Marina Bay at dusk: the lotus shape of the ArtScience Museum, the business district's towers reflected in the water and a rose-coloured sky

Southeast Asia

Singapore

A city-state where dinner gets as much attention as architecture, and the rainforest begins a few metro stops from the centre.

Photo: Arul Kumaran / Unsplash

Singapore is small — you can cross the whole island in under an hour — yet its density is remarkable. In a single morning you can walk from the incense of a Taoist temple in Chinatown to the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam, and on into the jasmine garlands and cardamom-scented streets of Little India. Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities live side by side here, and that is felt less in the museums than at the table.

Hawker centres — covered food halls with dozens of small stalls — are the heart of the city, and in 2020 Singapore's hawker culture was inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. One plastic table can hold Hainanese chicken rice, a fragrant laksa, char kway teow from a smoking wok and kopi with condensed milk; many stalls have kept the same recipe for generations. The 1930s Art Deco flats of Tiong Bahru, the tiled Peranakan facades of Katong and the colonial buildings now home to the National Gallery show that Singapore is far more than glass and steel.

The city's other side is green. The UNESCO-listed Singapore Botanic Gardens fill each morning with joggers and tai chi groups; the Southern Ridges trails run above the forest canopy; and at Gardens by the Bay architecture and planting become one. Singapore is a natural start or finish for a longer journey through Southeast Asia, but it deserves at least a few unhurried days of its own — and a good hotel with a pool waiting after a warm day.

Why go

01
The hawker centres
Maxwell and Chinatown Complex in Chinatown, the Victorian cast-iron pavilion of Lau Pa Sat in the business district, Tekka in Little India and Old Airport Road in the east. Come early or late, when queues are shorter, and order a little from several stalls. Many close one day a week, and the most popular often sell out before evening.
02
The neighbourhoods on foot
In Chinatown, Thian Hock Keng temple, Sri Mariamman — the city's oldest Hindu temple — and shops beneath the five-foot ways; in Tiong Bahru, quiet Art Deco streets, cafés and bookshops. In Kampong Glam, textile shops and mural-lined lanes around the Sultan Mosque, and in Little India, garland makers, spice shops and the vividly painted House of Tan Teng Niah.
03
Gardens and ridges
The Singapore Botanic Gardens, with the National Orchid Garden and a patch of original rainforest in the middle of the city; Gardens by the Bay, with its two vast conservatories, the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, and its steel Supertrees. The Southern Ridges trails link Mount Faber to Kent Ridge Park via the Henderson Waves bridge and walkways above the canopy.
04
Joo Chiat, Katong and Peranakan heritage
In the east of the city, the heartland of the Peranakan community, born where Chinese and Malay cultures met: terraced houses with ceramic tiles, plasterwork and pastel colours. This is where to taste Katong laksa and nyonya kueh, the colourful rice cakes, while the Peranakan Museum in the city centre tells the story in more depth.

Ways to travel

Ways to experience it

Ways to travel aren't separate paths — the best journeys often bring several together.

Culture & discovery
Neighbourhood walks with a local guide, temples and mosques, the National Gallery and the Peranakan Museum, and in the evenings the hawker centres, where the cooking tells the city's story better than any exhibition.
Exceptional stays & escapes
From restored colonial-era hotels and design hotels in converted shophouses to towers with rooftop pools: in Singapore a good stay is part of the rest, especially after a hot, humid day.
Family journeys
Short distances, an easy metro, the Cloud Forest conservatory, Pulau Ubin by bicycle and hawker centres where everyone chooses their own dish make Singapore an easy first family trip to Asia.
Tailor-made journeys
We most often combine Singapore with Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand, shaping it so the city becomes a chapter of the journey rather than a night between flights.
Honeymoons & special journeys
A few city days with evenings on rooftop terraces and dinner at a Peranakan restaurant, followed by quiet islands in Indonesia or Thailand: a good pairing for a honeymoon.

Singapore

Journey inspiration

Illustrative ideas for how a tailor-made journey could look. Not bookable packages: no prices, dates or inclusions are implied.

015–7 days
Hawker halls, gardens and neighbourhoods
Chinatown and Tiong Bahru, Kampong Glam and Little India, the Botanic Gardens and the Southern Ridges, Peranakan Katong and a day on Pulau Ubin.
Culture & discovery · Exceptional stays & escapes
Plan something like this
0210–14 days
From Singapore to Penang
Four days in Singapore, then north: old Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and George Town on Penang, a route where the cooking changes with every city.
Culture & discovery · Tailor-made journeys
Plan something like this
039–12 days
City and islands
A few unhurried days in Singapore, then a short flight to Bali or Lombok, or a ferry to Bintan, for slow days by the sea.
Honeymoons & special journeys · Exceptional stays & escapes
Plan something like this

Planning your journey

When to go

Singapore is hot and humid all year, usually around 30°C by day, with short, heavy afternoon downpours possible at any time. The northeast monsoon generally brings more rain from around November to January, while February to April is often drier and sunnier. In some years the summer brings haze from fires elsewhere in the region. Rain rarely spoils a trip; we plan so that the hottest hours go to museums, conservatories and rest.

How long to allow

Two days give a feel for the city, but four or five leave time for the neighbourhoods, the gardens, Katong and unhurried evenings at the hawker centres. For anyone travelling on through Southeast Asia, Singapore is a gentle place to adjust to the time zone and the climate. Early mornings and late afternoons outdoors; the middle of the day inside or by the pool.

Natural combinations

Singapore combines naturally with Malaysia — Malacca and Kuala Lumpur are reached overland, Penang and Borneo by a short flight. A ferry crosses to Bintan in Indonesia, and flights to Bali and the Thai islands take only a few hours.

Areas to explore

Chinatown and Tiong Bahru
Temples, shophouses, Maxwell and an Art Deco neighbourhood with its own market.
Kampong Glam and Little India
The Sultan Mosque, textile streets, Tekka Centre and flower garlands.
The Civic District and Marina Bay
The National Gallery, the Esplanade, the riverside quays and Gardens by the Bay.
The Botanic Gardens and the Southern Ridges
A UNESCO-listed garden, orchids and trails above the forest canopy.
Katong and the East Coast
Peranakan houses, laksa, East Coast Park and the bumboats to Pulau Ubin.

General guidance only. Weather, seasons and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

Sample journey