What to see and do in Kuala Lumpur? We visited Malaysia's capital a few years ago and today we're bringing together all the information from previous blog posts about the city in one place. Here's our guide to the hectic, multicultural and exciting city of Kuala Lumpur. Do you have any more tips?
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Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it is called by its residents, is the capital of Malaysia and a relatively new city. The city was actually founded as late as 1857, making it one of the youngest capitals in the world. In other words, there's not much point in looking for really old buildings here, but instead you'll find all the more new and modern high-rise buildings.
Kuala Lumpur is a modern, cosmopolitan and multicultural city. Malaysians live here mixed with Chinese and Indians, and there are expressions of Islam, Hinduism and many other religions. But mostly you feel that you are in a very modern and dynamic city. Slightly older buildings can be seen in Merdeka Square, including the 19th century Abdul Aamad Building, which is built in the Moorish style.
1. check out the Petronas twin Towers
Almost everywhere you go in Kuala Lumpur, you can see the famous Petronas Twin Tower, which is perhaps not surprising given that it is the 11th tallest building in the world. The building is 451.9 metres high, has 88 floors and was the tallest in the world when it was built.
In the lower part there is a shopping centre open to the public. Every day, tourists can also queue for a limited number of tickets to access the bridge. Checking out these towers is a definite must-do in Kuala Lumpur!
2. check out the KL Tower
If you haven't had enough of tall towers, you can also check out the Kuala Lumpur Tower, or KL Tower as it is also known. This tower is 421 metres high, almost as high as the Petronas Twin Towers. We settled for looking at the tower from below, but if you go up to the top you get a great view. Just remember to be here early, as there is often a long queue.
3. shopping
Kuala Lumpur is a paradise for those who like to browse in shopping malls. There are just as many malls as possible! We looked around in the mall under the Petrona Towers, the Pavillion mall and the Lot10 mall.
Here you'll find every chain store you've ever heard of, as well as lots of different Asian chains and even smaller boutiques. If you want to shop for handicrafts and the like, you can go to the Central Market, which is open every day.
4. Experience Chinatown
Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur can be described as a myriad of colours, smells and sounds. Brightly coloured balloons, flags, lanterns and t-shirts hang everywhere, the smell of small hole-in-the-wall restaurants spills out onto the street and vendors shout out the day's amazing prices.
The main items are clothes, handbags, sunglasses, jewellery and watches. Almost everything is a fake version of a fine brand and it is of course possible to haggle over everything. On the other hand, most of it is really cheap from the start.
5. Eating Asian food
When you're in Malaysia and other parts of Asia, you should of course take the opportunity to eat Asian food. You will find good Malaysian food in Kuala Lumpur, but also a fantastic range of Chinese, Thai, Indian and Japanese food, for example. For a light meal, you can eat in one of the many food courts in the shopping malls.
In the evening you can pick and choose between many restaurants. For our part, the lot fell on the Chinese restaurant Ah Yat Abalone, where we ordered a bunch of dishes to share: roasted duck, pork in sweet and sour sauce, butterprawns, pak choi and vegetables "deluxe" with, among other things, lotus flowers. Fantastically good! For those who want to immerse themselves in the food culture, there are also various exciting food tours.
6. see Batu Caves
We missed the Batu Caves during our visit to Kuala Lumpur, but next time we come here we won't miss this famous place. Batu Caves is a sacred place with temples and statues inside caves.
Perhaps the most famous statue is the giant gold statue of Lord Murugun, which is the tallest Hindu statue in the world. The caves themselves are made of limestone and are said to be 400 million years old. You can get here by train from Kuala Lumpur.
7. Go to Langkawi
When in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi is just a short flight away. Here you will find long fine sandy beaches and cosy restaurants as well as exciting excursions including mopeds, sailboats and motorboats in mangrove swamps. Langkawi is well worth a visit!
More things to do in Kuala Lumpur?
What else is there to do in Kuala Lumpur? In addition to the above, there is a bird park, Bird Park, where many of the birds fly freely. There are also several other gardens and parks, such as the Lake Garden, Orchid Garden and Butterfly Park.
Another interesting destination could be FRIM - Forest Research Institute Malaysia, where there are apparently nature trails, botanical gardens and suspension bridges between the trees. Last but not least, we want to mention the Chinese temple Thean Hou Temple, which is located a little bit outside Kuala Lumpur and is a temple in classic Chinese style.
Where can you live?
Kuala Lumpur is a big city of international dimensions and there are of course lots of different hotels to choose from. We stayed at Corus Hotel, which is a large hotel with a very good and central location, right next to Petrona Towers. The hotel was possibly a bit worn, but the price was on the other hand quite ok.
Ama de casa says:
My tips about KL are probably a bit outdated as those Twin Towers weren't even built when we were last there 😉.
Have a nice Sunday!
30 September 2018 - 8:18
Helena says:
Haha, I can hardly imagine KL without those towers!!! But on the other hand, I realise that it hasn't been there forever... 😉.
30 September 2018 - 16:19
Kenneth Risberg says:
Oh, I recognise that. The visit inside the Twin Towers malls could be as long as you like. When they were closing, you had to go out the back door. I have stood on the bridge (photo evidence is available). When we visited China Town, we took the monorail there and when we left, I was pickpocketed.
There was no visit to the Batu Caves, but if you take the monorail outside KL you will see little else than the nice buildings in town.
30 September 2018 - 8:47
Helena says:
Fun with the monorail! Not as fun with pickpockets!!! I felt very safe in KL, but such things can happen anywhere, unfortunately.
30 September 2018 - 16:20
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
When I read your tips, I realise that we managed to do most things in our 2.5 days in KL. We were up on the bridge of the Petronia Tower, saw the darkness descending over the city from the KL Tower, went on the monorail to China town, visited the bird park, Batu Caves and the big mosque etc, etc.
We also did some shopping, both for camera lenses and clothes.
Great city!
30 September 2018 - 11:15
Helena says:
It sounds like you managed to do most things in your 2.5 days!!!! 🙂 Yes, I also liked KL.
30 September 2018 - 16:21
Lena in Wales says:
Exciting! Lots to see and of course I got stuck on the food.
Wishing you a great Sunday!
30 September 2018 - 12:38
Helena says:
Asian food ... yum! 🙂
30 September 2018 - 16:22
Emilie - Travels by Knutte says:
What fun, of all the hotels in all of Kuala Lumpur we stayed at exactly the same 🙂 We finished in KL after two weeks in Thailand. Became a good end to the trip with a little big city. I think I liked the view from KL tower most of what we managed to do when we were there. 🙂
30 September 2018 - 17:07
Helena says:
Haha, what fun with the hotel! Big city is often a nice break on a sun trip 🙂.
01 October 2018 - 17:31
BP says:
As I love skyscrapers and "futuristic" buildings, Kuala Lumpur would suit me perfectly:-) This also applies to the food.
30 September 2018 - 19:09
Helena says:
They are good at modern buildings! And good food 🙂
01 October 2018 - 17:31
Johnny Friskilä says:
Well, we actually did some different things, I see. Maybe time to write a complementary guide so we complement each other? 😉
04 October 2018 - 10:54