Kuala Lumpur

It’s impossible to resist the magnetic allure of the Petronas Towers: the 452m-high structure is beautiful to look at, as well as being the embodiment of Malaysia’s transformation into a developed nation. Designed by architect César Pelli, this glistening, steel-wrapped structure is the focal point of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), a 40-hectare development that also includes an imaginatively designed tropical park, a fun aquarium, an excellent kids museum, a world-class concert hall and one of KL’s best shopping malls.

The dazzling collection of objects housed in this fine museum proves that religious devotion can be married with exquisite craftsmanship. The building itself – with its Iranian-tiled facade and decorated domes – is a stunner, its galleries filled with natural light and amazing works gathered from around the Islamic world. Don't miss the architecture gallery, with models of some of the great Islamic buildings. The museum's gift shop is also one of the best places in KL to buy beautifully designed and expertly made items created by Muslim artisans.

Plumes of smoke curl upwards from smouldering coils of incense, flower garlands hang like pearls from the necks of Hindu statues; and the call to prayer punctuates the honk of traffic. The temples and mosques of the city’s Hindus, Muslims and Chinese Buddhists are crammed shoulder to shoulder in this atmospheric neighbourhood along the Klang river – where KL was born. Don’t miss eating at the daytime Madras Lane hawker stalls or savouring the bustle and fun of the night market along Jln Petaling.

Still most commonly known as the Lake Gardens, this is KL's major recreation area, now named after the country's second prime minister. The fine botanical garden laid out during the British days remains at the park's heart and is flanked by one of the city's top attractions, the KL Bird Park. There are lots of other things to see and do here, including visiting the National Planetarium, KL Butterfly Park and the striking National Monument, commemorating those who lost their lives fighting communists during the Emergency.

Come for the air conditioning, stay for the designer bargains! The roll call of brands in malls Pavilion KL, Suria KLCC and Publika will impress even the most sophisticated of shoppers. Refreshments are never far away, with masses of restaurants and excellent food courts always part of the retail mix, along with everything from luxury spas to vast multiplex cinemas and karaoke rooms. It’s the unexpected finds – the feng shui stores, art galleries and Hindu temples – that really set these malls apart.

Stand beside the Victorian fountain next to the empty expanse of lawn and take in the impressive scene. When it was called the Padang (field), members of the Royal Selangor Club would politely clap as another wicket fell in a colonial cricket match. At midnight on 31 August 1957, the flag of the independent nation of Malaya was hoisted on the 95m flagpole. The eastern flank is dominated by the handsome Sultan Abdul Samad Building, decorated with copper-clad domes and barley-sugar-twist columns.

White tablecloths? Snooty waiters? A roof? No need to bother with all that! In KL some of your best dining experiences will happen on the street. Delicious, freshly cooked meals served from mobile carts, stalls and humble shophouse kopitiam (coffee shops) are the way to go. Jalan Alor is the city's most famous eats street, jammed with alfresco tables. The atmosphere and food are good here, but prices will be higher than at more locally patronised hawker gourmet destinations such as Lucky Gardens, Glutton Street or the stalls scattered around Brickfields.

KL has plenty of Buddhist temples but none are as visually striking as this. Rising out of the leafy surrounds of Robson Heights in four terraced levels, this architecture is the stuff of pure Chinese fantasy, with dazzling mosaic dragons and phoenixes flying off the eaves and snaking around columns. It was built to house effigies of the heavenly mother Thean Hou as well as Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and Shuiwei Shengniang, goddess of the waterfront. Visit on festival days and weekends to see the temple at its liveliest.

Renamed in 2017, this 1907 onion-domed mosque designed by British architect AB Hubback is truly glorious – even more so today having recently been given a thorough restoration as part of the River of Life city beautification project. Outside of prayer times, visitors are welcome to stroll through the serene compound. Do make sure to return to view the structure at night when coloured lights, fountains and fog effects on the surrounding rivers lend the mosque even more of a fairy-tale quality.

This charming enclave originates from colonial British times when the government set aside 224 hectares of land in the late 1890s – on what was then the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur – as protected Malay agricultural land. Settlers were encouraged to plant crops in this new village: Kampung Baru. It's a fascinating area to wander around and discover traditional wooden homes – but do so soon as the pressure to redevelop this prime slice of KL real estate means they might not be here for much longer.