Kuala Lumpur: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Kuala Lumpur means "muddy confluence", and the city was born exactly where two rivers meet — that is where eighty-seven tin miners stopped in 1857, and seventy of them died of malaria in the first month. Masjid Jamek stands there now, and everything else radiates from it. Go in the morning; after two it rains most days.
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A short history of Kuala Lumpur
In 1857 a Malay nobleman sent Chinese miners to look for tin where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet, and the name Kuala Lumpur means "muddy confluence". The leader of the Chinese community, Yap Ah Loy, ran the settlement and rebuilt it after fires and wars. In 1896 the city became the capital of the Federated Malay States under British rule. On 31 August 1957 the independence of Malaya was proclaimed here, at Merdeka Stadium. In 1998 the Petronas Towers were completed; until 2004 they were the tallest buildings in the world.
The ten best sights in Kuala Lumpur
1Petronas Twin TowersThe tallest twin towers in the world, and the bridge is on floor 41
2Batu Caves272 coloured steps to a cave temple, and monkeys
3KL TowerLower than the towers, but you can see them from it
4Merdeka SquareWhere the British flag came down in 1957
5Merdeka 118The second-tallest building on earth, finished 2023
6KLCC ParkA fountain show at eight, under the towers
7Kampung BaruWooden Malay village houses, with the towers behind them
8Bukit NanasPrimary rainforest in the middle of the city
9Islamic Arts MuseumThe best museum in Malaysia, and almost empty
10National MosqueA folded concrete roof from 1965, robes lent at the door
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Kuala Lumpur →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Kuala Lumpur:
Free walking tours in Kuala Lumpur
Where the rivers meet
Kuala Lumpur means "muddy confluence", and the city was born exactly where two rivers meet — that is where eighty-seven tin miners stopped in 1857, and seventy of them died of malaria in the first month. Masjid Jamek stands there now, and everything else radiates from it. Go in the morning; after two it rains most days.
- Masjid Jamek · Built in 1909 on the sandbank where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet — the exact spot the city started. The architect had never been to India but designed it from photographs of Mughal mosques.
- Merdeka Square · At midnight on 31 August 1957 the Union Jack came down here and the Malayan flag went up. The cricket pitch in the middle is still a cricket pitch, and the flagpole is one hundred metres tall.
- Sultan Abdul Samad Building · The British built their colonial secretariat in 1897 in Moorish style — horseshoe arches and a copper dome — because an architect decided that was how a Muslim country should look.
- Central Market · A wet market from 1888, rebuilt in art deco in 1937 and nearly demolished in the 1980s. It was saved and turned into a hall of craft stalls — the building is the reason to come.
- Sri Mahamariamman · The oldest Hindu temple in the city, founded in 1873 as a private family shrine. Its silver chariot carries the god to Batu Caves once a year, pulled by hand through the streets.
- Petaling Street · Yap Ah Loy, the Chinese headman who rebuilt the city after it burned and flooded, started a tapioca mill on this street. It is now a covered market selling copies of everything.
The towers
The modern half of Kuala Lumpur was built in twenty years. The Petronas Towers were the tallest building on earth from 1998 to 2004, and they are still the tallest twin towers anywhere. A park, a mall and an observation tower sit around them, all joined by covered air-conditioned walkways, because it rains most afternoons here.
- Petronas Twin Towers · Two teams, one Japanese and one Korean, built one tower each and raced. The floor plan is an eight-pointed Islamic star, and the sky bridge on floor 41 is not bolted to either tower — it slides, so the buildings can sway apart in the wind.
- KLCC Park · Twenty hectares laid out by a Brazilian landscape architect who insisted on planting only species native to Malaysia. The fountains run to music at eight and ten, and the whole park is free.
- Bukit Nanas · Eleven hectares of primary rainforest that was never cut — in the middle of a capital city. A canopy walkway runs through it, and you can hear traffic the whole way.
- KL Tower · Lower than the Petronas Towers, which is exactly why you climb it — it is the only place in the city where you can photograph them from above.
- Kampung Baru · A Malay village the British set aside in 1900 and which law still protects from development. Wooden houses on stilts, goats, and the Petronas Towers directly behind them.
- Jalan Alor · By day a quiet back street; from six at night, two hundred metres of open kitchens and plastic chairs. Chinese, Malay and Thai stalls side by side, and everything is cooked in front of you.
Caves and temples
Malaysia is three cultures living side by side, and half a day at the northern edge of the city shows all three. Batu Caves is a Hindu temple inside a four-hundred-million-year-old limestone hill, reached by two hundred and seventy-two coloured steps. On the way back, a six-tier Chinese temple and a national mosque made of folded concrete.
- Batu Caves · The limestone is four hundred million years old; the temple inside it is from 1890. The gold statue at the foot is forty-three metres high, and the two hundred and seventy-two steps were painted in rainbow colours in 2018 without permission — the heritage department was furious and then gave in.
- Thean Hou Temple · Six tiers on a hill, built in 1987 by the Hainanese community for the goddess who protects sailors. Couples come here to have their wedding dates chosen by the temple.
- National Mosque · Finished in 1965 and deliberately modern — a sixteen-pointed concrete roof folded like an open umbrella, and a minaret shaped like a closed one. Robes are lent at the door to anyone who needs them.
- Islamic Arts Museum · The largest Islamic art museum in South-East Asia and the best-presented museum in the country. Scale models of every great mosque on earth fill one hall, and almost nobody is ever in it.
- Brickfields · Little India, named for the brick kilns that rebuilt the city after the 1881 fire. Lunch is served on a banana leaf and refilled until you fold the leaf towards you, which means stop.
- Chow Kit Market · The biggest wet market in the city, running since the 1920s. Durian, live fish and butchers — this is where Kuala Lumpur buys, and nothing in it is arranged for a camera.
Getting to Kuala Lumpur and getting around
- KLIA · The express train reaches KL Sentral in 28 minutes
- KL Sentral · Everything meets here — airport, metro, intercity
- Pasar Seni · The station for Chinatown and the old city
- KLCC · Under the towers, and air-conditioned all the way
Museums in Kuala Lumpur
- Islamic Arts Museum · The best museum in Malaysia, and nobody in it
- National Museum · Malaysia from the stone age to 1957
- Royal Selangor · The pewter works — you can hammer your own bowl
- Petrosains · Science museum inside the towers, built by the oil company
Parks and gardens in Kuala Lumpur
- Perdana Botanical Garden · The oldest park in the city, with an orchid house
- Bukit Nanas · Primary rainforest, surrounded by skyscrapers
- FRIM Kepong · A forest research centre with a canopy walk, 40 min out
- Templer Park · Waterfalls and jungle pools, an hour north
Things to do in Kuala Lumpur with kids
- Aquaria KLCC · A 90-metre tunnel under the sharks
- Sunway Lagoon · A water park built inside an old tin mine
- Zoo Negara · Giant pandas on loan from China
Cheap eats in Kuala Lumpur
Eight places where you sit on a plastic stool under a fan. Three cuisines in one city and none of them apologises: a Hainanese coffee shop in its third generation, a nasi lemak stall that opens at seven in the morning and sells out by ten, and a banana-leaf lunch you eat with your right hand.
- Restoran Yut Kee · Since 1928, third generation, 15 ringgit
- Village Park · The nasi lemak everyone agrees on. Go before ten
- Nasi Kandar Pelita · Open 24 hours, point at four curries, 12 ringgit
- Lot 10 Hutong · A mall basement with the city’s old hawkers in it
- Jalan Alor · From six at night, two hundred metres of kitchens
- Brickfields banana leaf · Refilled until you fold the leaf towards you
- Chow Kit Market · Durian in season, and nothing arranged for a camera
- Petaling Street food lanes · Behind the market stalls, not in front of them
Holy places in Kuala Lumpur
- Batu Caves · 272 steps, a 43-metre gold statue, and monkeys
- National Mosque · A folded concrete umbrella from 1965
- Thean Hou Temple · Six tiers, and the temple picks your wedding date
- Sri Mahamariamman · 1873, and a silver chariot that goes to Batu Caves
Nightlife in Kuala Lumpur
- Changkat Bukit Bintang · One street of bars, above the food street
- KLCC fountains · Free, at eight and ten, under the towers
Frequently asked questions about Kuala Lumpur
What is there to see in Kuala Lumpur?
The top sights in Kuala Lumpur are Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves and KL Tower. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Kuala Lumpur?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Kuala Lumpur without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Kuala Lumpur?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Kuala Lumpur, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Where the rivers meet.
How do you get to Kuala Lumpur and get around?
The main ways are KLIA, KL Sentral and Pasar Seni. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Kuala Lumpur that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Kuala Lumpur for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.