Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Twin Towers are Kuala Lumpur's best-known landmark: two 88-storey steel-and-glass towers, 451.9 metres tall, joined by a double-decker skybridge 170 metres above the street. Designed by the Argentine-American architect César Pelli for Malaysia's national oil company, Petronas, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 until Taipei 101 overtook them in 2004, and they are still the tallest twin skyscrapers anywhere. Tower One is the Petronas headquarters; Tower Two is let to multinational companies. At the base are the Suria KLCC mall and the 50-acre KLCC Park.

This guide covers the towers' history and design, what the paid visit includes, ticket prices and opening hours (checked against the official site in October 2026), how to get there and tips for a smooth visit.

History of the Petronas Twin Towers

The towers stand on the former grounds of the Selangor Turf Club, the city's old racecourse on Jalan Ampang. The government chose the site for a new Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) development, and Petronas commissioned its headquarters as the centrepiece. Planning began in January 1992, led by César Pelli's practice, Cesar Pelli & Associates.

Then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wanted a building that looked identifiably Malaysian rather than a generic Western skyscraper. Pelli's answer was a floor plate based on the Rub el Hizb, an Islamic eight-pointed star made from two overlapping squares. Because the star alone gave too little office space, he filled the inner angles with semicircles, giving each tower its scalloped outline. The design was originally planned at about 427 metres; wind-tunnel testing and redesign of the top, with a dome and integrated pinnacle, pushed the final height to 451.9 metres, just above Chicago's Sears Tower. The stainless-steel and glass facade and many interior finishes borrow from Islamic geometric patterns and Malaysian craft motifs.

Ground investigations found that one end of the original site sat over the edge of a limestone cliff, so the towers were moved about 61 metres to sit entirely on softer rock. Foundation work started in March 1993. The French specialist Bachy Soletanche completed the foundations in about a year: 104 concrete piles reaching roughly 60 to 114 metres deep, topped by a concrete raft 4.6 metres thick. Each tower's raft needed about 13,200 cubic metres of concrete poured continuously over 54 hours, then the largest single concrete pour in Malaysian history.

Work on the superstructure began in April 1994. To speed things up, each tower went to a different contractor: Tower One (west) to a Japanese consortium led by Hazama Corporation, and Tower Two (east) to a South Korean consortium led by Samsung C&T. Unusually for a supertall building of the time, the structure is mainly high-strength reinforced concrete, clad in stainless steel and laminated glass. The 750-tonne skybridge was assembled on the ground and lifted into position over three days in July 1995, and the spires were jacked into place in March 1996. The towers were completed in 1996, were recognised as the world's tallest buildings from 1998, and were officially opened by Dr Mahathir on 31 August 1999. Petronas puts the total cost at over RM6 billion (about US$1.6 billion).

The towers have made headlines since. Austrian Felix Baumgartner BASE-jumped from them in April 1999, and French urban climber Alain Robert scaled Tower Two with his bare hands in September 2009. They remained Malaysia's tallest buildings until 2019, and the record has since passed to Merdeka 118.

What to See on a Petronas Twin Towers Visit

The paid visit is a guided, timed tour in small groups. It starts at the check-in on the Concourse (Lower Ground) level, where all bags go through a security scanner and larger items are left at a drop-off area behind the check-in counter.

Interactive displays

Before going up you watch a short introduction and pass displays on the towers' journey from idea to completion, including the design, foundations and the people who built them.

The Skybridge (Levels 41 and 42)

A fast lift takes you 170 metres up to the Skybridge, the double-decker bridge between the towers on Levels 41 and 42, billed as the world's highest two-storey bridge. It is 58.4 metres long, weighs 750 tonnes and is deliberately not fixed rigidly to the towers, so it can accommodate small movements as they sway in strong wind. Besides giving the towers their famous silhouette, it serves as an emergency link so that people in one tower can evacuate through the other. Visitors walk across the lower deck (Level 41), with views over KLCC Park.

Observation Deck (Level 86)

From the bridge a second lift goes to the Observation Deck on Level 86, 370 metres above the ground. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the city, with KL Tower and Merdeka 118 easy to pick out on a clear day, and digital displays tell more of the towers' story. On the way down the lift stops at Level 83, where there is a gift shop and Sky Café @ 83, which Petronas calls the highest commercial café in a skyscraper in Malaysia.

KLCC Park and Suria KLCC (free)

You do not need a ticket to enjoy the towers from below. KLCC Park was designed by the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, one of his last projects, and opened in 1996. It has a 1.3 km rubberised jogging track, a children's playground and wading pool, the As-Syakirin Mosque and around 1,900 native trees, some moved from the old racecourse. The Lake Symphony fountain in front of Suria KLCC puts on light-and-music shows in the evening, and the esplanade there is the classic place to photograph both towers at once. Suria KLCC itself has about 300 shops plus Galeri Petronas (an art gallery), Petrosains (a science centre) and the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas concert hall, while Aquaria KLCC is a short walk away in the convention centre.

Petronas Twin Towers Tickets and Opening Hours

• Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays: 9 am to 10:30 pm, last admission 9:30 pm. The visit stays open through Friday prayers.
• Mondays: open 9 am to 8 pm (last admission 7 pm) on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Monday of each month. Closed on the 1st and 3rd Mondays, unless they fall on a public holiday. The towers also close on some festival days, such as Hari Raya, so check the dates listed on the official site.
• Normal admission (Skybridge and Observation Deck): non-Malaysian adults (13 to 60) RM127 on weekdays and RM137 at weekends; children aged 2 to 12 RM65 / RM69; seniors 61 and over RM88 / RM96. Malaysians with MyKad or MyKid pay RM42 / RM45 for adults and RM20 / RM22 for children and seniors. Infants under 2 go free.
• Evening Experience: non-Malaysian adults RM157 weekdays / RM167 weekends (MyKad adults RM59 / RM63). Priority Access for non-Malaysian adults is RM169.
• Premium Sky Access (private visits): RM130 for the Skybridge only, RM230 for the Skybridge and Observation Deck, more with merchandise. Book by email or phone through the official site.
• How long to spend: the tour itself lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours including check-in and the Level 83 stop, and longer if you add the park and mall.

Buy tickets on the official e-ticket site, which links from petronastwintowers.com.my; for visits within the next 24 hours the official site directs buyers to its second ticketing platform. Tickets are for a fixed time slot and are not refundable or transferable. Popular slots, especially around sunset and at weekends, often sell out a few days ahead.

How to Get to the Petronas Twin Towers

• LRT: KLCC station on the Kelana Jaya Line opens straight into the Concourse level of Suria KLCC, a few minutes' walk underground to the towers. From KL Sentral it is a direct ride; from the Ampang or Sri Petaling lines change at Masjid Jamek.
• MRT: Persiaran KLCC station on the Putrajaya Line opened in March 2023 and is about 700 metres (10 to 15 minutes) on foot. From the Kajang Line, change to the Kelana Jaya Line at Pasar Seni.
• Monorail: ride to KL Sentral and change to the Kelana Jaya Line, or walk from Bukit Nanas to Dang Wangi LRT.
• On foot from Bukit Bintang: a covered, air-conditioned elevated walkway links Pavilion KL and Bukit Bintang with the KL Convention Centre and Suria KLCC, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Bus: the free GOKL Green Line runs between Bukit Bintang and KLCC, and the Purple Line also terminates at KLCC. RapidKL routes B103 and B114 also stop at KLCC.
• Grab, taxi or car: set the destination to "PETRONAS Twin Towers" or Suria KLCC. Drivers can enter from Jalan Ampang, Jalan P. Ramlee or Jalan Kia Peng; tunnels from Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Tun Razak and the AKLEH elevated highway lead straight into the KLCC car parks.

Tips for Visiting

• Be at the entry point 15 minutes before your slot. Late arrivals can be refused entry with no refund.
• Check the Monday calendar on the official site before planning a Monday visit, since only some Mondays are open.
• Mornings tend to be clearest; late afternoon slots let you see the city in daylight and then stay for the lights. In some years smoke haze from regional fires cuts visibility, so check conditions before you go up.
• Food, drink, chewing gum and smoking are not allowed during the tour. Children under 12 must be with an adult.
• Complimentary wheelchairs are available on a first-come basis and the route has accessible toilets; tell staff at check-in if you need help.
• For the best ground-level photos of both towers, go to the KLCC Park esplanade behind Suria KLCC, ideally after dark when the towers are lit.
• Suria KLCC has a food court and many restaurants, and the Jalan Ampang side of the mall is the easiest Grab pick-up point.

Location

Photos

Nearby

• KL Tower — 15-minute walk through Bukit Nanas forest reserve
• KLCC Park — fountains and water show nightly at 8 pm, 9 pm and 10 pm
• Suria KLCC — shopping mall at the tower base with over 300 stores
• Aquaria KLCC — underwater tunnel aquarium beneath the convention centre

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Admission and ticketing, PETRONAS Twin Towers (official)
• Design and structure, PETRONAS Twin Towers (official)
• The stories and milestones, PETRONAS Twin Towers (official)
• Getting here, PETRONAS Twin Towers (official)
• Petronas Towers, Wikipedia
• KLCC Park, Wikipedia
• Persiaran KLCC MRT station, Wikipedia