The tallest twin towers in the world, and the one place in Kuala Lumpur from which you cannot see them.
For six years — 1998 to 2004 — these were the tallest buildings in the world, and they remain the tallest twin towers ever built.
They are 451.9 metres, 88 floors, designed by César Pelli, and they are still the reason most people can picture Kuala Lumpur at all.
The design
The floor plan is an eight-pointed star derived from Rub el Hizb, an Islamic geometric motif, with the points infilled to give the towers their scalloped profile. Pelli’s brief was explicitly to produce something that read as Malaysian rather than as a generic international skyscraper, and the geometry is where that happens.
The spires are structural and count towards the official height, which is why the towers beat Chicago’s Sears Tower in the 1998 ranking despite having a lower roof and a lower top occupied floor. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ruled that a spire counts and an antenna does not. Chicago was not pleased.
Tower One was built by a Japanese consortium, Tower Two by a South Korean one, working in competition. Tower Two started later and finished first.
Going up
Two stops, both included in one ticket:
The skybridge, on the 41st and 42nd floors, 170 metres up — a double-decker link between the towers that is not bolted to either, but slides on spherical bearings, because the towers move independently in the wind.
The observation deck on the 86th floor, at 370 metres.
The visit is timed and shepherded, you get a fixed period at each level, and it is not leisurely.
The honest problem
You cannot see the Petronas Towers from the Petronas Towers.
That sounds obvious and it is the single most common disappointment. The view from the 86th floor is of a large, hazy, low-rise city, and the most photogenic object in it is the building you are standing in.
KL Tower, on a hill a kilometre away, is lower but gives you the towers in the frame. Merdeka 118 is much higher and also gives you the towers.
If you have time for one high viewpoint, one of those is the better choice. Do Petronas for the building and the skybridge, not the panorama.
Where to photograph them
KLCC Park, at the base, with the lake and the fountains. This is the classic and it is free.
The rooftop bars on Jalan P. Ramlee and around Bukit Bintang, several of which exist entirely for this view.
Across the lake at night, when the fountain show runs.
At the base
Suria KLCC, a large upmarket mall occupying the podium.
Petrosains, the science discovery centre, which is genuinely good for children.
Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, the concert hall, with excellent acoustics and a resident orchestra.
KLCC Park, 50 acres landscaped by Roberto Burle Marx, with the fountain show in the evening.
Practical
Closed Mondays for maintenance in most schedules — check.
Book on the official site, not through a reseller. Tickets are sold by timed slot and go.
There is a children’s price and a Malaysian resident rate.
LRT to KLCC, which brings you up directly into the mall.
More Landmarks
Merdeka 118
The second tallest building in the world, finished in 2024, standing over the field where independence was declared.
KL Tower
Lower than the towers and with the better view, because from here they are in it — standing in a patch of primary rainforest.
Batu Caves
A 42-metre gold statue, 272 painted steps, a limestone cavern with a temple in it, and monkeys that will take your food.