The architecture gallery
Fine models of the Masjid al-Haram, the Prophet's Mosque, the Taj Mahal and more.
Chainwit. — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia — CC BY 2.0 · Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia — CC BY 2.0
The largest museum of Islamic art in Southeast Asia, and arguably the finest thing in Kuala Lumpur for an Arab visitor. You enter under domes lined in turquoise and gold, then walk through more than twelve thousand objects stretching from al-Andalus to China, with a striking emphasis on what European museums rarely show: the Islamic arts of India, Southeast Asia and China. The strongest gallery is architecture, with detailed models of the Masjid al-Haram, the Prophet's Mosque, the Taj Mahal and mosques from Uzbekistan to Mali. The manuscript gallery holds rare Qurans in many scripts, including Chinese Qurans in Sini script that are hard to see anywhere else. There is also a complete, richly decorated Ottoman room reassembled inside the museum, alongside galleries of jewellery, textiles, arms and ceramics. It is air-conditioned and quiet, pushchairs move through easily, and it is the ideal refuge for the hottest hours of the day. Give it at least two hours, more if calligraphy is your thing. It sits beside the National Mosque on the edge of the Perdana Botanical Gardens, so all three fit into one morning. Tickets are RM 20 for adults, half price for students and free for children under six, payable by cash or card. It opens every day and closes only for the two Eids; hours are shorter in Ramadan, until five.
Fine models of the Masjid al-Haram, the Prophet's Mosque, the Taj Mahal and more.
Manuscripts in many scripts, including Chinese Qurans in Sini script.
Domes lined inside with turquoise and gold, worth looking up for.
Jalan Lembah Perdana, next to the National Mosque, Kuala Lumpur
Royal Malaysian Police MuseumA small free museum telling the history of policing in Malaysia, from the guards2 minutes walk4.6
National Mosque of MalaysiaInstead of the usual dome, this mosque is crowned by a roof shaped like a folded3 minutes walk4.7
KL Bird ParkYou do not look at the birds through cages here; you walk among them. The park s3 minutes walk4.3
Kuala Lumpur Old Railway StationA railway station that looks like a Mughal palace: white domes, little turrets, 6 minutes walk4.3
National Museum of MalaysiaFive ringgit, one of the cheapest things you will pay for in Kuala Lumpur, buys 7 minutes walk4.2Yes, because its strength is what most collections lack: the Islamic arts of India, China and Southeast Asia. The architecture gallery alone justifies the visit.