Top 10 Must Visit Places in Kuala Lumpur ~ Asia Travel ~ GO!

1) Petronas Twin Tower (KLCC)

The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers are one of the tallest twin structure in the world and it is the most famous landmark in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It contains offices, a convention centre, a high-end shopping mall, a Philharmonic Orchestra hall, an aquarium and a landscaped KLCC park.

Tower 1 is fully occupied by the Petronas Company, which is Malaysia’s national oil company, and a number of its subsidiaries and partners. Tower 2 is for lease companies which include Al Jazeera International, Boeing, IBM and Microsoft. The Suria KLCC shopping mall and the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (Philharmonic Orchestra Hall) are situated underneath the Petronas Twin Towers.

The highlight of a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers is the exhilaration of standing at the Skybridge and the Viewing Deck. A 58.4 meters skybridge at levels 41 and 42 links the two towers. The unique double-deck skybridge stands 170 meters above street level with its arch support forming a symbolic gateway to the city centre. The skybridge is one of the top places to visit in Kuala Lumpur to get an aerial view of KL. The Viewing Deck is located on the 86th Floor.

Covering about 20 hectares, KLCC Park contains a Children playground, a water park for children, a 1.3km jogging track, a 10 meters water fountain and a Mosque. Estimated there are about 1900 ingenious, 66 Palm species of the tree was plant at the park.

KLCC Skybridge

Operating days: Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Monday)

Operating hours: 9am to 9pm (Closed from 1pm to 2:30pm on Friday)

Admission fee:

Malaysian: Adult RM25, Children RM12;

Non-Malaysian: Adult RM80, Children RM30

Note:

You have to be there before the Petronas Skybridge ticketing counter opens at 8:30am. By this time the queue is already 'miles' long. Many queue as early as 6:00am in the morning. Usually by 9:30am the tickets would have all been 'sold' for the day.

KLCC Water Park

Operating days: Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Monday)

Operating hours: 10am to 7:30pm

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – KLCC LRT station

By KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

By KL Go City bus

2) KL Tower

KL Tower is one of the most prominent and distinctive landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is located atop Bukit Nanas.

Its architecture reflects the country’s Islamic heritage, with the construction detailing Arabic scripts, Islamic tiles, classic Islamic floral and abstract motifs and soothing colour combinations.

Besides the panoramic view, KL Tower has something for city dwellers who love nature. The verdant green surrounding KL Tower is the Bukit Nanas Forest – the only oldest gazetted forest reserve in the country.

Kl Tower has an observation platform and a revolving restaurant, as well as the telecommunication and broadcasting stations. “Atmosphere 360” is a modern and elegant revolving restaurant situated 282 meters above ground level of KL Tower. It is furnished in a spaceship-like atmosphere with its magnificent view and starry fibre optic ceiling lights.

Always check out Groupon to get discounted buffet lunch and dinner price up to 60% !!

Operating hours: 9am to 10pm (daily)

Admission fee:

Malaysian: Adult RM29, Children RM19;

Non-Malaysian: Adult RM49, Children RM29

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By free shuttle – available from KL Tower’s main gate

By train – Dang Wangi LRT station or Bukit Nanas Monorail station

By KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

3) Istana Negara

Istana Negara (the National Palace) is the official residence of the King of Malaysia. The majestic edifice situated at Jalan Duta officially became the National Palace in November 2011, replacing the old palace in Jalan Istana. Now, the old Istana Negara is used as a Royal Museum and is open to public.

The main complex of Istana Negara at Jalan Duta is inaccessible to the public, but, the public could visit the square and the gate of the palace. From the gate of Istana Negara, one can see the mixture of elements in its architecture which includes Malay, Western and Islamic architecture.

The main attraction of Istana Negara is guard mounting or changing of the guard which takes place at every hour from 8am to 3pm. The guards are dressed in uniforms similar to the guards of Buckingham Palace. It is a popular photographed spot for tourists.

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

4) Old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station was the hub for the nation’s rail transportation system before the modern KL Sentral station was built. Today, the modern KL Sentral has replaced this station as the main station of Kuala Lumpur. Apart from a stop for KTM Komuter and Intercity, it is no longer a terminal for rail network in the city. Nevertheless it still serves city rail commuters via KTM Komuter service.

Its Moorish architecture with graceful arches and minarets makes it one of the city’s most photographed landmarks.

Getting here:

By train – Pasar Seni LRT station or Kuala Lumpur KTM station

By KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

5) Pasar Seni (Central Market)

Pasar Seni (Central Market) was founded in 1888 as a wet market, continued to expand and cater to the constantly growing inhabitants until a permanent structure was built in 1937. Towards the 1970s, plans to demolish it emerged. This sparked protest from the Malaysian Heritage Society, declaring the site as a national heritage. Central Market was later renovated into the building and has become the centre of promoting Malaysian culture and heritage.

Central Market has stalls representing the different items and ethnic groups living harmoniously within Kuala Lumpur. Travellers can have a glimpse of Malaysian culture by walking through Lorong Melayu, Straits Chinese and Lorong India located on the West wing of the building. Notable are two-storey and single- storey buildings resembling the kampung-style houses.

As a cultural centre for Malaysia’s arts and crafts, it features handicrafts, songket, kebaya, keris, Indian textile. There is also the famous restaurant Old Town Kopitiam which serves traditional Baba and Nyonya food.

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – Pasar Seni LRT station or Kuala Lumpur KTM station

KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

6) Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Sultan Abdul Samad Building is the most prominent heritage building in Kuala Lumpur. The majestic building, built in 1897, was named after the State Ruler and served as the government administration building during the British era.

The stately structure consists of an imposing porch, graceful horseshoe-shaped arches, shiny copper domes and a 41.2 meters-high clock tower.

The most prominent feature of the whole building is certainly the immense clock tower standing at the centre of the building at a height of 135ft (41.2 meters) above street level. The clock tower houses a one-ton bell clock striking the hours and half hours, while having a four- sided opal glass dial 8.5 ft in diameter.

While its architectural style is not particularly Malaysian and would look more at home in India, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building has come to symbolize Malaysia with its multi- racial and multi-cultural society and has played an important role in the country’s history.

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – Masjid Jamek LRT station

By KL Hop On Hop Off tour bus

7) Dataran Merdeka

Dataran Merdeka (or Merdeka Square) is one of the most important historical landmarks in the history of Malaysia. It marked the independence of Malaysia from colonial rule on 31 August 1957. It was here the Union Jack was lowered and replaced with the Malayan flag at midnight on 31 August 1957. Since then, Dataran Merdeka has been the usual venue for the National Day celebrations and New Year countdown.

The Square is well maintained with beautiful gardens, terraces, fountains and a big screen for screening of main events and live telecasts.

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – Masjid Jamek LRT Station.

By KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour bus

8) Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur

Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur (Jamek Mosque) is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur. Located at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers, the mosque was built in 1907 and was officially opened by the late Sultan of Selangor in 1909. Because the mosque was built in the early 1900s, most of the old postcards around that period featured Masjid Jamek as a significant landmark.

The mosque is flanked by 2 main minarets among other smaller ones and have 3 onion shaped domes. The prayer hall is located beneath the central dome and stand 21.3 meters high.

The locals dubbed Masjid Jamek as the “Friday Mosque”. Come Friday, worshippers in the city will congregate here until the crowd overflows into the streets. Thus, Friday may not be a good day to visit for tourists.

Note:

This is a place of worship, thus, please respect the place and follow strictly the rules set.

1) Take off your footwear when entering the mosque

2) Dressed appropriately – long pant or skirt, covered shirt

Operating hours:

Session1: 8:30am to 12:30pm;

Session 2: 2:30pm to 4.30pm

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – Masjid Jamek LRT Station.

By KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour bus

9) Tugu Negara (National Monument)

Tugu Negara or the National Monument is a sculpture in Perdana Lake Garden erected in 1964 to commemorate the fallen soldiers of Malaysia during World War I, World War II as well in the struggle to achieve independence before 1957.

The original monument was a cenotaph erected by the British administration but was later moved to the current site to give way to a construction of a flyover at the Parliament roundabout. It was replaced with the current Tugu Negara in 1964 by the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman with the help of famous sculptor Felix de Weldon. Tunku was inspired by his visit to the USMC War Memorial in the United States in 1960.

The monument complex, which faces the Lake Gardens, measures about 48, 000 square meters.

Getting here:

By car or taxi

By train – Pasar Seni LRT station or Kuala Lumpur KTM station

By KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour bus

10) Batu Caves

Batu Caves is located 13km north of Kuala Lumpur. It is a limestone hill with a series of caves and cave temples. The limestone around the caves is said to be around 400 million years old.

Batu Caves is a sacred place of worship for the Hindus. Rising almost 100 meters above the ground Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest cave is called the temple cave and has a 100 meters high ceiling.

Most of the Hindus make an annual pilgrimage at Batu Caves during the festive of Thaipusam (in January or February). They climb 272 rock stairs to reach the main cave to pay homage to their deity Lord Murugan.