5 cities · 11 museums · 1 free
The best museums in Malaysia are Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, Borneo Cultures Museum and Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. World Museum Guide covers 11 museums in Malaysia across 5 cities, with admission prices, opening hours and highlights for each. 1 has free standard admission.
Visitor information last reviewed 1 September 2026. Check the official museum site for current details.
| # | Museum | City | Admission | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum | Melaka | RM25 | 1 hour |
| 2 | Borneo Cultures Museum | Kuching | RM10 for Sarawakian adults | 2–3 hours |
| 3 | Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | RM20 | 2–3 hours |
| 4 | National Art Gallery Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Free | 1–2 hours |
| 5 | National Museum of Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | RM2 for Malaysian adults | 1.5–2 hours |
| 6 | National Textile Museum | Kuala Lumpur | RM2 for Malaysian adults | 1 hour |
| 7 | Penang State Museum and Art Gallery | George Town | RM5 for Malaysian adults | 1.5–2 hours |
| 8 | Petrosains, The Discovery Centre | Kuala Lumpur | Weekdays: RM28 for Malaysian adults | 2.5–3 hours |
| 9 | Pinang Peranakan Mansion | George Town | RM30 | 1–1.5 hours |
| 10 | Sabah Museum | Kota Kinabalu | RM2 for Malaysian visitors | 1–1.5 hours |
Melaka, Malaysia
Ethnography Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & architecture enthusiasts
The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum is a family-run house museum at 48–50 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Melaka's old town, showing how a wealthy Peranakan (Straits Chinese) family lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four generations of the Chan family lived here before it opened as a museum in 1985.
RM25 · ⏱ 1 hour · Closed Tuesdays
Kuching, Malaysia
Ethnography Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & families
The Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching, opened in 2022, is described as Malaysia's largest museum: a five-storey building beside Padang Merdeka whose galleries trace the peoples, crafts and history of Sarawak and Borneo from Niah Cave prehistory to the present.
RM10 for Sarawakian adults · ⏱ 2–3 hours
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & architecture enthusiasts
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM), opened in December 1998 beside Kuala Lumpur's Perdana Botanical Garden, is Southeast Asia's largest museum of Islamic art. Its 12 permanent galleries hold more than 10,000 artefacts, from early Qur'an folios to a restored 1820s Ottoman room.
RM20 · ⏱ 2–3 hours
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Modern & Contemporary Art · Best for art lovers & budget travellers
The National Art Gallery of Malaysia (Balai Seni Negara), founded in 1958, holds the national collection of modern and contemporary Malaysian art. Entry is free at its gallery on Jalan Temerloh, off Jalan Tun Razak, next to Istana Budaya.
Free entry · ⏱ 1–2 hours
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
History Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & families
The National Museum of Malaysia (Muzium Negara) opened on 31 August 1963 on Jalan Damansara, on the site of the Selangor Museum, which was bombed in 1945. Its four galleries trace Malaysian history from prehistory and the Melaka Sultanate to colonial rule, independence and the present day.
RM2 for Malaysian adults · ⏱ 1.5–2 hours
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Specialist Museum · Best for design lovers & culture enthusiasts
The National Textile Museum (Muzium Tekstil Negara) opened in 2010 in a striped, Moorish-style colonial building beside Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur. Its four galleries show Malaysian textiles, costume and jewellery, from songket and batik to Iban pua kumbu.
RM2 for Malaysian adults · ⏱ 1 hour
George Town, Malaysia
History Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & families
The Penang State Museum and Art Gallery on Farquhar Street tells the island's story from prehistory to independence inside the 1816 building that first housed the Penang Free School. It reopened on 23 July 2026 after a nine-year, RM18 million restoration, with 15 galleries and about 1,200 artefacts.
RM5 for Malaysian adults · ⏱ 1.5–2 hours · Closed Fridays
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Science Museum · Best for families & kids
Petrosains, The Discovery Centre is a hands-on science centre on Level 4 of Suria KLCC, at the foot of the PETRONAS Twin Towers. Opened in 1999 and run by a PETRONAS subsidiary, it explores energy, space, speed and earth science through interactive exhibits.
Weekdays: RM28 for Malaysian adults · ⏱ 2.5–3 hours
George Town, Malaysia
Ethnography Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & architecture enthusiasts
The Pinang Peranakan Mansion is a house museum on Church Street in George Town that recreates the home of a wealthy Baba (Straits Chinese) family of a century ago. It fills Hai Kee Chan, the 1890s mansion of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee, with more than 1,000 Peranakan antiques and collectibles.
RM30 · ⏱ 1–1.5 hours
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Ethnography Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & families
The Sabah Museum is Sabah's state museum, set on a hilltop about 4 km from central Kota Kinabalu, with a main building modelled on a Rungus longhouse, a Heritage Village of traditional houses and an Islamic Civilisation Museum. Its Main Building galleries have been closed since September 2024; other parts of the complex remain open.
RM2 for Malaysian visitors · ⏱ 1–1.5 hours
Melaka, Malaysia
History Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & architecture enthusiasts
The Stadthuys, the 17th-century red Dutch town hall on Melaka's Dutch Square, houses the History and Ethnography Museum, which traces Melaka from the Malay Sultanate through Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese rule to independence. One ticket also covers five neighbouring museums and galleries in the complex.
RM10 for Malaysian adults · ⏱ 2–3 hours · Closed Mondays
The best museums in Malaysia are Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, Borneo Cultures Museum, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, National Art Gallery Malaysia and National Museum of Malaysia, ranked by visitor numbers and collection strength.
World Museum Guide covers 11 museums in Malaysia across 5 cities — 1 with free standard admission.
1 of 11 museums in our Malaysia guide has free standard admission: National Art Gallery Malaysia. Special exhibitions can still be ticketed.
