Bored of the Malls? Check Out These 12 Cheap & Free Places in KL Where You Can Hang Out

Made a New Year's resolution to lose some extra fats and get healthier but haven’t started? Why not start at the Putrajaya Botanical Garden! The terrains here are perfect for physical activities like jogging, 🏃‍♂️running, or even 🚴‍♂️cycling.Plus, there are specifically built parks for those who want to do 🐎equestrian, 🛹skating and 🧗‍♂️rock climbing activities during their free time.

If you want to just laze around and relax, no problemo buddy! Because there are some scenic parks here like the Botanical Garden, Saujana Hijau Park and Agriculture Heritage Park.

Admission: Free

📍 Putrajaya

Another scenic park in the heart of KL; Perdana Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest parks in Malaysia. There are a couple of places you can visit here, such as the 🌺Hibiscus Garden, Sunken Garden and Herbarium.

There is also a Deer Park that you can go to if you are starting to miss the deers in Nara, Japan already. On top of that, The Perdana Botanical Gardens compound is so large that you will need more than 1 day to explore every corner of it.

Admission: Free

📍 Jalan Kebun Bunga, Tasik Perdana, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Get a better overview of Malaysian history and culture when you visit the National Museum of Malaysia A.K.A Muzium Negara. The ticket is cheap, only RM2 for adults; so the price should not be an excuse for you to not visit the museum.

There are many historical artefacts displayed here. This makes it a must-visit for students to understand better what they learned during sejarah class at school. Located next to this museum are is an Orang Asli museum, don't forget to visit it when you are here alright! 

Admission:
Child (12 years old & below) - Free
Non-Malaysian Child (5 years old & below) - Free
Non-Malaysian Child (6 to 12 years old) - RM2
Adult (18 years old to 60 years old) - RM2
Non-Malaysian Citizen - RM5
Senior Citizen & OKU/Handicapped - RM1
High School Students Dressed In Uniform (Malaysian Citizen) - Free
High School Students Not Dressed In Uniform (Malaysian Citizen) - RM2
International Council of Museums Members (ICOM) - Free

Operating Hours: 9.00 am - 5.00 pm (opens daily except on the first Monday of each month), closed on first two days of Raya Aidil Fitri and first day of Raya Aidil Adha

📍 Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Jln Damansara, Perdana Botanical Gardens, 50566 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Previously a wet market, the Art Deco style building of the Central Market was completed in 1937. However, the wet market itself was founded during the colonial era in 1888. Central Market was then transformed into an art market in the 1980s and classified as a Heritage Site by the Malaysian Heritage Society.

Most of the shops here mainly sell souvenirs like for tourists to bring home, but if you walk towards the end, you will find artworks and paintings by local artists. You can even get your portrait done by an artist on the spot! If you want to try being an artist instead, there is a batik painting workshop where you can paint your own batik!

Admission: Free

Operating Hours: 10.00 am - 6.00 pm (opens daily)

📍 Lot 3.04-3.06, 06, Jalan Hang Kasturi, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Travel back to the 1960s golden era of KL Chinatown here at Kwai Chai Hong. This place will give the older generations a pang of nostalgia and the younger generations a place to selfie. With so many beautiful murals and art installations, you will never run out of backgrounds for a picture-perfect Instagram post! You can also hop from one cafe to another, as there are many hipster cafes around the Chinatown area.

At night, you get to see the colourful lights, and the aesthetic art displays that are cleverly placed will reflect the lights, making it an otherwordly Instagram spot!

Admission: Free

📍 Lorong Panggung, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Our national planetarium was built with Islamic architecture in mind to reflect early Islam’s astronomy achievements. This place serves to provide a good learning experience for both adults and kids to learn about space.

Some of the exhibits & experiences available here are the anti-gravity room and the life in space exhibits (where you can try and get yourself zipped up in a space sleeping bag). You can also get on a space pod simulator and pretend to fly a NASA spacecraft and so much more.

Admission (Main Gallery): Free

Planetarium Shows:
Child - RM8 (without MyKid), RM4 (with MyKid)
Student - RM8 (without MyKid/MyKad), RM4 (with MyKid/MyKad)
Adult - RM12 (without MyKad), RM6 (with MyKad)

Space Pod:
Child - RM16 (without MyKid), RM8 (with MyKid)
Adult - RM24 (without MyKad), RM12 (with MyKad)

Operating Hours: 9.00 am - 4.30 pm (Mondays closed)

📍 53, Jalan Perdana, Tasik Perdana, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

The National Science Centre is spacious, and kids are going to love this place. From the 🐟🐠underwater tunnel to the 🐱‍🐉dinosaur park to other science exhibits, everything here is so interesting that spending 1 whole day here might not be enough!

This domed building has many interactive exhibits and fun games and tricks to be experimented with (this will surely bring out the inner child of the adults!) All in all, this place is a hidden gem because, despite so many activities here, the ticket is so cheeeeeap!

Admission:
Child (6 years old & below) - Free
Child (7 to 12 years old) - RM2
Adult (13 years old & above) - RM3

Operating Hours: 9.00 am - 4.30 pm (Fridays closed)

📍 Persiaran Bukit Kiara Bukit Damansara, Bukit Kiara, 50662 Kuala Lumpur

Many Chinese here already know this place. This is a huge Hainanese temple dedicated to the goddess Mazu. Your religion doesn't matter because everyone is welcome to enter this temple and walk around. This temple boasts some impressive architecture with Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism influences.  temple boasts some impressive architecture with Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism influences.

The intricate details can mainly be seen on the ceilings, pillars, prayer hall and roofs. As for the outside of the temple, there are equally interesting exhibits. This temple frequently changes the theme each year to reflect the particular year’s zodiac. There are also souvenir shops at the lower ground of the temple which sell Chinese trinkets and other Buddhist statues.

Admission: Free

Operating Hours: 8.00 am - 8.00 pm (opens daily)

📍 65, Persiaran Endah, Taman Persiaran Desa, 50460 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Previously a cinema, this place has now transformed into an urban art space. It is basically a creative cultural and art market/bazaar, and it comes with a food court on the ground floor. Sometimes there will be local buskers serenading some crowd’s favourite.

This is also a place where you can feast your eyes on homemade bags, vintage books, antique stamp collections and so forth. Overall, RexKL is a nice place to relax and chill with your friends or date.

Admission: Free

Operating Hours: 10.00 am - 10.00 pm (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Sundays), 10.00 am - 10.00 pm (Fridays & Saturdays), Mondays closed

📍 80, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur

Also known as the JFKL Library, it is located next to Mid Valley Megamall and is connected by a bridge. Anyone can enter and browse through the materials here, but only members can borrow the books back home. All the materials here are related to Japan, and they are available in Japanese and English.

This library is a good weekend hang out spot for book lovers and parents who want a peaceful and quiet weekend (without the kids organising sibling ⚔wars).

Admission: Free

Operating Hours: 10.00 am - 5.00 pm (Sundays & Mondays closed)

📍 18th Floor, Block B, Northpoint, No. 1, Medan Syed Putra Selatan, 59200 Kuala Lumpur

What if we tell you that you can walk inside a royal palace freely? The Royal Museum was formerly the Agong’s official residence until 2011 when a new palace was constructed and ready to house the royal family. Before it was converted into a royal museum, tourists only got to take photos at the front of the gate with the horses and guards (something like an episode from Mr Bean).

Catch a glimpse of the private life of the royal family as you pass by a series of bedrooms, dining hall, study room and other rooms. The annexe building next to the museum boasts a great collection of exhibits such as royal costumes worn by the King and Queen and some personal belongings & collections.

Malaysian
Child (5 & below) - Free
Child (6 to 12 years old) - RM2
Adult - RM5
Senior Citizens - RM3
OKU/Handicapped - RM3
Students - RM2 (in uniform), RM3 (without uniform 13 to 17 years old)

Non-Malaysian
Child (5 & below) - Free
Child (6 to 12 years old) - RM5

Operating Hours: 9.00 am - 5.00 pm (opens daily)

📍 Jln Istana, Istana Negara, 50460 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia is the first and largest museum in Southeast Asia that is dedicated to Islamic arts. This museum focuses mainly on Islamic architecture and ceramics. Exhibits here are well explained in 2 languages, English and Bahasa Malaysia.

There are also miniature dioramas of famous mosques around the world so that you can have a closer look at the details. The manuscripts and jewellery artefacts are among the crowd’s favourites too.

Admission:

Admission:
Child (6 years old & below) - Free
Adult - RM12
Students (with ID) - RM6
Senior Citizens (55 years old & above) - RM6

Operating Hours: 9.30 am - 6.00 pm (opens daily)

📍 Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Jalan Lembah, Tasik Perdana, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur