Places to visit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
22 places to visit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Bukit Bintang, Istana Negara, KL Tower and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Kuala Lumpur volume.
12 Famous places to visit · 10 Hidden gems
Famous places to visit in Kuala Lumpur (12)
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Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur's shopping and entertainment district, built around one long main road and its big malls. After dark the pavements fill with cafés, bars, mamak stalls and the food street of Jalan Alor.
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Istana Negara
The official residence of Malaysia's king, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, opened in 2011 on a hill in northwestern Kuala Lumpur. Its golden domes rise above landscaped grounds, and visitors gather at the main gate to watch the mounted and foot guards.
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KL Tower
A 421 metre telecommunications tower on a forested hill in the city centre, among the tallest of its kind in the world. Lifts climb to a pod with an observation deck and a revolving restaurant that turns slowly over the rooftops of Kuala Lumpur.
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Merdeka 118
At 678.9 metres, the second tallest building in the world, its faceted glass spire visible from across Kuala Lumpur. Completed in 2023 in the old Merdeka precinct, it still has most of its floors closed, though a hotel now occupies the upper levels.
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Merdeka Square
A broad lawn, once the cricket green of the Selangor Club, facing the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. At midnight on 31 August 1957 the Union Flag was lowered here and the Malayan flag raised for the first time, and the Independence Day parade still marches past each year.
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National Monument
A large bronze sculpture of soldiers raising a flag, set above a reflecting pool near Parliament House. It honours those who died in the Second World War and the Malayan Emergency, and was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who also made the Iwo Jima memorial in Washington.
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National Mosque of Malaysia
Completed in 1965 for a newly independent country, in bold modern concrete. Its 16-pointed star roof folds like an open umbrella and the 73 metre minaret is capped like a closed one, surrounded by pools and fountains and room for 15,000 worshippers.
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Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
The largest of the shopping centres in the Bukit Bintang district, with several floors of shops and food around a tall central atrium. Its forecourt fountain and seasonal decorations make it a meeting point for the whole area.
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Petaling Street
The main street of Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown, covered by a long green roof and packed with stalls. Haggling is part of the visit, and as evening falls the food stalls and old coffee shops along it fill with locals and travellers alike.
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Petronas Twin Towers
A pair of 88-storey towers rising 451.9 metres over the city centre, the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and still the tallest twin towers anywhere. A skybridge links the two halfway up, and the park at their feet is where most people stop to look up.
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Sultan Abdul Samad Building
A late 19th century block of red brick, arches and copper domes, with a clock tower facing Merdeka Square. It was built for the British colonial administration and known simply as Government Offices until 1974, when it took the name of the sultan of Selangor in whose reign it was begun.
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Thean Hou Temple
A six-tiered temple to Mazu, the Chinese goddess of the sea, built by the Hainanese community on Robson Heights and opened in 1989. Its red pillars and rows of lanterns are among the largest of any temple in Southeast Asia, with wide views over the city from the terraces.
Hidden gems in Kuala Lumpur (10)
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Aquaria KLCC
An oceanarium beneath the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, steps from the Petronas Twin Towers. Its long underwater tunnel lets sharks, rays and turtles glide overhead while you walk along a moving path.
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Central Market
A pale blue Art Deco hall at the edge of Chinatown that began life as a wet market and now sells crafts, batik, songket and souvenirs. Its covered lane outside, Kasturi Walk, is lined with stalls and snacks.
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Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
The largest museum of Islamic art in Southeast Asia, opened in 1998 near the National Mosque. More than seven thousand objects from across the Islamic world fill its galleries, under a set of tiled domes.
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KL Bird Park
One of the world's largest covered aviaries, a netted valley of 8.5 hectares beside the Perdana Botanical Gardens. More than 3,000 birds of over 200 species, most of them Malaysian, fly free overhead, from hornbills to peacocks and storks.
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KLCC Park
The green heart of Kuala Lumpur City Centre, laid out to give the Petronas Twin Towers a garden at their feet. Paths, a lake with an evening fountain show and shaded lawns make it the best ground-level spot for taking in the towers.
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Masjid Jamek
One of the oldest mosques in the city, standing on the spit where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet, the spot where Kuala Lumpur began. Designed by Arthur Benison Hubback and built in 1909, its domes and striped arches were the city's main place of prayer until 1965.
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National Museum of Malaysia
The country's main museum of art, culture and history, opened on 31 August 1963 near the Perdana Botanical Gardens. Its façade mixes a traditional Malay roofline with modern lines, and its galleries run from early archaeology to independence.
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Perdana Botanical Gardens
Kuala Lumpur's first large public park, laid out in 1888 and spreading over 91.6 hectares near the city centre. Shaded lawns, a lake and sculpted gardens sit alongside the bird park, the butterfly park and the National Mosque.
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Sri Kandaswamy Kovil
A Hindu temple to Murugan on Jalan Scott in Brickfields, the city's Little India. It has stood here for more than a century, and its gopuram rises above a neighbourhood of sari shops, flower garlands and banana leaf restaurants.
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Sri Mahamariamman Temple
The oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur, founded in 1873 on the edge of Chinatown. Its present building dates from 1968, with a raja gopuram crowded with brightly painted deities in the South Indian style.
Collecting in Kuala Lumpur
What are the best places to visit in Kuala Lumpur?
LOQAH lists 22 places in Kuala Lumpur. The best known include Bukit Bintang, Istana Negara, KL Tower, Merdeka 118 and Merdeka Square. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Kuala Lumpur?
22, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Kuala Lumpur?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Kuala Lumpur before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Kuala Lumpur and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Malaysia
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