Route guide

The Kuala Lumpur City Night Drive

Kuala Lumpur is a better-looking city at eleven at night than it is at noon. The heat has gone, the traffic has thinned to almost nothing, and the towers are lit. This loop takes ninety minutes, costs nothing in tolls, and is the single most enjoyable hour you can have in an exotic car here.

Distance: 38 km
Drive time: 1 hour 30 minutes with photo stops
Tolls: None if you stay off the expressways
Effort: Easy

Cars for this drive Plan it with us

KLCC → KLCC, the long way round

How the drive goes

Start below the Petronas Towers on Jalan Ampang and head east, then loop south onto Jalan Tun Razak. The first stretch is straight, wide and empty after ten, with the towers filling the mirror. Turn west and climb Jalan Bukit Bintang — slower, busier, and worth it for the noise between the buildings.

From Bukit Bintang, drop down towards the Merdeka 118 tower, which at 679 metres is now the tallest thing in the country and lit from base to spire. The roads around Stadium Merdeka are quiet at night and there are places to pull in legally for a photograph.

Then head north-west through the old colonial core: Dataran Merdeka with its floodlit clock tower, the Sultan Abdul Samad building, and the Jamek Mosque at the river confluence. Slow, cobbled in places, and the best-looking two kilometres in the city.

Finish by climbing to the KL Tower lookout on Bukit Nanas, or, if you want the classic photograph, take Jalan Kia Peng back to the KLCC park side where the towers reflect in the pool. Park, walk fifty metres, and there it is.

Honest notes

Jalan Bukit Bintang has a lot of pedestrians who are not looking. This is not a road to accelerate on.
Several city streets are one-way and change direction with roadworks. Follow the signs, not the map.
Anti-social exhaust noise after midnight in residential areas will attract attention. Keep it in the commercial core.

Best time to go

Any night. Sunday and Monday are quietest

The right car

What to drive on the The Kuala Lumpur City Night Drive run

This is the drive you rented the loud one for. Low speeds, hard surfaces, tunnels, and a city that photographs beautifully after dark. Take something with drama and a real exhaust — the Huracán, the Aventador or, if you want to be able to see over the kerbs, the Urus.