Inside the Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Can you go inside the Sultan Abdul Samad Building?

Yes, since 2 February 2026. Block 1 is open to the public with free entry; the other blocks follow in later phases.

The building housed the colonial secretariat, then the courts, then government offices, and for most of its life the public saw it from the outside. The restoration finished on 31 January 2026 and the doors opened two days later (The Star). The first phase covers Block 1. The old High Court wing, the Panggung Bandaraya theatre and the rest of the complex are part of later phases.

Our reopening post follows the dates as each phase opens.

What are the opening hours?

The building is open every day from 8 am to 10 pm. The galleries open from 9 am to 6 pm daily.

Two sets of hours, then. TheSmartLocal lists the building from 8 am to 10 pm, Monday to Sunday, and the galleries from 9 am to 6 pm. The Bakehouse café keeps its own hours, 8 am to 8 pm. After 6 pm you can still walk the verandas and sit in the cafés, but the KL City Gallery halls are shut.

Best slot: 9 am. The galleries have just opened, the lawn outside is still bearable, and you can be at Masjid Jamek for its 10 am visitor window.

How much is the entrance fee?

Entry to the building is free. Only the KL City Gallery charges: about MYR 40 for non-Malaysian adults and MYR 22 for children aged 6 to 12.

What is free and what is not, inside the building:

Entry to the gallery was free for the first month after the reopening. Malaysians were free at first too, but the KL City Gallery says admission charges apply to Malaysian visitors from 18 June 2026, at a lower rate than for foreign visitors. Under-6s go free. Tickets sell at the Visitor Centre (Balai Tamu) on the ground floor and online. At about $9 to $10 for an adult, it is cheaper than any tour on this site. Details in KL City Gallery tickets 2026.

What is inside the Sultan Abdul Samad Building now?

The KL City Gallery with four halls, the Royal Selangor Gallery, a BOH tea exhibition, a visitor centre, shops and cafés.

• Confluence Hall (level 1): "A City of Dreams: Kuala Lumpur 1820s to 1974", the city's story in archive photos, maps and models.
• Hikayat Chamber: Malaysian folk tales and rainforest stories told with projections.
• Visionary Hall: projection mapping and a miniature skyline of the city's future.
• Harmony Hall: the fourth of the gallery's halls.
• Royal Selangor Gallery: the pewter firm's story since 1885, free.
• BOH Heritage Exhibition: a century of Malaysian tea.
• The scale model: a suspended 12-foot mirror model of the building itself.

Source: Warisan KL. The "I Love KL" sign, a photo stop for years, now stands by the gallery.

Are there cafés inside the building?

Yes. Bakehouse by KLCG, Kaw Kaw Malaya, The Cafe by Royal Selangor, Courthouse Cafe and Gula Camca are listed inside.

Bakehouse by KLCG opens 8 am to 8 pm, so it works for breakfast before the galleries open. The others follow the building's hours (TheSmartLocal). There is also Ang Eng, a Nyonya kebaya boutique, and the KL City Gallery gift shop. It is the coolest place on the square to sit out the midday heat, which counts for a lot from noon to 4 pm.

Which tours actually go inside?

None, on paper. Three tours list the building, and all three stop outside for photos. No listing includes the gallery ticket or time inside.

What each listing gives the building:

None of this stops you going in. On a private tour, ask the driver for extra time at the start; on the colonial walk, the walk passes the door, so go back in afterwards. The building is a 10-minute walk from the colonial walk's end at Central Market.

The building's history from a heritage guide, at the door: a private walk with a printed map and old photographs.

★ 4.9 · 3 to 4 hours · from $45

Explore the private colonial history walk → Tour details

What is the history of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building?

Built from 1894 to 1897 as the offices of the colonial government, later home to Malaysia's top courts, named after Sultan Abdul Samad of Selangor in 1974.

The foundation stone was laid on 6 October 1894 and the building opened in April 1897. A.C. Norman's name is on the stone, but R.A.J. Bidwell did most of the design, in an Indo-Saracenic style: red brick with white bands, horseshoe arches, copper domes and a 41-metre clock tower (Wikipedia). It held the secretariat of the Federated Malay States. On the night of 30 to 31 August 1957 it stood behind the flagpole as the Union Flag came down.

From 1978 it was a judicial complex; the Federal Court and Court of Appeal left for Putrajaya in 2003 and the High Court for Jalan Duta in 2007. It was gazetted in 1983 and made a National Heritage site in 2007. Full story in Dataran Merdeka history.

How long do you need inside, and how do you plan the visit?

Allow 60 to 90 minutes: 20 for the square, about an hour for the galleries, more if you stop for coffee.

• Morning: arrive at 9 am, do the gallery, then walk 5 minutes to Masjid Jamek for its 10 am to 12.30 pm visitor window (closed to non-Muslims on Fridays).
• Afternoon: sit out the heat in the cafés, then the lawn after 5 pm.
• Evening: the galleries shut at 6 pm, but the building is floodlit and open until 10 pm. See Merdeka Square at night.

Getting there: LRT to Masjid Jamek, then 5 minutes on foot. The MRT station named Merdeka is the wrong one. Directions in how to get to Dataran Merdeka.

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