Petronas Twin Towers, KLCC & Bukit Bintang — KL's Golden Triangle
The Petronas Twin Towers — the defining symbol of modern Malaysia, the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004, and still the tallest twin towers in the world — anchor the KLCC development that forms the core of Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle, the central business and entertainment district that represents the face of Malaysia's rapid economic modernisation since independence in 1957.
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Petronas Twin Towers — Symbol of Malaysia's Economic Ambition
Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Centre — two 88-storey supertall skyscrapers, 451.9 metres to roof, 452 metres to top of spires, completed 1998, designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates, the tallest buildings in the world from their completion in 1998 until the completion of Taipei 101 in 2004, still the tallest twin towers in the world and the tallest buildings in Malaysia): the towers were built as the headquarters of the national petroleum company Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) and as a symbol of Malaysia's transformation from a colonial agricultural economy to a modern industrial and services-based economy; the design by Pelli incorporates Islamic geometric patterns — the floor plan of each tower is based on an 8-pointed star formed by two interlocking squares, a motif of the Malaysian Islamic architectural tradition, and the facade features geometric Islamic motifs on the steel and glass exterior; the Skybridge connecting the two towers at floors 41-42 (170 metres above the ground) and the observation deck on floor 86 are open to the public (limited tickets sold daily from a counter at the base).
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KLCC Park & Suria KLCC — The Lifestyle Complex at the Towers' Base
Suria KLCC (the 6-storey shopping mall at the base of the Petronas Towers, one of the premier upscale shopping destinations in Southeast Asia, with approximately 320 stores and restaurants): Suria KLCC contains the Malaysian flagship stores of most major international luxury and high-street brands, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (connected to the mall), the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and numerous restaurants and food courts; KLCC Park (the 19.7-hectare urban park surrounding the base of the towers and the mall, designed by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx) contains a 750-metre jogging track, a children's playground, a lake with fountains and a water show (performed twice nightly), and extensive planted gardens with native Malaysian species; the view of the Petronas Towers reflected in the lake of KLCC Park is one of the most reproduced images of Malaysia.
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Bukit Bintang — Kuala Lumpur's Premier Entertainment Strip
Bukit Bintang ('Star Hill', the entertainment and lifestyle district of Kuala Lumpur, approximately 1.5 kilometres south of the Petronas Towers, centered on Jalan Bukit Bintang and the surrounding streets — accessible by KL Monorail Bukit Bintang station or by the underground pedestrian tunnel from KLCC): Bukit Bintang is the most concentrated entertainment strip in Kuala Lumpur, with luxury malls (Pavilion KL, the most upscale mall in Malaysia; Starhill Gallery, with its luxury basement retail concept; Fahrenheit88), mid-range malls (BB Plaza, Sungei Wang Plaza), street food (the Jalan Alor hawker street — the most famous street food destination in Kuala Lumpur, with dozens of open-air restaurants serving Cantonese barbecue, seafood, satay, and Malaysian classics every evening), and the Changkat Bukit Bintang bar street (the principal nightlife strip of KL).
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KL Tower (Menara Kuala Lumpur) — 360° City Views
Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower, Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur — the 421-metre telecommunications tower completed 1996, the 7th tallest telecommunications tower in the world, built on the highest hill in central Kuala Lumpur (Bukit Nanas, 94 metres above sea level) giving its observation deck at 276 metres an effective viewing height of 370 metres above sea level): the KL Tower observation deck and revolving restaurant offer 360-degree views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the best views of the Petronas Twin Towers at close range; the tower is surrounded by the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve (the oldest protected forest in Malaysia, a 9.37-hectare forest reserve within the city centre, with walking trails accessible from the base of the tower — the only urban forest reserve in Malaysia).
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Pavilion KL & Jalan Alor — Shopping and Hawker Culture
Pavilion KL (168 Jalan Bukit Bintang — the premier luxury shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, opened 2007, with 7 floors of retail containing approximately 450 specialty stores and restaurants organized around a central Crystal Fountain atrium): Pavilion represents the aspirational consumer culture of modern Malaysian middle and upper-middle class; Jalan Alor (the alley behind Jalan Bukit Bintang, between Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Tengah — Kuala Lumpur's most famous hawker food street, operating from approximately 5pm to 3am): Jalan Alor transforms each evening from a quiet back street into an open-air restaurant with dozens of tables spilling from the restaurants lining both sides, serving Cantonese barbecue chicken wings (the most famous dish), wok-fried noodles, grilled seafood, satay, steamboat, and virtually every variety of Malaysian and Chinese street food.
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Aquaria KLCC & the Golden Triangle's Modern Attractions
Aquaria KLCC (at the convention centre, Kuala Lumpur City Centre — the 4,500-square-metre aquarium built beneath the KLCC convention centre, containing over 5,000 creatures from 150 species across Malaysian and global aquatic environments, including the open-ocean tank with 90-metre underwater walkway through a tank containing sand tiger sharks, sand bar sharks, giant manta rays, and over 3,000 fish): the Aquaria represents the broader cultural and entertainment infrastructure of the KLCC development; the surrounding Golden Triangle area (bounded by Jalan Ampang, Jalan Tun Razak, and Jalan Imbi — Kuala Lumpur's central business district) contains the headquarters of the major Malaysian banks and corporations, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and numerous embassies and diplomatic missions.