Kuala Lumpur Colonial District is a short walk from Masjid Jamek train station. It is also within walking distance of Chinatown and the KL Central Market. The buildings around the grassy green are very distinctive and worth seeing. You can also visit the Colonial Centre and Museum and City Gallery here. The National Mosque, Masjid Negara, is also a short walk from Merdeka Square, the green in the Colonial District. You may enter both mosques at certain times.
If you’re travelling to the Colonial District from the centre of Kuala Lumpur (KLCC and the Petronas Towers) there are free pink buses that will take you to this district. Or you can take the train to Masjid Jamek Station.
This post covers the Colonial District, and Colonial Centre, things to see and do both in and near the Colonial District. Photos are from this area of KL.
Kuala Lumpur’s Colonial District
This is where you find the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery with the famous I love KL sign. This place is a little gem, there is a great display on the history of KL. There was just enough reading to not switch off an under-enthusiastic nine-year-old. A beautiful model of the city captivated the kids. There was also a craft gallery where we could watch intricate wooden buildings and decorations being made.
The KL Gallery was small, but free. The miniature houses and monuments fascinated the children and it was a nice break in the air-con. Kuala Lumpur is a hot sticky city to explore on foot.
The biggest surprise in Kuala Lumpur’s Colonial District was this. A cricket pitch that wouldn’t be out-of-place in a British village, it’s right in front of the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery in Merdeka Square.
There is also a huge flagpole and a giant Malaysian flag at the other end of the green.
On the other side of the road is the most photographed building in Kuala Lumpur, the Sultan Abdul Samad building. It was built by the British, surprisingly.
If you carry on walking out of town along the main road, you can have a totally different experience. Malaysia’s National Mosque, Masjid Negara is about five minutes away. I’ll save the photos of me in a hijab for another post. It’s open to the public and they will loan you suitable attire.
We can easily walk from our accommodation (Avenue J Hotel is one we use often in Kuala Lumpur, it’s nearby and very affordable) to the Colonial District. The Central Market and China Town are nearby too. It’s hot, the air pollution is terrible and dodging the traffic is a bit of an experience for first-timers. Kuala Lumpur has its flaws, the same as any other city, but we’ve had a great time here.
Could you save this to Pinterest please?
We really like Kuala Lumpur, it’s efficient and well organised, the public transport is fantastic, the supermarkets and shops would give any Western capital a run for its money, plus you’ve got the old and traditional for a change of pace. It’s been easy to find things to do in Kuala Lumpur everything has been new and different for us. Sometimes the kids were been fed up with walking or catching another bus. If you break the day up with things they enjoy they’re fine.
Time to move on now, down to Melacca for a new set of experiences.
Things to do in Kuala Lumpur with Kids. Our Top 5.
Chinatown and its temples, was fascinating, we;’ve seen the roller coaster in a shopping mall and tried our hands at indoor archery, We’ve taken the obligatory photos at the Petronas Towers and Batu Caves before having a science fest at Petrosains (click the links for pictures and information). We’ve played in the pools in front of the iconic towers, dismissed the playground next door, seen the evening light show and had a brilliant time at the aquarium. These are the kids’ favourite things in KL.
1. The Petronas Towers. My boys loved seeing them, they like big things.
2. Playing in the water of the pool and fountain just in front of the Petronas Towers. They didn’t like the huge playground complex there so much. It was more for little kids and it was too hot.
3. Indoor Archery in the mall (link above) they thought it was fantastic.
4. The Aquarium. Particularly the touch pool. You can hold horseshoe crabs and stroke a shark.
5. Petrosains Science Museum (at the towers). They’re itching to go back, it was too much to see in one half-day visit.
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