It is probably because we spent
part of our evenings perched on the balcony of our hotel, perfectly located
with views on the Marina Bay Sands hotel and the financial skyscrapers of
Singapore, that I will remember Singapore as the city of lights.
During the time spent in
Singapore we enjoyed the city's relaxed atmosphere and the friendliness of the people.
I especially liked the cleanliness of the city, the efficiency and the
professionalism of the locals and the abundance of green spaces to relax.
We spent three full days in
Singapore and I put together a daily itinerary for couples to discover the city's
highlights.
Day 1
The gardens of Singapore
Morning
Singapore has two famous green
areas: the Botanical Garden and the Gardens by the Bay.
In the morning take the MRT to Singapore
Botanical Garden (MRT stop: Botanic Gardens). The gardens are a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 2015. Take your time to wander around the free entrance
gardens to see the bamboo collection or the foliage garden. You will notice old
locals practicing Tai Chi and Yoga, groups of nannies pushing strollers with
expats' babies and kindergarten children chasing each other in the grass.
As a
last stop visit the Orchid Garden. Here you need to pay an entrance fee. You
will spend less than one hour to see the many types of orchids skilfully
displayed among green plants. The orchid is Singapore's national flower. That
is why there are many unique arrangements of orchids in various places around the
city-state, from the airport to shopping malls, and from the Botanical Garden
to the Flower Dome in the Gardens by the Bay.
Lunch
There is an excellent restaurant immediately after you exit the Orchid
Garden called Halia. We had a tasty lunch of their signature dish Chilli Crab
Spaghettini, a pasta dish with a chilli tomato crab sauce. We also sipped on
some healthy ginger and honey juice.
For a couple of hours in the afternoon
you may check out the many shopping malls on Orchard road as this boulevard is within
walking distance from the Botanical Garden.
In the evening visit the Gardens
by the Bay. There are three main attractions: the Supertree Grove, the Flower
Dome and the Cloud Forest. You do not need to arrive before six in the
afternoon. The gardens are best to be seen late evening with the lights in the
Supertree Grove transforming the trees in living sculptures. There are separate
entrance fees for each of the above mentioned attractions.
Evening
The Gardens by the Bay are very
close to the Marina Bay Sands hotel. You might decide, if you are not very
tired, to have an aperitif at one of their three bars located in the boat
shaped structure at the top of the hotel. You will have beautiful views of the
Singapore bay on one side of the building and the skyscrapers on the other side.
The highlight was the huge orange moon rising
above the bay in the first hours of the evening.
Day 2
The Heritage of Singapore
Singapore, a British colonial settlement for more than a century, has taken
care beautifully of many of its colonial buildings. Several of them are now
museums like the National Gallery or the Asian Civilisations Museum.
Morning
This was my favourite part of our Singapore sightseeing. You need to
prepare for a long but picturesque walk along some of the most significant
buildings of the city during the British colonial time. Take a look at the map.
You will start your walk from the Raffles hotel, admiring the exterior architecture
and the impressive front facade of this iconic building which opened its doors
in 1887.
Cross the street heading to the Saint Andrew's Cathedral for a short
visit inside. It is a rather small church nowadays painted in white but the
architecture is unique. You will pass by in front of the National Gallery
taking a closer look at the building which now occupies the former City Hall
and the former Supreme Court. Make a
stop in front of the Parliament's House completed in 1827 which is now called the
Arts House of the Old Parliament to pose with the huge Myna bird statues exhibited
in front of the building. Today the place is a venue for arts festivals.
Continue
your walk to the Singapore river where a statue marks the place where Sir
Thomas Raffles first landed in Singapore in 1819. He is considered the founder
of modern Singapore. Take a look on the other side of this former harbour where
you can see a row of old
waterfront houses.
A short walk along the
river to the left will take you to the Asian Civilisations Museum, an
interesting place to discover the culture of the many Asian ethnicities who
settled in Singapore. You will need around two hours to visit this museum. Afterwards
you can walk to (or admire from a distance) the clock tower of the Victoria
Theatre and Concert Hall. Cross the river on the Anderson bridge which was
completed in 1910 with an interesting architecture bearing intricate metalwork.
On the other side of the bridge lies the Fullerton Hotel once hosting the
offices of the first Postal Office of colonial Singapore. Nowadays it is a five
star luxury hotel. It is useful to know that from the hotel's entrance you can walk
through a tunnel to easily reach the Merlion Park with its famous statue which
is half-fish, half-lion. But today just cross the river on the Anderson bridge
and once on the other side walk along the shore.
There are plenty of
restaurants and bars waiting for tourists. The atmosphere is vibrant in the evening.
Continue walking to the Clarke Quay, another meeting point for the tourists and
locals during the evenings. We did not find this area as nice as the cafes and
restaurants close to the Anderson bridge but we had a great lunch here.
Lunch
We remembered a recommendation for a burger restaurant at Clarke Quay
and we decided to give it a try for our lunch. The place is called The Butchers
Club Singapore and they serve pricey but delicious burgers. The secret is that
the restaurant dry-ages each cut of Australian beef for different time periods.
The meat melts in your mouth.
Afternoon
In the early afternoon we had two more sights on our list: the
Armenian church with the beautiful colonial architecture of the parish house
and the Peranakan Museum. This museum is located in an old colonial building
from 1912 and shows the life of the Peranakan communities which are usually the
descendents of Chinese migrants (also called Straits Chinese) who mixed with
the local population (Malay, Indonesians, Indians, etc.). They were usually
traders which adopted a more colonial way of life and were less loyal to the
Chinese Emperor. Inside the museum you will learn about their culture,
traditions, way of life and you will be impressed by their riches and beautiful
handmade jewellery.
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| The parish house at the Armenian Church in Singapore |
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| The Peranakan Museum in Singapore |
For the late afternoon I recommend to visit the National Gallery with
its classic and modern art. You do not need more than one hour and a half for
this visit.
Evening
End the evening with the sunset reflected in the Marina Bay Sands
hotel from the rooftop bar of the National Gallery. Not many tourists know
about this spot. If you wish to make sure you will get the best table make a
reservation in advance. You can also eat there. Make sure you take a look down
at the cricket field in front of the museum and at the beautiful colonial
buildings of the Singapore Cricket Club and Singapore Recreation Club to the
right and left.
Day 3
A melting pot of cultures
Morning
Singapore, like Malaysia, is a melting pot of cultures and you already
learnt this yesterday when you visited the Peranakan Museum. To continue the
cultural itinerary I propose two famous neighbourhoods: the Chinatown quarter
and Little India. You can take the Hop On - Hop Off bus or the MRT to reach
both sights. With the tourist bus you also have the possibility to check out
the large boulevards and visit other interesting sights like the Arab Street or
the Sultan Mosque.
We liked the Chinese quarter very
much. The Chinese are the largest ethnic group in Singapore. The neighbourhood
has a more laid back atmosphere than the noisy and busy Little India. In the
Chinese quarter your first stop should be the Visitor Centre which is next to
the Buddha Tooth Relic Monastery. They will provide you with a map so it will
be easy for you to reach the main sights in this area.
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| Laid-back atmosphere in the Chinatown, Singapore. |
Lunch
There are plenty of restaurants there but for lunch I recommend one in
Amoy Street. This is a laid-back street close to the beautiful Thian
Hock Keng Temple. Or
you can try the Maxwell hawker center with over 100 stalls with local
specialities.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, Little India is
a worth a visit as well especially if you want to pick up a bargain or two, for
instance silk or Indian cotton which is used for sari's.
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| Little India, Singapore |
Evening
This is your last evening and you can choose between two attractions
to end your Singapore holiday.
One is the Singapore flyer. If it is a clear night you can choose to have
a last view of the sparkling city from above. The ride takes around 40 minutes.
Or you can jump on one of the
many boats departing regularly from the Marina Bay to watch the light show starting
at around 8 p.m. It is an approximately 40 minutes trip which is very popular
so be prepared to sit tight amongst tourists snapping photographs of the
various buildings bathed in colourful lights. Note that on the Esplanade, close
to the Theatres by the Bay, there are free live music performances almost every
night.
Transportation:
We mostly used the MRT
transportation system of trains which spans the entire city. The MRT can be
described in three words: easy, fast, affordable. It will take 30 to 40 minutes
to arrive from the Changi airport to the Marina area. The taxis, all with meter,
are not that pricy either in case you consider to take one after landing at the
airport.
However we walked a lot as the
distances are not that big. Walking is nice as the traffic is not stifling compared
with other cities in Asia. In addition, most of the streets are large avenues
and have braod sidewalks.
Accommodation:
While hotels in Singapore are
rather on the expensive side you can choose from the fancy hotels around Marina
Bay to the hostels in Chinatown. If you are a couple and decide to splash out
on an unforgettable hotel stay, I advise you to choose accommodation within
walking distance to Marina Bay as you will be close to many of the city's
highlights. There are two options. Either you have the amazing views of the
Marina from one of the top floors of a skyscraper hotel or you are a resident
for a few days in one of the sumptuous colonial hotels of the city like Raffles
or Fullerton and get to soak in the colonial atmosphere of these heritage
buildings.
We chose a hotel with a view and
booked a room with views on the Marina Bay at the Fairmont hotel. We could not
have hoped for more breathtaking views. The advantage here is that the hotel is
situated directly in the Raffles City shopping mall with plenty of shops, a
supermarket and the MRT station a 2 minute walk from the reception.
Note
There is also the Sentosa island, packed with tourists consisting mainly
of families with children, with plenty of indoor and outdoor activities like
the aquarium, the waterpark, the Universal Studios Singapore or the beach. As a
couple we decided to experience Singapore more from its cultural site. I do not
doubt that you can also have a lot of fun during an entire day on Sentosa!
