Just a few hundred metres from busy Chinatown, the urban landscape gives way to sculpted parks and dense tropical jungle. Covering 92 hectares, the Lake Gardens were created during the colonial era as an urban retreat where the British administrators could escape the hurly burly of downtown (as well as people of other races).

This park is pleasantly restful; it covers a huge area, planted with a variety of native plants, trees and shrubs - it's hard to believe that this calm open space exists just a few hundred metres from the main train station. In the middle is a huge children's adventure playground and nearby is the sprawling lake for which the gardens are named. You can rent boats for around RM6 per hour and watch t'ai chi practitioners in the early morning.

The hills are dotted with interesting attractions, including two of KL's best: the Islamic Arts Museum and Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. The dense foliage creates a lot of humidity so strolling around can be a sweaty experience - a drier way to see the gardens is to hire a taxi and ask the driver to wait while you explore each of the sights. At weekends, a tourist tram rolls between the main gardens for a nominal charge.