Kuala Lumpur has numerous shopping malls. Tourists may find it difficult to decide which of them are absolute must-visits and which are the ones that can easily be skipped during their stay in Kuala Lumpur. First off; if you are visiting Kuala Lumpur with the sole purpose of going on a serious shopping spree you should know that there is actually only one place to stay and that is in a hotel around Bukit Bintang. Most of the malls in our top10 are located in this area. Luckily many of the popular 5-star hotels are located in this area, so it should be easy to find proper accommodation. But also budget travelers are able to find accommodation that suits their budget; as there are many guesthouses located in the Changkat Bukit Bintang area (only a 5/10 minute walk from all major shopping malls).
In our list we took multiple factors into account. Not all malls are perhaps interesting for every type of shopper. Some of the great malls are located well outside of Kuala Lumpur, perhaps still very much worth a visit to some, for others probably not worth the hassle.
1. Pavilion KL
Our personal favorite by far is Pavilion KL. Pavilion was opened in 2007 and has been an instant hit since then. Pavilion offers many nice shops, and caters to the more general type of shopper. There are many luxurious shops, but also enough regular shops. Pavilion has a great food court but also many restaurants and (coffee) bars. Definitely the place to be (visit) for tourists.
2. Suria KLCC
Suria KLCC has been one of the most popular tourist malls for ages. Locals always call it a tourist mall, but still many tens of thousands come to this mall every weekend to relax and hang out. Tourists may find many shops offer different products that at other malls, Suria KLCC has many shops that sell familiar international brands (and is also know for carrying western sizes).
3. Plaza Lowyat
Not all tourists will like Lowyat as it is small, crowded and often very noisy. Lowyat is the premier IT, Gadget and Lifestyle mall in Kuala Lumpur. Here you will find hundreds of small shops selling luxurious products like cameras, phones, laptops, tablets and much more. If you are looking for electronic accessories, this is definitely the place to be. Do know that you can only get great discounts after some tough bargaining.
4. Midvalley Mega Mall & The Gardens
This is the first mall that is not located within the city center of Kuala Lumpur. It means that you have to get into a taxi and travel for a bit first before arriving at one of the biggest and most popular (local) mall in the city. Midvalley is already a few years old. Here you can find many regular shops selling all kinds of products. Midvalley is connected to The Gardens, a luxurious mall (and also one of the prettiest) with many exclusive brands.
5. Lot10
Lot10 is perhaps the most centrally located mall in Kuala Lumpur, right along Jalan Bukit Bintang. It has quite a few nice shops and also a National Geographer Flagship Store. In the basement you can find Hutong, a wonderful food court with mainly Chinese hawkers. Lot10 lies conveniently between numerous other popular malls in Bukit Bintang. If you enter this area by Monorail then the station to embark is right next to Lot10.
6. Fahrenheit88
Fahrenheit88 is a modern mall near opposite of Pavilion KL. It used to be known as KL Plaza, but the new owner wanted to rename the mall after a huge renovation. Fahrenheit88 has some very nice stores. At the top floor you find Signature IT, a huge IT department store. Fahrenheit88 became one of the places to be among locals because of the huge Uniqlo clothing shop that occupies a few floors.
7. 1Utama
Though pretty far away from Kuala Lumpur City Center, 1Utama is a not to be missed shopping mall. After the huge renovation it again it a wonderful place to shop for all kinds of products (and also one of the biggest). There is also a huge Foodrepublic food court, where you can try many local dishes. 1Utama is not really popular among tourists because of the distance from most of the tourist hotels; still it is very much worth a visit.
8. Sunway Pyramid
Sunway Pyramid is extremely popular among locals that live outside of Kuala Lumpur. It could very well be the most popular mall in Malaysia when looking at absolute amount of monthly visitors. Sunway is more than a shopping mall; it is a huge entertainment complex with numerous bars, restaurants, hundreds of shops, hotels, resorts and even a huge amusement park (and water park). Those that travel with children will probably do them a huge favor by visiting Sunway Pyramid.
9. The Curve
The Curve is neither the biggest nor the most popular mall in Kuala Lumpur. It is also located pretty far out of the city center. Still it is a nice place to visit. Besides the mall there are many bars and restaurants. Opposite the Curve is Ikano Power Center, where you can find a few flagship stores of popular local and foreign brands. The Curve is especially popular among the local expat community.
10. Berjaya Times Square
Last in our list is Berjaya Times Square; the biggest shopping mall in Malaysia. It has well over 600 shops, ranging from huge stores at the lower levels to numerous small shops at the higher levels. There is even an indoor roller coaster inside this shopping, which makes it the perfect mall to visit if you are traveling with children. Berjaya Times Square is also located within the Bukit Bintang area; at a 10 minutes’ walk from Lot10 or Lowyat Plaza.
Other very popular malls in and around Kuala Lumpur
Malls that didn’t make it into our top10 are still very much worth a visit, especially the ones within the Golden Triangle (Bukit Bintang area and KLCC area). Below we listed a few other shopping malls and explained the main reasons you might have for visiting them.
11. Starhill Gallery: probably the most exclusive and luxurious mall in Kuala Lumpur.
12. Sungei Wang & BB Plaza: together the most popular local malls in Kuala Lumpur.
13. AvenueK: modern but small shopping center opposite of Suria KLCC.
14. Pertama Complex: the best mall to buy sports products.
15. Bangsar Village Shopping Mall: very popular expat mall in one of the biggest expat enclaves.
16. IMBA Plaza: the best (or worst) place to buy pirated dvd’s, software and other media.
17. Great Eastern Mall: biggest mall in the Ampang area. Especially popular among expats.
18. Tropicana Mall: popular ‘family mall’. Many furniture and children stores.
19. Plaza Mont Kiara: modern mall catering to expats that live in the Mt. Kiara area.
20. Bangsar Shopping Center: most popular expat mall in the Bangsar area. Best place to buy products like cheese, bread and other typical western products.
21. Publika: Expatriate mall in the Mt. Kiara area.
