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Singapore

A City-State That Decided to Do Everything.

Gardens, skyscrapers, hawker stalls and one airport that's better than most cities.

Singapore is a 730 sq km island that has become one of the world's most liveable, most visited and most impressive cities — not through natural resources, but through sheer determination and meticulous planning. The Gardens by the Bay grew out of reclaimed land; the Marina Bay Sands complex redefined skyline ambition; the hawker centres turned street food into a UNESCO cultural heritage tradition. Singapore is where Asia's four major culinary cultures — Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan — collide in a single street market to produce something greater than any of them alone.

Best For

Families · Foodies · Shopaholics

Duration

4–6 Days

Best Season

February – April

Visa

Visa Free for Indians (30 days)

14+

Photos

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Capital City

Singapore City

Province / Country

Republic of Singapore

Singapore is a city-state where the entire country is the capital. The downtown core around Marina Bay concentrates most of the famous sights — Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, the Merlion. But Singapore's real character lives in its ethnic neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Little India's Tekka Centre, Kampong Glam's Arab Street and the Peranakan shophouses of Katong.

Must-Know

What Singapore Is Famous For

The experiences, landscapes and moments that define a trip here.

Iconic

Marina Bay Sands & Gardens by the Bay

The three-towered hotel with a 150-metre rooftop infinity pool is Singapore's defining image. Gardens by the Bay next door contains 18 Supertree structures and two climate-controlled domes — the Cloud Forest's waterfall inside a glass mountain is one of the world's most spectacular indoor spaces.

Hawker Centre Food Culture

UNESCO-recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage — Singapore's open-air hawker centres serve Chinese, Malay and Indian food side by side, with Michelin-starred dishes costing S$3. Maxwell Food Centre, Old Airport Road and Lau Pa Sat are the legendary addresses. The chicken rice alone is worth the flight.

Sentosa Island & Universal Studios

Singapore's leisure island — Universal Studios Southeast Asia, S.E.A. Aquarium (the world's largest), cable car rides, beach clubs and Adventure Cove waterpark on one connected resort island. A full two-day itinerary if you have children, a fun half-day if you don't.

Nature

Singapore Botanic Gardens & Orchid Garden

A UNESCO World Heritage site and Singapore's lungs — 74 hectares of tropical garden with the world's largest outdoor orchid display. Free entry to the main gardens; the National Orchid Garden charges a small fee for its 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids.

Chinatown & Little India

Singapore's ethnic neighbourhoods feel like cities within the city. Chinatown's Sri Mariamman Temple sits steps from a Buddha Tooth Relic Temple; Little India's Tekka wet market overflows with Tamil food and jasmine garlands at dawn. Both are best experienced on foot, early in the morning.

Night Safari & Singapore Zoo

The world's first nocturnal wildlife park — Singapore's Night Safari lets you encounter over 900 animals in their natural nocturnal behaviour by tram and walking trails. The fire show at the entrance and the creatures along the moonlit paths make it unlike any zoo experience.

Take Home

What to Shop in Singapore

From artisan workshops to open-air markets — things worth packing an extra bag for.

🛍️

Orchard Road Luxury Shopping

Singapore's shopping boulevard concentrates over a dozen luxury malls — ION Orchard, Paragon and Ngee Ann City — with every major luxury brand alongside excellent mid-range retailers. Singapore is Asia's duty-free shopping capital with GST refunds for tourists.

🍜

Singapore Hawker Centre Cookbooks & Spices

Cookbooks documenting Singapore's hawker culture, chilli crab sauce kits, kaya (coconut jam) tins and bak kut teh spice packs make genuinely useful food souvenirs that you'll actually cook with at home.

💻

Electronics at Sim Lim Square

Seven floors of electronics, gadgets and accessories at competitive prices — Sim Lim Square is where Singaporeans shop for cameras, phones and components. Bargain hard, check warranty terms carefully, and stick to reputable-looking shops.

🌸

Peranakan Porcelain & Crafts

Singapore's Peranakan (Straits Chinese) culture produced distinctive pink-and-green hand-painted porcelain, beaded slippers and batik sarongs. The Peranakan Museum in Bras Basah has a gift shop; Katong's shophouses have working craftspeople.

Explore

Top Attractions in Singapore

The places everyone tells you to visit — and they're right.

01 · Must Visit

Marina Bay Sands Skypark

The 150-metre rooftop platform connecting MBS's three towers contains the world's largest rooftop infinity pool — non-guests can access the observation deck (SkyPark Observation Deck) for the same panoramic view without staying there. The view at sunset, with the CBD skyline and Gardens by the Bay below, is extraordinary.

02 · Must Visit

Gardens by the Bay Supertrees

The 18 vertical gardens (Supertrees) are lit up every night in the Garden Rhapsody light show — 20 minutes of music and light that draws crowds to the outdoor amphitheatre. The Cloud Forest dome, with its indoor waterfall and mist-shrouded mountain, is the world's most impressive climate-controlled garden space.

03 · Food & Culture

Singapore Hawker Food Trail

UNESCO-recognised hawker culture — Singapore's open-air food courts serve four cuisines side by side, with Michelin-star quality at street-food prices. The essential itinerary: Maxwell Food Centre for Tian Tian chicken rice, Lau Pa Sat for satay, Old Airport Road for carrot cake and Chomp Chomp for BBQ seafood.

🦁

Singapore Zoo & Night Safari

One of the world's most innovative zoos — open-concept habitats with no visible cages. The Night Safari is the world's first nocturnal wildlife park, with 900 animals viewable by tram and walking trails after dark.

🏝️

Sentosa Island

Singapore's resort island — Universal Studios, S.E.A. Aquarium, beach clubs, cable cars and Adventure Cove waterpark in one connected leisure precinct accessible by cable car, monorail or foot.

🕌

Arab Street & Kampong Glam

Singapore's Malay-Arab quarter — the golden-domed Sultan Mosque, rattan and textile shops on Arab Street, and some of the city's best Middle Eastern and Malay food in Bussorah Street's outdoor restaurants.

🌿

Southern Ridges Walk

A 10km elevated park connector linking Telok Blangah Hill, Kent Ridge and Labrador Nature Reserve through forest canopy — Singapore's best free outdoor experience, with the Henderson Waves bridge as the highlight.

🎨

Haji Lane & Bugis Street Art

Singapore's most photogenic lane — narrow shophouses painted in murals, indie boutiques, vintage clothing and Middle Eastern cafes in a 200-metre lane that somehow contains an entire subculture.

🌃

Clarke Quay & Boat Quay Nightlife

Singapore's waterfront nightlife strips — Clarke Quay's converted riverside warehouses house bars, clubs and restaurants that stay busy until 3am; Boat Quay's colonial shophouses are the more atmospheric option for riverside drinks.

Taste & Culture

Food, Rituals & Singapore's Soul

Eat with your hands. Watch the ceremony. Understand why people keep coming back.

Multicultural HeritageChinese New YearDeepavali on Little IndiaHari Raya PuasaPeranakan CultureHawker Food UNESCO HeritageNational Day Parade

"Singapore shouldn't work — four cultures, three languages, no natural resources, no hinterland. And yet here it is: one of the world's great cities, built on the stubbornness of people who refused to fail."

Chilli Crab

Singapore's national dish — whole Sri Lankan mud crab stir-fried in a tomato-egg-chilli sauce that's simultaneously spicy, sweet and savoury. Scoop it up with deep-fried mantou buns. The best versions are at Long Beach or No Signboard Seafood — expensive but unmissable.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Poached or roasted chicken sliced over rice cooked in chicken broth and served with ginger sauce, chilli sauce and dark soy — Singapore's ultimate comfort food. Tian Tian at Maxwell Food Centre has had a Michelin Bib Gourmand for years; the queue tells you everything.

Laksa

Singapore's most complex noodle dish — egg noodles and rice vermicelli in a rich coconut-spice broth with prawns, cockles, fish cake and a dollop of sambal chilli. Katong laksa (spoon-ready, no chopsticks needed) and Marine Parade's 328 Katong Laksa are the legendary versions.

Kaya Toast & Soft-Boiled Eggs

Singapore's quintessential breakfast — charcoal-grilled bread spread with kaya (coconut jam) and cold butter, dipped into barely-set soft-boiled eggs seasoned with soy and white pepper. Consumed with extremely strong local coffee (kopi) at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. S$6 for the whole set.

Char Kway Teow

Flat rice noodles wok-fried with Chinese sausage, cockles, bean sprouts and eggs in dark soy over extreme heat — the 'wok hei' (smoky charring) from a hawker master's seasoned wok is irreproducible at home. Order the version with extra cockles; order it extra dark.

Before You Go