Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Opened in 1998 beside the Lake Gardens, this is the largest collection of Islamic art in Southeast Asia and one of the most quietly impressive museums in the region. Its galleries cover the Qur'an and manuscript tradition, textiles, arms and armour, jewellery, ceramics and metalwork from across the Islamic world, with a deliberate emphasis on Asia rather than only the Middle East, so China, India and the Malay world get real space. The favourite room for most visitors is the architecture gallery, filled with detailed scale models of mosques and shrines from Mecca to Isfahan to Samarkand. The building itself is part of the exhibit: the entrance domes are decorated by Uzbek craftsmen, and the whole structure is designed around light, calm and water.

What you actually see

• The architecture gallery - scale models of major mosques and shrines across the Islamic world.
• The Qur'an and manuscript gallery - calligraphy and illumination across centuries.
• The entrance domes - inlaid tilework executed by craftsmen from Uzbekistan.
• The Ottoman Room - a reconstructed Syrian interior of painted wooden panels.

When to go

Any time; it is fully air-conditioned, which makes it a reliable choice during KL's afternoon downpours. Weekday mornings are quietest. The museum restaurant is well regarded and busy at lunch.

Honest expectations

It sits in the Lake Gardens rather than the city centre, and walking there in the heat is unpleasant, so take a taxi. Labelling is good but the galleries are dense, and trying to read everything produces fatigue by the second floor; pick two or three sections. Photography rules vary by gallery.

Nearby

The National Mosque and Merdeka Square are within the same area; KL Bird Park is in the same gardens.