The best museums to visit in Kuala Lumpur

National Museum

The National museum features the most important record of Malaysian history and culture in the country. It is three stories high with four galleries and a central hall which is home to temporary exhibitions. It also offers a collection of prehistoric findings, historical artifacts from the Malay Kingdoms, colonial outfits and trinkets, works of historical importance related modern Malaysia and more.

The museum is situated to the south of the beautiful Perdana Lake Gardens and near KL Sentral, so it can be reached quite easily. The entrance fee is a nearly symbolic amount and the museum offers daily free guided tours in multiple languages, so there is no excuse not visit the museum. And after visiting the museum, you can take a leisurely walk into the southern-stretch of the Lake Gardens to ponder of your discoveries while enjoying the fresh air.

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery

The Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is both a tourist information center and yet another interesting and free museum to visit when you come to KL, conveniently located in the cultural heart of the city at Merdeka Square. The gallery tells the story of Kuala Lumpur through miniatures, photos and prints. It gives an impressive insight into the city as you can view the entire city from a bird’s eye view in extraordinary detail. They have even gone out of their way to give their model city it’s own light show detailing the historical development of the city. The show is the biggest and first of such kind in Malaysia so there is doubt you’re bound to be awed by Malaysia’s milestones.

You can also rent bicycles from the gallery and enjoy a ride around the city. And if you want to take home part of KL, you can plow through the gift shop and take home some souvenirs for yourself, friends and family. Sounds cool? It definitely is.

National Textile Museum

Housed in a beautiful Mughal building, this museum is a great place to learn about the rich history of Malaysia and its diverse textiles. It boasts four major galleries with nearly 500 works. From Malaysian fabrics and design, jewellery to traditional machinery and processes used to make the clothing, you will be spoiled for choice. It is free to visit and is open daily for convenience purposes. The museum also houses a great cafe with great delicacies and a museum shop just in case you would like to buy the beautiful batik clothing.

Illusion 3D Art Museum

There are very few 3D museums in Malaysia and the Illusion 3D Art Museum is one of the most famous. It is known for displaying realistic paintings and physical works by a team of very talented artists, where the 2D and 3D world blend into each other. The museum isn’t one of the biggest, as it hosts 36 3D paintings throughout three halls that each have it’s own distinct flavour. But it certainly is one of the guilty pleasures of the crew of Meet The Cities. For children this museum will probably be one of the most memorable ones.

You can have fun with great illusionary art where it’s nearly impossible to tell in which dimension the work resides. This ensures you can take some great pictures of yourself with 3D artwork. With one of the highlight being that you can play around in an augmented reality video with yourself on a big screen where you wander among 3D dinosaurs and animals. And if you enjoyed wandering around in the 3D world with the dinosaurs you can buy videos or photos of it as souvenirs. It’s a pretty unique experience that you will certainly enjoy.

Royal Malaysian Police Museum

Another great museum worth visiting is the Royal Malaysian Police Museum. It features fascinating collection of artefacts as well as exhibits related to the history of law keeping forces from mostly British, but also Portuguese and Dutch, colonial times until to date. Besides the multitude of fancy uniforms, it showcases the police weapons that have been used throughout time and the vehicles used by the forces. To top it all off memorabilia of major emergencies and struggles in Kuala Lumpur are displayed. It is located behind the Islamic Arts Museum and near the Planetarium and Bird Park. It is divided into three galleries and entrance is free.

Due to it’s great location you can take a trip to the museum as part of your Kuala Lumpur Lake Garden trail, by taking the tram to the monumental Kuala Lumpur railway station or, if you prefer the sheer convenience of it, by taxi.

Islamic Arts Museum

Whether you are interested in religious art and culture or not, you will love Islamic Arts Museum. Here you will get to see great examples of Islamic calligraphy and quality exhibits like carpets, textiles and jewellery. The building itself is incredibly beautiful and stunning with glazed tile work and a giant light blue dome. It houses an exceptional library of Islamic art books and 12 main galleries with more than 7000 artifacts.

It is also a great destination especially for those who are curious about Islam as a religion. In addition, it’s located between the Perdana Botanical Gardens and the National Mosque of Malaysia, both of which are great tourist destinations. Which means you can easily combine a trip to this museum with other activities. So rest assured, you will certainly get impressed when you visit this museum.

National Visual Arts Gallery

Do you love paintings and photography? If that’s the case, a walk through the National Visual Arts Gallery is one of the best KL tours available and should not be missed. The museum has the grandest collection of thousands of Malaysian colourful artwork, paintings, multimedia, professional photography and handmade works by locals and foreigners. Both contemporary and traditional art can be found here to cater to a wide range of tastes. A walk through this museum is therefore a recommended experience. The museum is freely accessible so everyone can afford to enjoy the beauty it has to offer. The best way to reach the museum is by taxi.

Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery

A good place to spend an hour or two is at the Bank Negara museum. The museum is making its mark as a popular stop on the tourist map for its distinctive art collection. It gives an insight into the history of trade and commerce as you will find out how and with what people bartered in the earlier days. In total it contains six galleries the Malaysian economic history with a special focus on the bank’s role. There are special need facilities, cafe with several refreshments and light snacks, a shop for souvenirs and the admission is free for all visitors. It is therefore a remarkably interesting place to visit for everyone with an interest in history and commerce.