Is this your first time in Kuala Lumpur city? While traveling can be exciting and fun; but usually it is a little challenging for first-time travellers to a city like Kuala Lumpur. There are way too many things to do, and it is almost impossible to do everything in just a trip unless you are staying here for months.
To make things easier, here’s a list of basic things to do when you come to visit the capital city of Malaysia.
Visit the skyscrapers
Skyscraper is one of the main highlights in Kuala Lumpur city, being a city which boasts some of the tallest buildings in the world. Whether you enjoy the view from the top of the skyscraper or you love the details of architecture, you can choose to visit some of them.
Once completed, the Merdeka 118 and the Exchange 106 will be the two tallest buildings in Malaysia, with Merdeka 118 being the second tallest in the world. There will be a number of exciting spaces for you to visit at those towers.
While waiting for the completion of those two, you can visit Petronas Twin Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower which is already a well-known attraction globally.
Walk around downtown Kuala Lumpur
As the City Hall with the collaboration of private and public stakeholders, the downtown Kuala Lumpur is in the process of rejuvenated into a creative and cultural district.
Most of the streets and buildings in downtown Kuala Lumpur has been built since the British colonial eras, and if you are a heritage lover, you’ll definitely love it. Furthermore, with new local businesses injected into the spaces, many of the old spots were revived but at the same time preserving the heritage elements.
The Petaling Street and Kwai Chai Hong are some of the spaces that have been revived into attractive spots to visit. You might also find some beautiful street arts around downtown KL to add into your social media content.
Take a stroll along the River of Life
As part of the urban restoration project, that river which nobody ever thought of even taking a glance at, is now a beautiful public space to spend a good time for a stroll.
The River of Life is the convergence of two major rivers in Klang Valley; the Klang River and the Gombak River. There are biking paths, riverside cafes and dancing fountains along the river banks. At night, the extravagant LED light transforms the place into a mesmerising indigo blue, making it very distinctive.
Go on a date to the museum and art galleries
If you’re a lover of art and culture, then you’ve got to include museums and art galleries into your itinerary of Kuala Lumpur. Recently reopened after the pandemic, the National Art Gallery has three storeys, no entrance fees, and free parking. There will be different art collections from time to time, depending on the curation and collaboration with different organisations.
The National Museum (Muzium Negara) is also a spot that is worth visiting to understand more about Malaysia and its culture. The museum houses four exhibition galleries, namely the Prehistory Gallery, Malay Kingdoms Gallery, Colonial Era Gallery and Malaysia Today — all of which feature Malaysia’s history and rich cultural diversity.
Read more about the art galleries in Kuala Lumpur.
Shopping at the malls
Kuala Lumpur is never short of shopping malls for the people to visit and spur the economy. After all, it is a major city and the capital of Malaysia. You can easily find luxury and local brands for you to choose from at the malls.
Some of the popular malls are Midvalley Megamall, The Gardens Mall, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC, One Utama with the new ones Lalaport Bukit Bintang and Pavilion Bukit Jalil.
Get on the outdoor adventure in the city
If you think the city is just all about buildings, then you are wrong. There are a number of different outdoor activities that you can experience in the city.
For fresh outdoors and to have some fun, you can spend your day at Sunway Lagoon, Escape Petaling Jaya, Gamuda Cove or if you want to walk along a glass platform at 100 feet above the ground, you might want to go over to Kuala Lumpur Tower for the Tower Walk 100.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you might want to try out some thrilling theme park experience at Berjaya Times Square Theme Park, Superpark Malaysia, District 21, and Jump Street Asia Trampoline Park.
Check out the list of adventurous activities that you might be interested.
Snap beautiful photos for your social media content
Instagrammable spots is all around the city, you’ve just got to find it and use your vision to capture some amazing content for your social media.
You can consider going over to the Bukit Bintang alleys for some street art, Batu Caves for the colourful steps to the top of the Hindu shrine, the most beautiful pedestrian bridge with lightings at the Saloma Link, Kwai Chai Hong and many more.
Find out more of the instagrammable spots of the city in this link.
Go cafe hopping!
Since the third wave coffee is introduced in Malaysia, there are plenty of high-quality baristas trained and winning multiple international awards and competitions.
From there, lots of cafes have been opened locally with different styles, themes, ambience, type of food & beverages. Hunt for your favourite ones and enjoy a good cuppa while taking a break after a long walk in the city.
You might even find some Instagrammable ones to add into your social media feeds.
Religious Places
Being a nation with diverse community, Malaysia has a lot of buildings of different religion. Even if the buildings are from the same religion, the design and architecture might be inspired from different influences.
For example, the Federal Territory Mosque’s design is a blend of Ottoman and Malay architectural styles, heavily influenced by the Blue Mosque of Istanbul. The design of the Masjid Jamek, on the other hand has been described as a Moorish, Indo-Saracenic or Mughal architecture.
Of course, there are also religious architectures from the Buddhist, Taoist and the Hindu community with some of the significant ones like the Batu Caves Temple and the Thean Hou Temple.
Here’s some of the beautiful religious places that you should visit.
Enjoy the good foods of Kuala Lumpur
With the diverse culture in Malaysia, the city never lacks of good food, whether it is from the streets or those that have won the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
There is a long list of different cuisines that you can taste in Kuala Lumpur, but since you are here, you have to try some local foods like the Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Banana Leaf Rice, Nasi Kandar, Local Kopitiam Breakfast, Nyonya Food or maybe Durians when the season is here. If you’d want to explore more, you can check our food list for more inspirations.
That’s the list of things to do if you’re a first timer in Kuala Lumpur and we hope this is good enough for you to have a splendid time in the city.
