The glass tunnel
Ninety metres on a moving walkway with sharks and rays overhead.
Phalinn Ooi from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — CC BY 2.0 · Only Truth — Public domain · Only Truth — Public domain · Only Truth — Public domain
A ninety-metre glass tunnel you ride through on a moving walkway while sand tiger sharks and huge rays glide overhead. That tunnel is the heart of Aquaria, and the reason it is one of the busiest family attractions in the city centre, a few minutes' walk from the Petronas Towers. Thousands of marine and freshwater creatures are laid out in zones that start with Malaysia's rainforest rivers and work their way down to the open ocean. Children love the touch pools where you can handle starfish, the feeding sessions listed on boards at the entrance, and the electric eels. It is well presented and modern but not enormous: an hour and a half is enough to see everything without hurrying. Foreign adults pay RM 75, and local prices are much lower, so make sure you pick the right category when buying online. Booking ahead saves time at weekends and in school holidays, when the queue grows around midday. It is underground and fully air-conditioned, which makes it a natural choice for a rainy day or the hottest hours, and it fits easily into one outing with KLCC Park and the Suria mall.
Ninety metres on a moving walkway with sharks and rays overhead.
Where children can handle starfish and rock-pool creatures.
Scheduled feeds, posted at the entrance, for the sharks and others.
Lower level, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, near the Petronas Towers
KLCC ParkA green oasis of around twenty hectares at the feet of the Petronas Towers, desi4 minutes walk4.6
Petrosains, The Discovery CentreAn interactive science centre inside the Suria KLCC mall at the foot of the Petr6 minutes walk4.7
Petronas Twin TowersFrom 1998 to 2004 these were the tallest buildings in the world, and at 452 metr6 minutes walk4.6
KL TowerThis telecoms tower is shorter than the Petronas Towers, but it stands on a hill13 minutes walk4.5
Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek MosqueThis is where Kuala Lumpur was born. At exactly this spot the Klang and Gombak r25 minutes walk4.5It is smaller than the Dubai Mall aquarium or the National Aquarium in Abu Dhabi, so do not expect the same scale. It is well run and just right for ninety minutes with children on a hot or rainy day in the centre.