Find the restaurant Dome, and you’ll find the park!
2. KL Tower
The Petronas Twin Towers are not the only tall structures in Kuala Lumpur. Don’t forget to check out KL Tower, too. It’s also well-known for its impressive height. If you can see the Twin Towers from where you are, you can also see the KL Tower!
Constructed in 1994, this 421-metre-high building offers a more stunning view of the city than the Petronas Twin Towers. You can view the whole city from the tower’s viewing deck, which is 276 metres high. At night, the view of the city is bright and beautiful.
KL Tower offers its Tower Walk 100, which allows visitors to walk along the tower’s edge. The activity is named that way as visitors get to stand 100 feet (30.48 m) above the ground. You might want to try this, especially if you don’t mind the height. P.S. All visitors are required to put on a safety harness.
Getting to the KL Tower
From KL Sentral, go to the Bukit Nanas station if you take the monorail or the Dang Wangi station if you take the Lrt. It takes about 19 minutes to walk to the KL Tower from the Dang Wangi monorail station. You may consider booking a Grab ride or taking a taxi.
3. Batu Caves
Most travellers who visit KL for the first time want to visit Batu Caves. It’s a must-visit travel location for many. Sharing a photo of you standing in front of the temple is one way to prove that you’ve been to Kuala Lumpur.
Batu Caves is a religious landmark for the Hindu community in Malaysia. It’s a 100-year-old temple that features statues of the Hindu Gods. Upon your visit, you’ll encounter a huge statue before the stairs. It’s a statue of Lord Murugan.
Inside the caves, you’ll notice many limestone formations; they’re about 400 million years old. Batu Caves’ most popular cavern is the Cathedral cave. You’ll come across two other cave temples at the foot of the cave: Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave.
Every year in January, thousands of Hindu devotees visit Batu Caves for Thaipusam, one of the biggest celebrations in Malaysia.
For just RM35, you can pay a visit to ‘The Dark Cave’, just a few stairs under the cave’s main entrance. I took a tour of the cave with my American friend Corina. Despite the short tour, we enjoyed it.
Getting to Batu Caves
From KL Sentral, you can buy a ticket to Batu Caves from the KTM ticket counter. This option is the most convenient and preferred by tourists and locals. The journey may take about 40 minutes. Note: Batu Caves is at the last station.
4. Chinatown
Go to Chinatown in the afternoon or the evening because most of the shops are open around these times. There you can find many shops and stalls selling souvenirs, cheap gadgets, imitation goods, local food and more.
Chinatown is typically known for its extremely cheap knockoff goods. But visitors – locals and non-locals- often try their best to bargain for the best prices.
As Chinatown is a tourist spot – or some like to call it a tourist trap – things tend to get overpriced. Maybe the sellers know that customers will try to bargain.
Chinatown has many budget guesthouses. So you might want to consider staying in Chinatown if you’re a backpacker. Higher range hotels are also available for those who don’t mind spending a little more for comfort.
The Chinese restaurants there are mostly non-halal. Halal food can be found at the Indian restaurants nearby.
You can take a 15-minute walk from Chinatown to another popular attraction in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Bintang.
Getting to Chinatown
Parking a car near Chinatown can be a hassle, so many people prefer to take public transport to get there. It’s easy. From KL Sentral, take the LRT to the Pasar Seni station.
5. Central Market
Constructed in 1928, Central Market, also known as Pasar Seni, is another of Kuala Lumpur’s most popular travel attractions. This 120-year-old building was once a wet market and then became a handicraft marketplace in the early 1980s.
Apart from handicrafts, you can buy and try local foods or explore some nice antiques. After exploring nearby attractions, some tourists stop by Central Market for a massage. There’s a fish foot spa as well at the premise. If you need a parcel sent out immediately, there’s a courier service on the ground level; it’s just by the building’s main entrance.
Fun fact: Do you know the landmark has been classified as a Heritage Site by the country’s National Heritage Department? So be sure to visit it when you’re in Kuala Lumpur.
Central Market is also a great place to experience local cultures. If you’re lucky, you might be able to watch local stage shows just outside the building. You can refer to Central Market’s notice board, where the info on the live show schedules is usually displayed.
Getting to Central Market
You can take the KTM or LRT trains to Pasar Seni station. Or you can also get there by bus or taxi. If you’re travelling from KL Sentral, you can buy a ticket at the LRT station for slightly over RM1 to the Pasar Seni station.
6. Merdeka Square
Merdeka Square is a site not to be missed during your visit to Kuala Lumpur. This historical site is located right in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building. The St. Mary’s church – one of the oldest churches in Malaysia – is also nearby.
Merdeka Square is very popular among tourists. You’ll likely see them photographing themselves in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building or lazing on the 200-metre open field. There’s nothing much to do there apart from the two activities mentioned. But just lying down and hanging out there, especially in the evening, is relaxing. Therefore, my friends and I always enjoyed our time there and would hang around until dusk.
Fun facts:
- The tall flagpole at Merdeka Square is the tallest in the world, standing at 95 metres.
- The Merdeka Square was where the Federation of Malaya’s independence from the British empire was declared on the 31st of August 1957.
Getting to Merdeka Square
Most tourists visit Merdeka Square after visiting Central Market. It’s not far, but the weather can get very hot in the afternoon.
From KL Sentral, you can take the LRT to the Pasar Seni station and then walk or take a taxi to Merdeka Square. I recommend going by walk from Central Market if you want to save on a taxi ride. Just get your sun lotion (or umbrella) ready.
7. Kampung Baru
There’s a place in the middle of Kuala Lumpur called Kampung Baru, known by the British as the Malay Agricultural Settlement in 1900. Today, it’s a popular spot for foodies. You’ll see many locals, expatriates, and tourists dining together there.
My first visit to Kampung Baru was when a German expatriate invited me for dinner. He was so excited to show me his favourite Malay restaurant. Since he was the only non-local, I noticed that all eyes were on him. The locals probably were happy to see a foreigner enjoying their local dishes. I enjoyed my dinner. The food was good.
Later, I brought my traveller friends to Kampung Baru as they were looking for spicy local food to try. Kampung Baru is an excellent place for that.
Although Malay cuisine is mainly served at Kampung Baru, some of the local restaurants offer Thai cuisine. Go to Suraya Seafood restaurant for some of the most savoury seafood dishes cooked in Malay style. I tried some of their dishes and loved them. When having my dinner there last time, I noticed that most diners had grilled cockle. I suppose grilled cockles are their speciality.
A Malaysian friend once said visiting Kampung Baru is incomplete without trying Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa. What makes it different from the typical Nasi Lemak is its various unusual ingredients, such as innards, lungs, and other ingredients typically not served in Nasi Lemak. But the food is halal.
While at Kampung Baru, why not have ice cream at Mokti’s, too? Mokti’s ice-creams are delicious and affordable. I tried them with a friend once, and I thought it was an excellent treat. One of their bestsellers is ‘Apong honeycomb’.
Getting to Kampung Baru
You can get to Kampung Baru from KL Sentral via LRT. Buy a ticket to the Kampung Baru station. You can easily walk from the train station to nearby restaurants.
8. Brickfields
Not very far from Chinatown is Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur’s ‘Little India’, located along Jalan Tun Sambanthan, where a wide variety of Indian clothing, food, beauty centres, and jewellery can be found. There are many tall office buildings there, too.
Brickfields is one of the best places to find vegetarian food. I recommend Annalakshmi Vegetarian restaurant and Chat Masala to vegetarians and vegetable lovers. You can also find vegetarian meals at other Indian restaurants, such as Seetharam and Sri Paandi.
KL Sentral is just 10–15 minutes away by walk. From Brickfields, you can visit a beautiful hilltop temple, the Thean Hou temple.
Getting to Brickfields
You can walk from KL Sentral to Brickfields. One of the best times to visit the area is in the evening.
9. Alor Street
For many locals, Alor Street is not the best place to try local food in Kuala Lumpur. The food is often overpriced. But many locals (like me) go there once in a while for the fun vibes it offers. I usually go there before I hit the bars. It is, after all, situated next to a pub street known as Changkat.
Food is abundant on Alor Street. You can find Chinese and Thai restaurants there. And there’s a small stall serving Kebabs and Shisha in one of the Thai restaurants. For those craving sweet things, there are two stalls selling ice cream sitting along the street; one sells Turkish ice-creams, and the other sells coconut ice-creams.
Alor Street is also great for finding seafood such as fish, crabs and lobsters. Due to its strategic location, Malaysian locals and foreign travellers like going to Alor Street to meet people and enjoy their dinner together. Since street musicians are all around the corner, diners can always enjoy some live music. The only downside is sometimes the music gets too loud.
As there are many hotels around the area, those staying at hotels like Casanova Hotel, Capitol Hotel, Swiss Garden, and the Royale Bintang can easily walk to Alor Street from their hotels. But if you’re outside the city centre, you can easily get there by MRT or monorail.
Getting to Alor Street
Travellers can take a train from KL Sentral via the MRT or monorail.
Suppose you’re at KLCC and want to visit Alor Street at night after you visit the Petronas Towers. You could take the bridge that connects KLCC to the Pavillion mall in Bukit Bintang. The walk takes between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on your walking speed. From the Pavillion mall, take a 13-minute walk to Alor Street.
10. Bukit Bintang
Your visit to Kuala Lumpur isn’t complete without exploring Bukit Bintang. As discussed earlier, Alor Street is located in Bukit Bintang.
After exploring the popular food street, walk around Bukit Bintang (Bintang Walk), Kuala Lumpur’s most popular district, for entertainment and shopping. The area is more lively at night.
At Bukit Bintang, you can find almost everything you need, such as shopping centres, hotels of all budget ranges, nightclubs, restaurants, supermarkets and many more. Getting there is easy, too, as it’s accessible by public transport.
Check out some of its popular malls like the Pavilion Mall, Times Square Mall, Lot 10 and Sungei Wang. Next to the Pavilion Mall is Sephora, an established French cosmetic retailer.
If you’re craving sushi and a seafood buffet, you might want to check out Jogoya Sushi Buffet in Starhill Gallery.
Note: The McDonald’s here used to run 24 hours, hence its popularity among night owls. It was a good place to consider for people looking for a place to chill before catching a flight or an early train or bus ride.
But due to the recent movement control order, the place only operates until 12 a.m. I’ll update this blog once the premise runs 24 hours again.
Getting to Bukit Bintang
From KL Sentral, you can take the MRT or monorail to the Bukit Bintang station. I usually take the monorail when I’m coming from Nu Sentral, the mall connecting to KL Sentral. Otherwise, I would take the MRT.
I like taking the MRT as it’s usually more convenient for me. The MRT has a few entrances close to Alor Street, Changkat, and the Pavillion mall.
