Stand Beneath the Towers in the KLCC Park
You feel the scale of the Petronas Towers before you can take them in. Step out into the KLCC Park, the 6.9-hectare green space spread below the buildings, and look up: two interlinked 88-storey towers of reinforced concrete and a steel-and-glass facade, rising together above the trees. The towers stand on the former site of the original Selangor Turf Club, Kuala Lumpur's old race track, and the site was moved 61 metres so that both buildings could sit entirely on soft rock. Designed by Argentine-American architect César Pelli in a postmodern style intended as a 21st-century icon for the city, they were built as a monument announcing Kuala Lumpur's prominence as a commercial and cultural capital. Look closely at the facade and floor plan and you'll see the intent: motifs drawn from Islamic art, a cross section based on the Rub el Hizb, and an eight-point star formed by intersecting squares.
Cross the Skybridge Between the Towers
The experience most visitors come for is the double-decker skybridge, which links the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors and holds the record for the highest two-storey bridge in the world. It sits 170 metres above the ground and is 58.4 metres long. It isn't only an attraction: it is a crucial part of the design, allowing movement between the towers during high winds. The 41st floor also serves as the podium, where visitors heading higher change elevators.
- Skybridge tickets are limited to about 1,000 people per day, with roughly half available online and the other half obtained on a first-come, first-served basis, so plan your day around securing one.
- Below the towers, Suria KLCC is an upscale retail centre with around 300 stores, plus an art gallery, an underwater aquarium and a science centre.
- The Petronas Philharmonic Hall, home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, sits at the base of the towers, and the orchestra also performs as Dewan Filharmonik in the Twin Towers.
- In KLCC Park you can walk or jog the paths, let children loose on the playground, paddle in the wading pools, and watch the fountain's incorporated light show.
Time Your Visit for the Evening Lights
The towers are an architectural delight at night in particular, when the glass and steel facade takes on a different character from its daytime presence. Plan to spend part of your day in and around the complex rather than treating the towers as a quick photo stop: the skybridge, the mall and the park each reward an unhurried visit. If you want a view from above, skyscraper gazing is one of the obvious pleasures of Kuala Lumpur, with viewing decks available at both the Petronas Towers and the nearby KL Tower. The highlight not to miss is the bridge itself, the one place where you stand between the two towers rather than beneath them.
Step Out into the Golden Triangle and Beyond
The towers sit in the Golden Triangle, which puts a great deal within reach. The KL Tower (Menara KL) is nearby, as is Merdeka 118, the supertall skyscraper that now competes with the Petronas Towers for the skyline. The Aquaria KLCC, an aquarium with some 5,000 varieties of tropical fish, is in the Golden Triangle near the KL Convention Centre. For a change of pace, the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve at the base of Menara KL offers an easy trek, with free guided tours arrangeable from KL Tower. Farther afield, the old city centre holds the colonial architecture — the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Masjid Jamek at the confluence of the Klang River, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building on Merdeka Square and the Royal Selangor Club — while Chinatown's narrow streets are the city's traditional commercial district, full of Chinese shops and places to eat.
Start With the Bridge and Build Your Day Around It
Because skybridge tickets are capped each day, the towers reward a little planning: decide whether you'll book online or arrive early for a first-come spot, then let the rest of the day unfold around the park, the mall and the Golden Triangle. Whether you come for the architecture, the view from the bridge or simply to stand in the park as the towers light up, build your Kuala Lumpur itinerary around them — and leave room to wander.