The small city-state of Singapore has been called a playground for the wealthy, and it does indeed have a certain sheen of wealth. Singapore, however, provides more than just upscale shopping centers, five-star hotels, and fine dining. There are a lot of things to do during your 3-day stay in Singapore. Discovering this slightly futuristic city’s vibrant history, diverse ethnic neighborhoods, numerous family-friendly attractions, and lovely public spaces is worthwhile.
Singapore has a first-rate public transportation system that makes exploring the city simple and convenient. You won’t have any trouble navigating the metro map once you’ve developed a sense of it. English is widely spoken, and signs are also written in English. One of Southeast Asia’s easiest and most comfortable countries to travel through is Singapore.
Places To Visit In Singapore
1. Marina Bay Sands
A high-end luxury hotel, a shopping center with a canal running through it, the ArtScience Museum, and the Marina Bay Sands Skypark Observation Deck—a vantage point for viewing the entire city—are all part of the opulent Marina Bay Sands resort complex. The viewing deck and infinity pool for the Skypark are located on the ship that sits atop the hotel. The infinity pool is only accessible to hotel guests, but anyone may visit the observation deck.
The innovative double helix bridge, the port, the Gardens by the, and the striking skyline can all be seen from the Skypark. While perched atop the city, visitors can stop by the rooftop restaurant for a snack or a coffee and pick up some keepsakes from the gift shop. You can pay $50 Singapore dollars to have a green-screened picture taken of you in front of the enormous hotel when it is all lit up at night, but it would be better to ask a fellow traveler to take the picture instead. The Marina Bay Sands’ opulent elegance perfectly captures Singapore’s style and place as a major international city in Southeast Asia.
2. Gardens By The Bay
You won’t be able to resist visiting this exquisitely planned green space once you see it. Take a stroll through the Bay East Garden to take in the colorful plant life and temporarily escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Supertree Grove, a collection of iconic, futuristic buildings made to serve environmentally sustainable purposes, is a sight not to be missed. After that, proceed to the Cloud Forest Dome to view the tallest indoor waterfall in the world and discover a little bit about biodiversity. For information on ticket prices and tour dates, visit the website.
3. Botanic Gardens
The Botanic Gardens, not to be confused with the Gardens on the Bay, are also worthwhile a visit. For its botanical gardens, Singapore received its first nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Although clean and comfortable, the city can occasionally feel like a concrete jungle, but Singapore’s wilder past is preserved in the botanic gardens.
Here, a strolling path leads to the gardens’ historic trees, which are preserved as part of a campaign to safeguard the mature tree species of the city. Don’t forget to check out the magnificent National Orchid Garden as well. Visits to the eco-garden, eco-lake, bonsai garden, sculptures, and various other formal gardens are also popular activities.
4. Singapore Zoo
The Singapore Zoo, which calls itself the best rainforest zoo in the world, is a pretty impressive facility. The facility is pristine and welcoming, and the animals seem to be in good hands thanks to the abundance of lush vegetation and habitat space. Visitors can watch babies and adults alike swing high above their platforms and munch on fruits while viewing the orangutans, which are particularly impressive. In addition, there are numerous other animals, including a sizable chimpanzee family, zebras, meerkats, a komodo dragon, mole rats, white tigers, and kangaroos.
5. Orchard Road
Singapore is a world-class city for style and designer chic, so one could be excused for only shopping when visiting. Due to the abundance of upscale shops there, the Orchard Road neighborhood is a great place to start a shopping expedition. Nothing less would be expected from a neighborhood that has six department stores and 22 malls. Additionally, there are four movie theaters, including an IMAX theater, and a KTV karaoke venue. There are many restaurants serving international cuisine in the area if you get hungry while spending all that money.
6. Singapore Flyer
Try enjoying high tea while taking in city views from the Singapore Flyer, the largest giant observation wheel in the world, if the Marina Bay Sands observation deck isn’t quite your thing. Choose from a variety of packages to be served and pampered while taking in a view that includes not only the Singapore skyline but also as far away as Malaysia’s Straits of Johor and Indonesia’s Spice Islands. The multimedia Journey of Dreams exhibit, which explores Singapore’s history and the development of the Singapore Flyer, is included in each of the various ticket packages available.
7. Raffles Hotel Singapore
The Colonial District of the city, where the Raffles Hotel Singapore is situated, is also home to a number of other historic sites, making it a good place to base yourself while visiting the area. The Raffles Landing Site is where Sir Stamford Raffles, the man who founded Singapore, is reputed to have set foot on land in 1819. According to the legend, he visited a small fishing community and saw its potential as a port. As a result, he bought the land from the Sultan of Johor and invited Chinese and Indian immigrants to settle here. Thus, the foundations of Singapore’s multicultural identity were laid.
8. Chinatown
The Chinatown area of Singapore will instantly transport you back to China if you’ve ever been there. This neighborhood is bustling with activity, from the little mom-and-pop shops and authentic Chinese food to the bright red lanterns. With these, you can shop on a budget when in Singapore. The impressive and lovely Sri Mariamman Hindu temple is located in the Chinese Heritage Center. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is an additional temple well worth visiting. The morning drum ceremony can be heard if you are awake early enough. Alternately, you could just attend the closing ceremony in the evening after seeing the artifact.
9. Sentosa Island
Sentosa Island is the place to go if you’re in the mood for some beach fun even though Singapore isn’t exactly known as a beach destination. Siloso Beach is a great place to spend time at the beach. There are free volleyball courts there, as well as opportunities for kayaking and skimboarding. There are a number of additional beachside attractions, in addition to the Underwater World aquarium where you can go dolphin swimming.
The Merlion, a famous statue in Singapore with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is a must-see on Sentosa Island. The statue’s top can be reached via an escalator, where you can take in sweeping views of the surroundings. Adventurers should visit The Flying Trapeze and the SeaBreeze Water-Sports at Wave House, where you can try out flying while wearing a jet pack that is propelled by the water.
10. Clarke Quay
Clarke Quay, which was the “center of commerce during the 19th century,” continues to be a bustling hub. After a long day of shopping on Orchard Road, visitors can happily make their way to Clarke Quay for an evening of waterfront dining and entertainment because it now has a more polished sheen. Also leaving from here are river taxis and cruises that allow visitors to admire some of the city’s historic bridges and take in landmarks like the Merlion from the water. The Quay’s most popular attraction with younger visitors is a huge bungee-jumping attraction that is an exhilarating thrill ride.
11. Universal Studios Singapore
49 acres of Resorts World Sentosa are occupied by Universal Studios Singapore. The park is set up thematically, with each section paying homage to a setting, movie, or television program. There are trips to New York City, Hollywood, Madagascar, and Ancient Egypt. There are fiction-themed areas like Shrek’s Far Far Away, Lost World, and Sci-Fi City where the thrill rides are dominated by Battlestar Galactica-themed dueling roller coasters and an indoor dark coaster called Revenge of the Mummy.
In addition to the numerous rides, which range from family-friendly to daredevil, the park offers a variety of dining establishments, shops, and live performances both during the day and at night.
12. Night Safari Singapore
By providing visitors with a glimpse into the residents’ nocturnal lives, Night Safari Singapore gives the classic zoo experience a fresh spin. There are four distinct habitat areas in the park, each with a trail that allows you to see these elusive creatures going about their daily lives.
13. Merlion Park
The Merlion in Singapore is exactly what it sounds like—a representation of a mythical animal with a lion’s head and a fish’s body and tail. The Merlion symbolizes both the city’s traditional Malay name, Singapura, the lion city and its modest beginnings as a fishing village.
14. Asian Civilization Museum
Visit the Empress Place Building if the Raffles Hotel and Fort Canning Park haven’t sated your desire for colonial architecture. It was built in 1865 in the Neoclassical architectural style, and Queen Victoria’s name was given to it. The Asian Civilizations Museum, which explores the various Asian cultures that shaped Singapore, is now housed there.
The museum’s holdings are centered on trade and spirituality, two topics that had a significant impact on Asian cultures. The Indian Ocean trade, tales of faith and belief, and a look at the significant role that scholars played in Chinese culture for centuries are just a few of the topics covered in the exhibits.
15. Pulau Ubin (Granite Island)
Visit Pulau Ubin, a small island where fewer than 100 people still live simply as they did in the 1960s, to get a glimpse of life in Singapore before it was all about glitz and skyscrapers. The name of the island, which is Malay for “Granite Island,” was given as a result of its historical prominence as a quarry town.
Today, it is a serene, undeveloped location where visitors can appreciate pristine forests and a variety of wildlife. The Chek Jawa Wetlands, which are located on the island and contain a coral reef teeming with marine life, are also there.
16. Fort Canning Park
Fort Canning has had a lengthy and interesting history as far as military strongholds go. The fort, which was constructed in 1859 with the intention of defending Singapore against attacks, ended up being used as a bunker during World War II, and it was eventually given to the Japanese in 1942. The original structure now houses contemporary performing arts groups, and the park frequently hosts picnics, concerts, theater productions, and festivals.
The park also houses artifacts from Singapore’s early history, dating back to the 14th century, as well as Sir Stamford Raffles’ private bungalow. Additionally, visitors can see a replica of the spice market Raffles built in 1822 as well as sculptures of the ASEAN nations that were built in the 1980s.
17. The Maritime Experiential Museum
This indoor-outdoor museum is situated right on the water and offers a fun, interactive way to learn about Singapore’s maritime history. You can see several ships anchored here before you even enter the building.
The Jewel of Muscat, a replica of a sailing ship that went down in 830 CE while en route from Africa to China, is the museum’s centerpiece inside. Additionally, Typhoon Theater offers a special effects simulation of a 9th-century shipwreck along with large-scale replicas of trading ships that traveled the Silk Route, instruction in navigation and how to read nautical charts, and access to the exhibits mentioned previously.
18. Fort Siloso
Sentosa Island is home to Fort Siloso, the only fort that has been preserved in the nation and a military museum. The Fort Siloso Skywalk trail, an enormous steel bridge that rises 11 stories, connects to the fort. The bridge, which is surrounded by a lush tropical canopy, can be reached either by a glass elevator or a set of straightforward stairs. However, taking the elevator gives you sweeping open views of Keppel Harbor, which you can’t really see if you decide to climb the stairs. Great views of the nearby islands and the jungle floor are provided by the 181-meter-long bridge.
19. National Gallery Singapore
The National Gallery, which houses Southeast Asia’s largest collection of modern art, has a strong emphasis on local and Asian artists’ creations going back to the 19th century. Over more than 64,000 square meters, the 9,000+ works of art are spread across two buildings—City Hall and the former Supreme Court. In addition to its permanent collection, the gallery presents transient exhibitions of unusual subjects like Chinese calligraphy, modern photography, and Vietnamese lacquer painting.
20. Jewel Changi Airport
The 10-story-high Jewel Ghangi Airport, frequently ranked as the best airport in the world, is not your typical transportation hub. In fact, you ought to include it on your list of Singapore’s must-see attractions. The 40-meter-high HSBC Rain Vortex, an indoor waterfall surrounded by over 2,000 trees, is the airport’s most well-known feature in addition to its over 300 shops. The three airport terminals each have their own gardens. There is a sunflower garden in Terminal 2, a cactus garden in Terminal 1, and a very well-known butterfly garden in Terminal 3 with more than 40 different species of butterflies, a six-meter waterfall in a grotto, and a lot of flowering plants.
Two movie theaters, an amusement area with vintage arcade games, an indoor canopy park with garden mazes and breathtaking viewing decks, and a 12-meter-tall slide that is open to both adults and children are also located within the airport.