12 Free Things to do in Kuala Lumpur (KL)
This list of 12 free things to do in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is created to help those traveling on a budget, especially the budget travelers or
backpackers to find some of these places while staying in the city.
There have
been many lists out there but this list that Malaysia Asia has done has much more realistic things to do for free.
As Kuala Lumpur or KL has developed vastly over the last ten years, there are still many places that one can explore at no cost and also on foot.
The list is in no particular order and if you have any comments, please do share with me and everyone below. Enjoy your visit to Kuala Lumpur.
Free things to do in Kuala Lumpur
1. Kuala Lumpur Heritage Walk
The Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) or Kuala Lumpur City Council has introduced a Free Kuala Lumpur Heritage walk where it takes you to 11 historical sites. This walk takes around two and a half hours and is worth it.
You can get the details from the official website listed below. This heritage walk is still free for tourists visiting Kuala Lumpur. There is no more service by DBKL, but they have an official pdf map of the KL Heritage Walk.
- Discover 11 historical sites within 2 1/2 hours walk.
- Starting point : Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
- Time: 9.00am to 11.30am ( Monday, Wednesday and Saturday)
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| Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur. Photo by http://edition.cnn.com/ |
I strongly recommend doing this in the day time and mornings only. It is not advisable to explore this area at night unless it is the main streets.
Exploring Brickfields
Total Walking Time: 2 to 3 hours
Type of Tour: Self Walk
3. Seeing the Birthplace of Kuala Lumpur
This is the place where Kuala Lumpur started. Back in the day, miners in boats arrived here at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers and could not go any further, therefore, setting up came here.
Kuala means Confluence while Lumpur means Mud or simply translated as Muddy Confluence. These days, many just call the city KL (pronounced Kay El). If you do not take the free heritage walk, you can simply make your way here from Chinatown or the Golden Triangle via foot.
The place is just nearby the Masjid Jamek which is the first mosque in KL and designed by British architect Arthur Bennison Hubback in 1909.
It is also behind the Central Market and Independence Square (Dataran Merdeka). Exploring this area will take you around the older parts of Kuala Lumpur.
Birthplace of Kuala Lumpur
Total Walking time: 1 to 2 hours
Type: Self Walk
4. Walking to the Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens
As this massive 230-acre garden sits within the city of KL, there are a number of free activities that one can do here. A simple 20-30 minute walk from Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square will bring you to many of the attractions here.
Some of them include the Hibiscus Garden, Orchid Garden and Deer Park which are a free entrance on weekdays. There is a charge on weekends.
The National Monument and a beautiful lake are also in the vicinity so you can easily spend a good 4-6 hours around here.
There are public toilets and rest areas for tourists while tourist police are seen on horseback here. Please bring snacks or food as sometimes, food is scarce here.
It is also possible to walk here and then walk back to the city in half a day or less. Other paid parks around this area include the KL Bird Park and Butterfly Park.
Type: Self Walk
5. Visiting KLCC and Petronas Twin Towers
One of the most popular tourist attractions in KL is no other than the Petronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur City Centre or KLCC, which are both located in the heart of the city.
Currently, the tallest twin towers in the world, this majestic 88 story building stands at 452 meters high. Here, there are a total of 4 free things to do.
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Walking around the massive buildings in the day and night is a bonus for your KL Twin Tower Photos. Some say the best spot to take pictures is at the junction of Jalan Ampang and Jalan Yap Kuan Seng where the traffic lights are located and you get the best angle of KLCC. This is your best free photo location.
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Inside the complex, there is an art gallery called Galeri Petronas which is built to support the development and preservation of arts in the country. It serves as a venue for fine arts exhibitions for both international and local artists. Great for art lovers and free if there is no major show.
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The KLCC Park is spread over 17 acres with a jogging path, water fountains, a wading pool, and beautiful greenery. If you like parks, this is the place to explore. It is also a great spot to photograph the Twin Towers. The entire area is free to explore.
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Window Shopping at Suria KLCC is also free and in one of the largest shopping malls which are in the Petronas twin tower buildings. Here you can people watch or simply check out the prices of watches and designer items. There are cinemas, supermarkets, a science discovery center, huge book stores and a philharmonic theater inside the complex. The LRT subway line also has a station underground here.
*Please take note that the Free Tickets to go up the KLCC Sky Bridge is no longer available. There is a RM10 charge for this now.
Total Walking Time Here: 2 to 8 hours (depending on what you do)
Type: Self Walk
6. Walking to Jalan Alor, Tengkat Tong Shin, and Changkat Bukit Bintang
- If you are not already staying at Tengkat Tong Shin’s guesthouses or backpacker hotels, this would be one of the places to explore in the day or after dark. Jalan Alor is famous for the many local hawkers selling all sorts of Malaysian food plus cold beer. A lovely place to walk by and see the varieties of food being sold against the myriad of colors at night.
- Changkat Bukit Bintang is just around the corner and plays host to some of Kuala Lumpurs best night scene. A number of bars, clubs, discos, and fine dining restaurants line both sides of the street making it a very popular place for locals, expats, and foreigners. If you love the nightlife, this is your place to hang out.
- Tengkat Tong Shin is well known for a number of upmarket guesthouses, flashpacker hotels, backpacker guesthouses, and hotels. This road also leads to Jalan Alor and also Changkat.
Total Walking Time: Varies
7. Central Market or Pasar Seni
Next door, a building dedicated to art called the Annexe Gallery showcases some of the countries up and coming artists while art exhibitions are done here. If you love art, this is one of the places to check and it is free. Both places are only a 5-minute walk from Petaling Street or Chinatown in KL.
Total Walking Time Here: From 1-4 hours
Central Market Website.
8. Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex
The Kuala Lumpur craft complex is one of the interesting places to visit if you love local culture and heritage. This place is located in the heart of KL city and is easily accessible by walking.
It is also called the National Craft Complex, it is located at Jalan Conlay which is near the KLCC and Golden Triangle area.
Walking here will just take you about 10-15 minutes from both places and you can find almost all the local craft available in Malaysia. Guests can also participate in handicraft work and purchase the items made.
Popular Malaysian craft like Batik, Pottery and Wood Carvings can be seen here. On occasion, there are cultural shows being performed, so do check with the information counter there.
9. Visit a Night Market or Pasar Malam in KL
As Malaysia is well known for the night markets or pasar malam in Malay, these places can be found throughout the city of KL. In this list, I am sharing with you two of the best night markets in KL which are easily explored by foot.
- Pasar Malam Masjid India Night Market – One of the best night markets in KL can be found along Jalan Masjid India on Saturday nights. The market starts at about 5.00 pm and ends at about 11.00 pm.
Here you will find all sorts of local foods, nick-knacks, fashion and accessories on sale where you can bargain for the prices. This place is easy to walk to as it takes about 10-15 minutes to walk from Petaling Street or Chinatown or about 20-30 minutes walk from KLCC.
- Petaling Street or Chinatown Market – Located in the core area of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur is the famous Petaling Street market where you will find a multitude of knock-off goods which include watches, t-shirts, bags, souvenirs, and the occasional fruit and food stalls.
Apart from the usual items, some of the best local hawkers and restaurants serving good Chinese food can be found here at Jalan Hang Lekir.
Here, roadside tables are covered with a bright colored table cloth to indicate the shops while foreigners sit and have local Chinese dishes with a cold beer. A number of backpacker guest houses and hotels can be found in the vicinity.
Total Walking Time: 2 to 4 hours each place
Type: Self Walk
10. Heritage Buildings in KL – Walking Tour
Apart from the modern skyscrapers in town, there are quite a number of beautiful Heritage Buildings which were from the British Colonial days that still stand strong in the city. By exploring on foot, you can see many of these buildings that are in the older areas of Kuala Lumpur.
Starting at the Central Market (Art-Decor), you can walk towards Independence Square or Dataran Merdeka where the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (SAS) stands majestically and is the largest of the heritage buildings here.
Opposite, the English Tudor styled Royal Selangor Club sits facing the SAS Building. Head on over to the old railway station to see a couple more of the Neo Moorish and Mughal designed buildings.
In the old city area, many shophouses don the old pre-war structures where you get to see a mix of influences in designs from Grecian-Spanish, Neo-Gothic, Victorian and even the American styles that range from the 1880s till 1950s.
11. Batu Caves Visit
You have not seen Kuala Lumpur if you have not visited the world famous Batu Caves. This is one of the most interesting caves in the world where it takes you up 262 steps into a cavern where an Indian temple sits.
During the festival of Thaipusam, over a million people visit this place and is one of the fascinating events to witness in late January or early February yearly. Climbing up to the temple and exploring the temple cave is all free.
It is about 20-30 minutes drive from KL so walking is out of the question. You need to take the KL Commuter Train to the Batu Caves Station or you can take a bus or taxi. Here, there is an Art Cave which has an entrance fee, but you can give it a miss.
There are Indian restaurants around the place, convenient stores and there are also toilets available. It is highly recommended to visit this place during Thaipusam in late January or early February.
Total Walking Time: 2 to 3 hours
Type: Bus or train here and then self walk
12. Traditional Malay Village Kampung Baru Walk
Imagine a village in the heart of the city of KL, this is what Kampung Baru is about. The British originally gazetted Kampung Baru as a Malay Agricultural Settlement in 1900 to allow the Malays to retain their village lifestyle within the city.
Predominantly only Malays live in the area, it is well known for local food and businesses. Not a usual tourist spot but the curious will venture here to see what a local kampung looks like.
The place is also best visited in the evenings or nights as there is an area dedicated to all things Malay food.
I recommend trying the famous ‘Nasi Lemak‘ packets or fragrant coconut rice packets here. The main road name is Jalan Raja Muda Musa and is filled with over 50 Malay food stalls here.
From KLCC or Chinatown, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to walk to Kampung Baru.
Type: Self Walk
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| I took this photo of the Petronas Twin Towers at night from a street junction |
This list is originally compiled by me, David Jr from Malaysia Asia, and copied many times by others. I have been updating the list on a yearly basis and editing what is no longer free or any other changes.
It is true that there are many other things that may be free, but why would I list down ‘Play with the Silver Leaf Monkeys in Kuala Selangor’ when it is about 4 hours out of KL? Or ‘Go Hiking at Bukit Gasing’ when that is in Petaling Jaya?
The problem with the other lists is that they are written by desktop writers, who sit and come up with listicles, without even experiencing any of the free things listed.
That is how the Internet has misled and changed things over the years.
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| View of Petronas Twin Towers taken from the KLCC Park |
Final Thoughts On the Free Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur
As for me, I have personally done all of the above, and then pass judgment and write this article to provide accurate information to visitors to Malaysia.
My objective is not to mislead people by simple coming up with top post lists for the sake of being on the top of the search page.
While most travelers prefer to see the city by walking, this list helps you to understand that there is more than what you read out there.
If you spend a little more time here in the city, you will find many interesting things to do here apart from these 12 free things to do in Kuala Lumpur. The information is accurate and will be updated if there is any change.
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