Places to Visit in Singapore

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With historic districts and world-class resorts, Singapore blends the best of the old and the new into one nation. Make your visit exciting, entertaining and unforgettable by following our list of top places to visit in Singapore.

Singapore has always been a pit-stop destination for trips into Asia but, in recent years, this island nation has established itself as a destination in its own right. From fun-filled attractions and multi-cultural districts to glitzy world-class resorts and museums, there’s something for everyone here.

While not the cheapest, Singapore is possibly one of the least challenging cities in the world to visit. In one day, it is possible to trek through a rainforest, visit places of worship from a multitude of religions that exist together in harmony, and stop in a sleek mall on Orchard Road to buy a new outfit in time for a sumptuous dinner prepared by a Michelin–starred chef. Singapore has always been, and will always be, a nation that blends the best of all worlds into one nation.

In this article, we introduce all of the must-see places and events to make your visit to Singapore exciting, entertaining and unforgettable.

Top 10 Places to Visit in Singapore

Singapore hosts some of the finest museums in Southeast Asia – enough to take a week to explore, let alone the average two or three days most visitors spend here. The best ones are concentrated in the city centre, which makes it easy to hop between them. Two Singaporean favourites are the grand Asian Civilisations Museum, celebrating Asian civilisation, and the charming Peranakan Museum, which celebrates local Peranakan culture. The National Museum of Singapore, housed in an architecturally superb Victorian building and modern annex, is equally magnificent. Close by is the recently refurbished Singapore Art Museum which is also worth exploring.

Yes, yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s also hard to resist the allure of the magnificent ivory frontage, the famous Sikh doorman, the colonial elegance and the echoes of Maugham and Conrad and the days when Singapore was a swampy, dissolute outpost of the British Empire. The Raffles Hotel is best visited in the late afternoon or early evening, when the heat has been sapped from the day and the spotlights bathe the building in romance. Slip into the verandah chair at the atmospheric Bar & Billiard Room for an early evening aperitif, followed by one of the best buffets in the city: the incredible, stomach-popping Indian feast laid on nightly in the Tiffin Room.

If the Botanic Gardens area an admirable exercise in managed vegetation, then the area officially called the Centre Catchment Nature Reserve is a masterpiece of urban wilderness planning. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the highest point on the island at 163m, is one of only two patches of urban primary rainforest in the world (the other is in Rio de Janeiro). Though it has been laid with a concrete path, side trails plunge deep into a forest so rich that one botanist estimated there are more plant species there than in the whole of North America. Hike the trails at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, where a cacophony of insects, roving monkeys and lush canopy hark back to a time when Singapore was mostly wilderness. Also check out the Southern Ridges, a 9km stretch of trails across shaded parks, hills and the stunning leaf-like suspended walkaways of the Alexandra Link.

Singapore’s very own rustic island getaway is the last chance to get a glimpse at the kampong (village) life that was a big part of Singapore as recently as the 1960s. The site of a traditional Malay fishing village, Pulau Ubin has a variety of flora and fauna that can only be seen here. By hopping aboard a chugging bumboat from Changi, visitors can experience Pulau Ubin’s old-growth mangrove swamps, then cycle past tin-roof shacks or rampage along a cross-country mountain bike trail and end the day with a seafood meal. If the great outdoors is not your thing, you can take a cooking class instead. If the easy island life gets you in, you can always stay a night or three at the local resort.

Singapore’s popular playground, Sentosa is an island of relaxing spas and resorts, thrilling water and land sports, and other attractions for people of all ages. The world-class resort island of Sentosa may look gaudy from the outside, but the opening of Resorts World means the entertainment and eating options at Singapore’s playground has been taken to new heights. Parents can let their kids go nuts at Universal Studios, then in the evenings live the high-roller life at the casino. Or you can lose the shirt off your back in a different way: by kicking back on the beach, cocktail in hand.

With every brand imaginable and over 20 malls packed into this 2.5km strip, you can shop till you drop, pick yourself up, and continue shopping some more. What was once a dusty road lined with spice plantations and orchards is now a torrent of blockbuster malls, department stores and specialty shops: enough to burn out the toughest shopaholics. It’s retail therapy at its decadent best. When you’ve stashed your purchases back at the hotel, duck out to Emerald Hill for its Peranakan architecture and happy-hour bar specials. The street also has many wonderful opportunities for eating and, if you’re there during Christmas, the breathtaking light displays.

Singapore’s Botanic Gardens make a welcome escape from the bustle of city life. And like most things in Singapore, it’s immaculate and well-designed. Each area segues into the next, each with its own atmosphere, from the lazy serenity of the Swan Lake to the dense, humid greenery of the rainforest zone to the carefully pruned bonsai and orchid gardens. At the tail end of Orchard Road, this sprawling oasis is a great place to take a picnic and people-watch. Or stroll through the orchid gardens, looking out for Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower. The gardens host a food court and two of the most irresistibly romantic restaurants: Au Jardin Les Amis and Halia. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra gives free monthly performances at the pavilion.

The most atmospheric of Singapore’s historic quarters is as close as it gets to the old chaotic days. In fact, there is nowhere else in Singapore that matches it for street atmosphere, especially at night. Little India is a ramshackle, colourful, disorderly sort of place, where life tumbles along with an unfettered liveliness largest lost from the rest of the city. Experience it with the masses on the weekends when it gets packed to the gills with Indian workers wanting a slice of home. The five-foot ways of the shophouses spill over with aromatic spices and colourful products, bhangra thuds from speakers, shopkeepers still paint signs on concrete pillars, irresistible food smells waft into the street and men clad in dhoti (loincloth) lounge around the market gossiping. It’s like India with all the confronting bits taken out.

Singapore’s central skyline has been forever transformed with the development of Marina Bay. Let your eyeballs swing from the soaring towers of the Central Business District (CBD) to the incredible architecture of Marina Bay Sands, a world-class resort and the Gardens by the Bay. One of the best ways to get a bird’s eye view of Marina Bay is atop the Singapore Flyer, the world’s largest observation wheel overlooking splendid Marina Bay. Appreciate views that stretch up to 45km to Malaysia and Indonesia before enjoying impressive views of the city skyline and the harbour on the way back down.

Let’s put it out there: this is possibly the world’s best zoo. The open-air enclosures designed to look like natural habitats allow for both freedom for the animals to roam and unobstructed visitor views. Dry and wet moats camouflaged by waterfalls and vegetation separate the animals from visitors. The Singapore Zoo is one of the few places in the world where you see rare animals such as the white (Bengal) tiger and clouded leopard or endangered species such as the Komodo dragon and the Malayan tiger. The zoo is also one of the few places outside of Borneo or Sumatra where you can stand under trees with orang-utans a few feet above your head, or where mouse deer and lemurs scamper across your path. As evening closes in, the Night Safari next door uses open-concept enclosures to get visitors up close and personal with nocturnal creatures such as leopards, free-ranging deer and Malaysian tigers.

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