Haji Lane

Singapore

　　Narrow, pastel-hued Haji Lane harbours a handful of quirky boutiques and plenty of colourful street art. Shops turn over fast due to exorbitant rents, however a long-term favourite is concept store Mondays Off, which stocks everything from contemporary local ceramics to art mags and geometric racks to store them on....

National Orchid Garden

Singapore

　　The National Orchid Garden has over 60,000 plants and a cool house showcasing pitcher plants and orchids from cooler climates. Don’t miss the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower, a hybrid orchid which Agnes Joaquim cross-bred in her garden in 1893. Currently undergoing a S$35 million upgrade, the gardens are...

Singapore City Gallery

Singapore

　　See into Singapore's future at this interactive city-planning exhibition, which provides compelling insight into the government's resolute policies of land reclamation, high-rise housing and meticulous urban planning. At the time of research the gallery was closed for a revamp; however, a number of temporary exhibits and the island-wide model will...

HortPark

Singapore

　　Home to themed gardens with winding pathways, stepping stones crossing trickling streams, and prototype glasshouses, HortPark also has a children's playground and a restaurant. The glasshouses (not open to the public) were used to test building materials, cooling systems, temperatures and humidity for the giant conservatories at Gardens by the...

Thian Hock Keng Temple

Singapore

　　Surprisingly, Chinatown’s oldest and most important Hokkien temple is often a haven of tranquillity. Built between 1839 and 1842, it’s a beautiful place, and was once the favourite landing point of Chinese sailors, before land reclamation pushed the sea far down the road. Typically, the temple's design features are richly...

Kent Ridge Park

Singapore

　　This park commands views over the port and the southern islands and is usually very quiet. The canopy walk will take you through a treetop boardwalk with the call of crickets your only companion. Stop by Reflections at Bukit Chandu en route. Part of the Southern Ridges. ...

Tekka Centre

Singapore

　　There's no shortage of subcontinental spice at this bustling hawker centre, wrapped around a wet market. Queue up for real-deal biryani, dosa (paper thin, lentil-flour pancake), roti prata (dough-flour pancake) and teh tarik (pulled tea). Well worth seeking out is Ah Rahman Royal Prata, which flips some of Singapore's finest...

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Singapore

　　Sungei Buloh's 202 hectares of mangroves, mudflats, ponds and secondary rainforest are a birdwatcher's paradise, with migratory birds including egrets, sandpipers and plovers joining locals such as herons, bitterns, coucals and kingfishers. The reserve is also a good spot to see monitor lizards, mudskippers, crabs and – if you're very...

Mt Faber Park

Singapore

　　The eponymous mountain (105m) is at the heart of Mt Faber Park and the climax to the Southern Ridges nature walk. The most spectacular (and exorbitantly expensive) way to get here (or to get away) is via the cable car, which connects Mt Faber to HarbourFront and Sentosa Island. ...

Orchard Road

Singapore

　　Famous by name, Orchard Rd was once lined with nutmeg and pepper plantations. Today it's the domain of Singapore's elite and well-heeled tourists, lured here by the shopping centres, nightspots, restaurants, bars and lounges. A showcase for the material delights of capitalism, Orchard Rd also possesses a few sights of...

NUS Museum

Singapore

　　Located on the verdant campus of the National University of Singapore (NUS), this museum is one of the city's lesser-known cultural delights. Ancient Chinese ceramics and bronzes, as well as archaeological fragments found in Singapore, dominate the ground-floor Lee Kong Chian Collection; one floor up, the South and Southeast Asian...

Cavenagh Bridge

Singapore

　　Built in 1869, this suspension bridge links the north and south banks of the Singapore River. Don't bring your horses or cattle as they will not be allowed to cross! ...

Asian Civilisations Museum

Singapore

　　This remarkable museum houses the region's most comprehensive collection of pan-Asian treasures. Its galleries explore the history, cultures, textiles and religions of Southeast Asia, China, the Asian subcontinent and Islamic west Asia. The galleries are curated to emphasise the cross-cultural connections developed through Singapore's history as a port city. The...

SEA Aquarium

Singapore

　　You'll be gawking at more than 800 species of aquatic creature at Singapore's impressive, sprawling aquarium. The state-of-the-art complex recreates 49 aquatic habitats found between Southeast Asia, Australia and Africa. The Open Ocean habitat is especially spectacular, its 36m-long, 8.3m-high viewing panel one of the world's largest. The complex is...

Sultan Mosque

Singapore

　　Seemingly pulled from the pages of the Arabian Nights, Singapore's largest mosque is nothing short of enchanting, designed in the Saracenic style and topped by a golden dome. It was originally built in 1825 with the aid of a grant from Raffles and the East India Company, after Raffles' treaty...

St John's Island

Singapore

　　Spooky St John's has a chequered past: it was a quarantine station for immigrants in the 1930s before becoming a political prison and later a rehabilitation centre for opium addicts. A prison-like feel still lingers with high barbed-wire fences and watchtowers dotting the landscape. Most visitors come for a quiet...

Universal Studios

Singapore

　　Universal Studios is the top draw at Resorts World. Shops, shows, restaurants, rides and roller coasters are all neatly packaged into fantasy-world themes based on blockbuster Hollywood films. Top attractions include Transformers: The Ride, a next-generation thrill ride deploying 3D animation, and Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon, the world's tallest...

Lazarus Island

Singapore

　　Almost entirely undeveloped, with little more than a bit of jungle and a sweeping beach, Lazarus Island is connected to nearby St John's Island via a paved walkway (approximately 20 minutes to cross). The beach is a gorgeous, sandy affair – dotted with the odd yacht and (unfortunately) rubbish swept...

Joo Chiat Road

Singapore

　　A hub for Peranakan culture, Joo Chiat Rd is lined with ornate shophouses, dusty antiques workshops, Islamic fashion boutiques, low-fuss eateries and trendy cafes. The streets coming off are also worth exploring, particularly the stunning Peranakan terrace houses of Koon Seng Rd and Joo Chiat Pl. ...

East Coast Lagoon Food Village

Singapore

　　There are few hawker centres with a better location. Tramp barefoot off the beach, find a table (note the table number for when you order), then trawl the stalls for staples such as satay, laksa, stingray and the uniquely Singaporean satay bee hoon (rice noodles in a chilli-based peanut sauce)....

Lau Pa Sat

Singapore

　　Lau Pa Sat means 'Old Market' in Hokkien, which is appropriate since the handsome iron structure shipped out from Glasgow in 1894 remains intact. It's a favourite spot for CBD workers, who flock here for hawker favourites like fishball noodles and chicken rice. Come evening, the facing street (Boon Tat...

Chinatown Complex

Singapore

　　Leave Smith St's revamped 'Chinatown Food Street' to the out-of-towners and join old-timers and foodies at this nearby labyrinth, now home to Michelin-starred Hawker Chan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle. You decide if the possible two-hour wait is worth it. Other standouts include mixed claypot rice at...

Haw Par Villa

Singapore

　　The refreshingly offbeat Haw Par Villa was the brainchild of Aw Boon Haw, the creator of the medicinal salve Tiger Balm. After Aw Boon Haw built a villa here in 1937 for his beloved brother and business partner, Aw Boon Par, the siblings began building a Chinese-mythology theme park within...

Marina Bay Sands

Singapore

　　Designed by Israeli-born architect Moshe Safdie, Marina Bay Sands is a sprawling hotel, casino, mall, theatre, exhibition and museum complex. Star of the show is the Marina Bay Sands hotel, its three 55-storey towers connected by a cantilevered SkyPark. Head up for a drink and stellar views at CÉ LA...

Helix Bridge

Singapore

　　Known for its distinctive double helix structure, the bridge links Marina Bay Sands with the City Hall and Esplanade shopping districts. It also has viewing platforms of the bay area. ...

Chek Jawa Wetlands

Singapore

　　If you only have time for one part of Pulau Ubin, make it this part. Skirting the island's southeast, Chek Jawa Wetlands features a 1km coastal boardwalk that will have you strolling over the sea and through a protected mangrove swamp to the 20m-high Jejawi Tower. Climb it for sweeping...

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Singapore

　　Singapore’s steamy Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a 163-hectare tract of primary rainforest clinging to Singapore’s highest peak, Bukit Timah (163m). The reserve supposedly holds more tree species than the entire North American continent, and its unbroken forest canopy shelters what remains of Singapore’s native wildlife, including long-tailed macaques, pythons...

Boat Quay

Singapore

　　Closest to the river mouth, this was once Singapore’s centre of commerce, and it remained an important economic area into the 1960s. By the mid-1980s, many of the shophouses were in ruins, businesses having shifted to high-tech cargo centres elsewhere on the island. Declared a conservation zone by the government,...

Fort Siloso

Singapore

　　Dating from the 1880s, when Sentosa was called Pulau Blakang Mati (Malay for 'the island behind which lies death'), this British coastal fort was famously useless during the Japanese invasion of 1942. Documentaries, artefacts, animatronics and recreated historical scenes take visitors through the fort's history, and the underground tunnels are...

Robertson Quay

Singapore

　　The most remote and least visited of the quays, Robertson Quay is home to some of the best eateries and bars along the river, including Mexican 'It kid' Super Loco and well-priced wine bar Wine Connection. The precinct is also home to the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, which hosts international...

Fort Canning Park

Singapore

　　When Raffles rolled into Singapore, locals steered clear of Fort Canning Hill, then called Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill), out of respect for the sacred shrine of Sultan Iskandar Shah, ancient Singapura's last ruler. Today the hill is better known as Fort Canning Park, a lush retreat from the hot streets...

Kusu Island

Singapore

　　By far the smallest of the three Southern Islands, Kusu is also the most pleasant. Step off the boat and into an area of picnic-friendly landscaped gardens, home to a small turtle sanctuary and the colourful Tua Pek Kong Temple. Further on is the beach, its shallow water ideal for...

National Museum of Singapore

Singapore

　　Imaginative and immersive, Singapore's National Museum is good enough to warrant two visits. At once cutting edge and classical, the space ditches staid exhibits for lively multimedia galleries that bring Singapore's jam-packed biography to vivid life. It's a colourful, intimate journey, spanning ancient Malay royalty, wartime occupation, nation-building, food and...

ArtScience Museum

Singapore

　　Designed by prolific Moshe Safdie and looking like a giant white lotus, the lily pond–framed ArtScience Museum hosts major international travelling exhibitions in fields as varied as art, design, media, science and technology. Expect anything from explorations of deep-sea creatures to retrospectives of world-famous industrial designers. ...

Changi Museum & Chapel

Singapore

　　The Changi Museum and Chapel commemorates the WWII Allied POWs who suffered horrific treatment at the hands of the invading Japanese. The museum includes replicas of the famous Changi Murals painted by POW Stanley Warren in the old POW hospital and a replica of the original Changi Chapel. At time...

Night Safari

Singapore

　　Electric trams glide past close to 100 species, including tigers and elephants, with more docile creatures often passing within centimetres of the trams. Walking trails lead to enclosures inaccessible by tram, though sighting the animals can be a little hit-and-miss. (In truth, many are better seen at neighbouring Singapore Zoo.)...

Pulau Ubin Village

Singapore

　　Although not really a tourist sight, Pulau Ubin's only village of note is a ramshackle time capsule of Singapore's past and an interesting place to wander around. Fish traps and the skeletal remains of abandoned jetties poke out of the muddy water, stray cats prowl for birds, and docile dogs...

Mt Faber

Singapore

　　One of the highest points in Singapore, standing 105m above sea level, and the centrepiece of Mt Faber Park. ...

Raffles Hotel

Singapore

　　Although its resplendent lobby is only accessible to hotel and restaurant guests, Singapore's most iconic slumber palace is worth a quick visit for its magnificent ivory frontage, famous Sikh doorman and lush, hushed tropical grounds. The hotel started life in 1887 as a modest 10-room bungalow fronting the beach (long...

River Safari

Singapore

　　This wildlife park re-creates the habitats of numerous world-famous rivers, including the Yangtze, Mississippi and Congo. While most are underwhelming, the Mekong River and Amazon Flooded Forest exhibits are impressive, their epic aquariums rippling with giant catfish and stingrays, electric eels, red-bellied piranhas, manatees and sea cows. Another highlight is...

Pulau Ubin

Singapore

　　A 10-minute bumboat ride (motorised sampan) from Changi Point Ferry Terminal lands you on the shores of Pulau Ubin. Singaporeans like to wax nostalgic about Ubin’s kampung (village) atmosphere and it has thus far resisted the lure of cashed-up developers. It remains a rural, unkempt expanse of jungle. Tin-roofed buildings...

Merlion

Singapore

　　Back in the 1980s, someone at the tourism board created a myth about a half fish, half lion, and the gawking tourists helped seal its status as an iconic (nobody said it was pretty) Singapore sight. While visiting this S$165,000 concrete creature isn't in itself worth your time, the Marina...

Newton Food Centre

Singapore

　　Opened in 1971, this famous hawker centre still has a great, at times smoky, atmosphere and you could eat here for a whole year and never get bored. It was featured in the 2018 blockbuster movie Crazy Rich Asians. Well-known stalls include Alliance seafood (01-27), Hup Kee Fried Oyster Omelette...

Baba House

Singapore

　　Baba House is one of Singapore's best-preserved Peranakan heritage homes. Built in the 1890s, this beautiful blue three-storey building was donated to the National University of Singapore (NUS) by a member of the family that used to live here. The NUS then set about renovating it so that it best...

MacRitchie Reservoir

Singapore

　　MacRitchie Reservoir makes for a calming, evocative jungle escape. Walking trails skirt the water's edge and snake through the mature secondary rainforest spotted with long-tailed macaques and huge monitor lizards. You can rent kayaks at the Paddle Lodge, but the highlight is the excellent 11km walking trail and its various...