Having lived Malaysia as an expat, more specifically in Kuala Lumpur, I love to share all the (best) places I discovered. Kuala Lumpur is an amazing city that can very easily feel overwhelming, that´s where I come in. I can give you all the best places from a local perspective, so you can enjoy your holiday without missing out on the great hotspots Kuala Lumpur has to offer.  

Kuala Lumpur, Maleisië

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Federaal territorium van Kuala Lumpur, Maleisië

The Ultimate Guide to Kuala Lumpur; Malaysia (3 days) 

Depending on where you are in the city; try to find a Mamak, so that you can start your day with the delicious local breakfast: Roti Canai. For the traditional experience try to have the basic Roti Canai, or if you like a sweet breakfast, try Roti Boom (with honey), honestly tastes amazing! (Eventhough you can find Mamaks and Roti everywhere in the city before noon, I´ve added a good place for it on the map).

After Betel Leaf, you can decide to go back to the hotel/hostel for a bit of rest, or if you want to keep  exploring, you can make your way to the Merdeka Square. Definitely visit this square at some point on your trip, as it is one of the most important places to visit in Kuala Lumpur. 

After breakfast make your way down (I would suggest get a grab) to the National Mosque, where you can enter the biggest Mosque in Malaysia. Since Malaysia is a very Islamic country, I would strongly recommend visiting at least one mosque (don´t worry about covering up, they will have something you can throw over your clothes).

After the National Mosque you can walk to the Islamic Museum of Art. This beautiful Museum has a wide selection of beautiful paintings and various other art works. In my opinion the best museum of Malaysia and definitely worth a visit. 

After the Islamic Museum of Art, get into a grab again to get to ´Betel Leaf´ for Lunch. This Indian Restaurant is absolutely amazing and by far the best I´ve had in Malaysia (and trust me the Indian food in general in Malaysia is amazing). With the tacky interior, you can enjoy Indian food for a fraction of the price it would cost you outside of Asia. 

General tips; grabs are super cheap and a very easy way to see a lot in the city without breaking the bank (5 min in a grab will roughly cost 1 euro) and losing too much time. Therefore definitely download the app as soon as you get to Malaysia. 

Later on when it get´s dark; make your way down to Chinatown. Make sure you get dropped off before the main entrance of Petaling Street (or take the metro very easily from KLCC to Chinatown, stop is called Pasar Seni). Make sure to wonder around the Petaling Street Market, where you can get an endless supply of souvenirs (mainly fake brands) and find some interesting snacks. If you find the main street to overwhelming, make sure to check out the other streets around it as well, as the neighbourhood around it is very nice and filled with street art. If you want to visit a creative building, make your way to RexKL; this cool building is filled with small stores, art exhibition and it has a nice rooftop. 

After dinner you can eather go back to your hotel/hostel to enjoy a good night sleep; or if you´re still energized: Chinatown is filled with amazing speakeasy bars. These are my personal favourites: 1) The Attic, small and intimate rooftop bar 2) ShuangXi, local and intimate, sitting on the floor 3) PS150

For dinner I would suggest one of the following: 1) Old China Cafe (beautiful Malaysian Restaurant, traditional Chinese-Malay food)  2) eat on the streets of Jalan Sultan and enjoy the local experience by trying for instance chicken claypot rice 3) Hungry Tapir, to have a nice sit down dinner in a vegetarian restaurant with western options. All three options are equally great. 

Today, make sure to get up early and make your way to the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves are best before 9.00, since later in the day the weather gets super hot and the stairs filled with tourists. These caves are basically a beautiful temple complex inside an impressive rockformation. Make sure to bring a scarf to cover your knees and shoulders. In case you forgot to bring one you can buy a scarf at the entrance.

Big chance you will be hungry after the Batu Caves so when getting to the city, make sure you end up at RGB Coffee at the Bean Hive. This little cafe, hidden between the KL skyscrapers, has amazing food, not to mention everything is organic. You can enjoy a very chilled lunch here in this beautiful serene spot close to KLCC. 

After lunch you can make your way to KLCC. This part of the city consists among other things of the Twin Towers, and the KLCC park. Visit the KLCC park and enjoy views of the famous Petronas Twin towers. You can also decide  to go inside them and walk the little glass  bridge connecting them, or if you want to take it easy, to chill in the KLCC park or shop in the Suria Mall. 

For the evening there are many different options, you can eather walk (over the skye bridge connecting Pavilion with KLCC) or take a grab to Bukit Bintang where you can do the following. 

Enjoy streetfood at Jalan Alor; Malaysía´s famous streetfood street. It is a true tourist experience to go here and therefore I would strongly recommend not skipping this one. If you feel more like a sit down dinner, visit eather Bottega (best Italian food in Malaysia) or The Rabbit Hole. 

After food you can decide to eather go home, get drinks on Changkat Avenue which is basically the party area of Kuala Lumpur and find one of the many bars to have a drink. I would recommend you to go to the Heli Lounge Bar. This bar will give you a 360 degr. roundview over the city and in my opinion is the best place to get a feeling of the city. You have to pay an entrance fee which you get back in drinks. 

The next day you can start slower and make your way to Lisette´s bakery for a nice lazy brunch. This place has amazing bread, lunch options, and also authentic Malay food options. 

After brunch get a grab to the Thean Hou temples, where you can admire the beautiful Buddhist-Chinese temple. Honestly a beautiful space in the city. 

After the temple, you can make your way to Brickfields; also labeled ´Little India´. This is an amazing couple of streets filled with little stores where you can buy various supplies on the street. You can also fully enjoy all the amazing Indian restaurants if you´re hungry yet. A good Indian Restaurant to visit would be GEM (although the streetfood is amazing as well and if you get the chance, try a banana leaf) 

With the rest of the afternoon, you can decide to eather visit the Merdeka Square in case you haven´t, or for instance go shopping in the Pavilion mall or Suria Mall. 

For the evening you can eather have a more fancy dinner in: 1) Palilos Yakitori Bar (amazing Japanese/Spanish fusion, the food is amazing) 2) Fuego Troika Sky dining; for a dinner with a view. Make sure to reserve before!! If you feel like having streetfood, you can try the Tapak Urban Street Dining where there´s an amazing variety of food. 

If you still want to explore more of the city and enjoy with a drink. You can make your way to one of the following bars to enjoy your last night in KL. Don´t forget to visit the KLCC Park with the Petronas Twin Towers at night to see the beautiful towers completely lit up. 

I hope you´ll enjoy your time in KL. In case you have some additional time I would recommend the following places or following things to do: 

If you want to go on a really cool hike close to the city: 

Menara Kuala Lumpur; if you´re not sick of the views yet. 

Chow Kit: for some really cosy and nice restaurants and a cool street market. Visit Heritage Pizza and Licky Chan for amazing Icecream. 

The Ultimate Guide to Kuala Lumpur; Malaysia (3 days)

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