Kuala Lumpur (KL — "muddy confluence" in Malay, named for the meeting of the Klang and Gombak rivers where tin miners settled in the 1850s) is one of the most dramatic skylines in the world: the Petronas Twin Towers (the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, the defining image of Malaysia's emergence as a modern nation) rise from the heart of a city of 1.8 million (7 million metro) that is simultaneously Malay, Chinese, Indian and colonial British in its character — the most diverse capital in Southeast Asia. KL's food scene is the finest in Malaysia: nasi lemak (coconut rice with ikan bilis, peanuts, egg and sambal — the national breakfast), char kway teow from a Chinese hawker, roti canai from an Indian mamak stall, and banana leaf rice in Brickfields (Little India) — all within a 10-minute walk of each other. The city also has some of the most extraordinary religious architecture in Southeast Asia: the Batu Caves (272 steps to a Hindu temple inside a limestone cavern above KL), the Sri Mahamariamman Temple and the Masjid Jamek (at the original muddy confluence, 1907).
The Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC — 452m, 88 floors, architect César Pelli, completed 1998 — the most recognizable skyline in Southeast Asia, the symbol of Malaysia's modernization ambition under Mahathir Mohamad. The Sky Bridge (41st–42nd floor, connecting the two towers at 170m — the world's highest two-storey bridge, free with ticket) and the Observation Deck (86th floor, 360° view of KL, the Titiwangsa mountains and on clear days Genting Highlands) are the highlights. Book tickets in advance online.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKLCC Park (the 50-acre park directly below the Petronas Towers, with the Lake Symphony fountains (show at 8pm and 9pm nightly, free) and the children's water park) and Aquaria KLCC (the underground aquarium with the 90m glass tunnel through a 4.5-million-litre tank containing sharks, sawfish, giant grouper and thousands of tropical fish — one of the finest aquariums in Southeast Asia).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Central Market (Pasar Seni — 1888 Art Deco building, the most important heritage building in KL outside the colonial core, converted to an arts and crafts market: Malaysian batik (the wax-resist dyeing technique on silk or cotton), pewter (Royal Selangor — the world's finest pewter manufacturer since 1885), Malay wood carving and traditional instruments) and the adjacent Chinatown (Jalan Petaling — the covered street market with counterfeit goods, fresh fruit and the finest hawker street food in KL).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideNasi kandar (the Northern Malaysian Tamil Muslim "rice and curry" — white rice with up to 10 curries poured over: fish head curry, lamb curry, squid sambal, dhall and vegetable curries — poured at the kandar (the shoulder pole that Tamil workers carried their food on, giving the dish its name) at Pelita Nasi Kandar (the most popular chain of nasi kandar in KL, open 24 hours) or banana leaf rice (the South Indian tradition of serving rice and multiple curries on a banana leaf) in Brickfields Little India.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBatu Caves (13km north of KL city centre — a series of limestone caves and cave temples inside a 400m-high limestone hill, the most important Hindu shrine outside India in Southeast Asia, dedicated to Lord Murugan (the golden statue at the base, 42.7m — the tallest statue of Murugan in the world) with 272 rainbow-painted concrete steps leading to the Dark Cave and the Cathedral Cave (the main cave, 100m ceiling, open air, the annual Thaipusam festival (January/February) brings 1.5 million devotees). Go before 8am when the monkeys are less aggressive.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBrickfields (KL's Little India — the Tamil community neighbourhood southwest of the city centre, a 10-minute walk from KL Sentral: the Sri Kandaswamy Kovil temple, the flower garland shops, the gold jewellery shops selling 22k Tamil gold, the sari shops (silk from Chennai and Kanchipuram), and the finest Tamil food in Malaysia: idli-dosa-sambar breakfasts, teh tarik (the "pulled tea" — hot tea poured between two cups at height to create froth, the Malaysian national drink), banana leaf rice and masala chai.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (Jalan Lembah Perdana — the largest museum of Islamic art in Asia: architectural scale models of the Hagia Sophia, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Süleymaniye Mosque at 1:100 scale, the Quran manuscript gallery (rare medieval Islamic manuscripts from the 11th–18th century), Mughal jade objects, Ottoman court dress, Iranian miniature paintings and Chinese export porcelain made for the Islamic market — a completely unexpected museum of extraordinary quality).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJalan Alor (the pedestrianized food street in Bukit Bintang — the most famous street food strip in Kuala Lumpur, lined with Chinese hawker stalls, open from 5pm to 4am: barbecued chicken wings (the most famous item — marinated in soy, sesame and spices and grilled over charcoal), char kway teow (stir-fried flat rice noodles with cockles and bean sprouts), stingray with sambal and kangkong (water spinach) stir-fried with garlic and shrimp paste — the full Malaysian Chinese street food experience).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMasjid Jamek (the Jamek Mosque — 1907, architect Arthur Benison Hubback in the Mughal style, the first brick mosque in KL, built at the exact confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers where Chinese tin miners camped in the 1850s, effectively the birthplace of Kuala Lumpur — the best view is from the suspension bridge above the confluence where you can see the exact spot of the city's founding). Open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times (dress code: long clothes, headscarf for women, provided if needed).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMerdeka Square (the large padang (field) in the colonial heart of KL — the square where independence was declared on August 31, 1957: the Union Jack lowered and the new Malaysian flag raised for the first time at midnight, the flagpole now 100m tall, the tallest in the world) and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (1897, Hubback — the Moorish-style building with its copper domes that anchors the colonial skyline of KL, now the judicial complex) are the finest group of colonial buildings in Malaysia.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Menara KL (KL Tower — 421m communications tower on Bukit Nanas hill, the 7th tallest tower in the world — the Observation Deck (MYR 50, 276m, open air and glass) gives the best view of the Petronas Towers from the west: seeing the Twin Towers from the KL Tower at midday gives the most complete understanding of KL's skyline geography. The Atmosphere 360 revolving restaurant at the top is one of the finest revolving restaurants in Asia.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Sky Bar (Traders Hotel, 33rd floor KLCC — the most famous rooftop bar in KL, with the infinity pool reflecting the Petronas Towers at dusk and the bar directly facing the twin towers at 150m range) for the finest cocktail view in Malaysia. With a Sky Bar mojito (MYR 45) as the towers light up at golden hour, and the Lake Symphony fountain show beginning below at 8pm.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMamak (the Tamil Muslim restaurant — the third pillar of Malaysian food culture alongside Chinese hawker and Malay cuisine: open 24 hours, serving roti canai (the flaky layered flatbread made by the art of throwing the dough, served with dhal and fish curry for dipping), mee goreng mamak (stir-fried yellow noodles in a tomato-egg-prawn sauce, distinctively Malaysian) and teh tarik (the pulled tea with condensed milk, poured at height) — the most Malaysian midnight meal possible).