This trip was not ordinary for me and a first in many aspects. My first time in Asia, my longest trip (13 hours by plane there and 13 hours back), the furthest from home—in short, many discoveries and an incredible experience on the other side of the world. From what I was able to see, I think Singapore is a perfect first destination when you don’t know Asia well; it is both exotic and at the same time reassuring, as the city-state perfectly blends oriental and occidental influences in a cosmopolitan city that is totally multicultural because it is multiethnic.
This young nation of barely 51 years, it must be remembered, settled south of Malaysia, is a true melting pot, a mix of East and West, but also of the old and the very contemporary, of tradition and modernity.
Once again, I have broken down my week-long stay to visit Singapore into 3 articles:
- This first article focuses on a selection of things to see/do in Singapore and the surrounding area, as well as some practical advice.
- An upcoming article on my Singaporean Food Tour with a selection of great addresses that I tested during my stay.
- A final article about accommodation in Singapore.
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Table of Contents
The legend of the Merlion
This legend, which dates back to the 13th century, tells of a mythical animal with the head of a lion and the body of a fish that supposedly welcomed the future Singaporeans to the historical site of the city.
This icon, which was actually created in 1964 by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), is today the city’s emblem. A statue spouting water, 8.60m tall, represents this symbol on the Marina Bay waterfront, and hundreds of people come before it every day to have their photo taken. In fact, Singapore is called the Lion City.
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The Singapore City Gallery
This is perhaps one of the places you should go to first when arriving in Singapore! Indeed, this gallery features a giant map of the city, allowing you to get your bearings quickly and see the overall layout of the city, which will certainly be very useful for getting around later. In addition, some interactive panels allow you to also understand the history and evolution of the city.
Singapore City Gallery
45 Maxwell Road The URA Centre, Singapore 069118
Open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM (closed Sundays and public holidays)
Top tip: admission is free!_
The Singapore Botanic Gardens
This immense garden, which has existed since 1859 and houses a collection of 750,000 plant specimens, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a must-see during your time in Singapore. Agnes, the country’s national flower, is an orchid; you can see them in the National Orchid Garden (open every day from 8:30 AM to 7 PM), which features 1,000 different species and 2,000 hybrids.
Top tip: visiting the botanical garden is free; only visiting the orchid garden has an entrance fee ($5 for adults / $1 for children and students)
My advice: unlike in Singapore itself where the mosquitoes will leave you relatively alone, remember to take 2 or 3 products to protect yourself or to soothe your skin if you are like me, sensitive to bites from these little beasts.
Singapore Botanic Gardens 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569 Open daily from 5 AM to midnight
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Visiting the National Gallery Singapore
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit the museum’s collections, much to my regret, but I understand that it presents works by Singaporean artists dating back to the 19th century. The gallery also hosts temporary exhibitions in connection with the greatest cultural institutions in the world.
The place is also worth a visit for its architecture because it is the reunion, by a French architect, of 2 old city buildings preserved in this way as a heritage of Singapore’s history: the Supreme Court and the City Hall. You can still visit the old room where judgments were rendered, the judge’s office, the room in which the country’s independence was signed, etc.
A little extra: go up to the Aura Sky Lounge, the museum’s restaurant/bar, for a magnificent view of the city skyline.
National Gallery Singapore
1 St Andrew’s Road 178957 Singapore
Open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 10 AM to 7 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM
Price: $20 for non-Singaporeans / $15 for children between 7 and 12 years old / free for Singaporeans and children aged 6 and under_
Strolling through the different districts of Singapore
It is by discovering the different districts of the city that you can appreciate the cultural richness of the city. The origins of Singaporeans are multiple, but the main identities that make up the young nation are: Chinese, Malay, and Indian.
Little India
The very colorful Indian district of Singapore is a treat for the eyes and the taste buds. Take the opportunity to visit the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (141 Serangoon Rd, Singapore 218042), built in 1885 in honor of Kali, the bloodthirsty wife of Shiva.
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The Business District
Even if you are not a fan of this ultra-modern architecture, you absolutely must go see the buildings and the skyline of Singapore. This is also where you will find the Merlion statue I mentioned earlier.
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Chinatown
Here is the district of the city’s largest community, which retains a certain charm with its small houses on a human scale and its traditional lanterns that snake through the shopping streets. It is also the ideal place to do some shopping and bring back some small souvenirs in your suitcases.
Here again, you must absolutely visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (yes, yes, the temple of the Buddha’s tooth relic, you heard me right!) erected in 2008 and which is always very lively. And above all, don’t forget to go all the way to the top of this imposing building to discover the magnificent garden on the roof (you will find an elevator on your left as you leave the temple tour).
Another very interesting temple to visit in the Chinatown district is the Thian Hock Keng Temple, an old Chinese place of worship known as the temple of heavenly happiness.
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The district around Peranakan culture
Peranakan is a Malay word meaning “born here”. The Peranakan culture is therefore the unique culture of Singaporeans, born from the mixture of all the influences of the city’s inhabitants, but also from the desire to create their own cultural identity. This small district on the East Coast, whose colonial-style houses were built between approximately 1901 and 1940, is located (more or less) between Peranakan Place, the Katong District, and Joo Chiat Road.
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Rochor Centre
Just a small photo of this colorful apartment block where we messed around and had a nice photo shoot, because it is going to be demolished sometime this September…
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Kampong Glam and Arab Street
The main monument of the Arab quarter is the grand Sultan Mosque, which we unfortunately could not visit from the inside because it was closed during the lunch break. So if you want to go there, do not hesitate to check the opening hours in advance.
Top tip: the temples and places of worship I mentioned in this paragraph are all free to access. You will just often need to cover up to enter, but shawls are always available to visitors.
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Take a bike ride on the island of Pulau Ubin
This little excursion to the island of Pulau Ubin was a great moment. It’s a short outing from the city that is very pleasant to do during a stay of a few days there. First, you have to go to the tip of Singapore to take a small boat that brings you to the island in about 10 minutes (be careful, however, the boat only leaves when it is full), then once there, there are plenty of small businesses that rent bikes.
Once you’ve chosen your bike (take a short ride with it first to check that everything is working properly), you’re off for a nice little ride in the island’s tropical forest. You might come across some wild boars (which will run away long before you could approach them), toucans perched in the trees, and a pack of monkeys (because you are in their territory and they will let you feel it, so a piece of advice, don’t provoke them!).
Finally, the last thing: DO NOT LEAVE without your mosquito repellent product (I talk to you about it a little lower down in “what to put in your suitcase”), you could bitterly regret it for the following days of your stay if you are a little sensitive to that.
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Strolling in Singapore at night
If you want to go for a walk in a lively place in the evening in Singapore, try Clarke Quay, on the edge of the river. Plus, the lighting is quite pretty in that area, but overall Singapore is a very beautiful nocturnal city, which you absolutely must discover at night, in fact.
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Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Inside these 2 monumental dome greenhouses open since June 2012, we discover more than 1 million plants and 5,000 different species, as well as the largest artificial waterfall in the world.
On the agenda: Flower Dome, which offers the opportunity to discover 9 gardens from Africa to the Americas, passing through Europe, Asia, or even Australia, with a temperature between 23 and 25°C, the ideal climate for Singapore, so much so that you won’t want to leave! The second greenhouse features a kind of reconstructed mountain/forest with a waterfall that peaks at 35m in height.
Gardens by the Bay 18 Marina Gardens Drive Singapore 018953 Price: $28 for adults and $15 for children
To finish your visit, don’t miss the Garden Rhapsody Show at the foot of the Supertree, these giant trees emblematic of Singapore, which measure between 25 and 50 meters in height. This one-hour sound and light show is truly impressive and magical.
The show takes place every evening from 7:45 PM to 8:45 PM and it’s free!
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Take a trip to Sentosa Island
This island has been transformed into a huge leisure hub, bringing together the Universal Studio theme park, beaches, the Merlion tower which offers a panoramic view of the island from 37m high, a golf course, restaurants, an aquarium, a luge run (be careful if it rains, this activity is closed, however), a tiger sky tower, etc.
Top tip: entry to the island costs $4 and then you can get around for free with a bus and shuttle system on the island. This is, for example, the opportunity to spend a day at the beach which is then accessible for free, as most of the other poles on the island are paid.
To test: the Malaysian Food Street, a covered street full of restaurants to taste all the specialties of Malaysia.
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Flying with Singapore Airlines
This company, known for being the best in the world, allows you to join Paris to Singapore on a direct flight (about 13 hours of flight). I was impatient to discover it and be able to compare it to Qatar Airlines that I had tested a few months ago during my blogtrip to Doha. If Singapore Airlines, the national company of Singapore, is very renowned, the Changi airport has also been voted the best airport in the world. That is to say how much the combination is really perfect for traveling in the best possible conditions.
Economy Class test:
The level of comfort is very high and the welcome and politeness of the staff are quite incredible, regardless of the class in which you travel. Plus, the magnificent stewardess costumes were designed in 1968 by the French couturier Pierre Balmain, and yes!
The perks: a USB and HDMI socket to charge your electronic devices; a blanket, a pillow, and a travel kit (toothbrush, compression stockings) distributed for the trip; a wide choice of series, films, and music for the flight;
My advice: for the return, take the night flight, leaving Singapore around midnight and arriving in Paris at 7 AM, so you can easily sleep on the plane and you arrive almost adjusted to French time in Paris. I think it is a good solution for not suffering too much from jet lag on the return.
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What to pack for Singapore
Singapore has a hot and very humid climate between 24 and 31 degrees all year round (so we sweat a lot and clothes quickly become damp). There is no real season in Singapore. For my part, it was during the month of July that I went there, and that is considered a good time to go there.
- The best thing is to take cotton clothes but also some warmer things and scarves for indoors (air conditioning is king there), or you risk catching a cold, very quickly.
For some excursions, as I told you above, mosquito repellent products are absolutely essential. I recommend the Ladrôme products that I really like and that I have mentioned several times on the blog. You need the 2 Roll’ons of the brand (one soothing with organic lavender to calm itching and one preventive with organic lemongrass to ward off mosquitoes – €6.90), as well as the Essential Elements Stop Mosquitoes (€12.80), a concentrate of active ingredients with mosquito repellent properties combined with 20 100% natural essential oils that repel insects. Clearly, it was this last one that allowed me to have no bites during our excursion in the tropical forest (yes, okay, I didn’t hesitate on the dose, but still…).
- Your passport will be essential on the spot, but no need for a visa if you are just passing through for a short vacation.
- Attention, remember to take an adapter; British standard plugs are used there.
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You can also find the vision of Singapore from my fellow travel companions, Céline from Je Papote, Thibault from Travel Me Happy, Anne from Papilles et Pupilles and Alex from Voyager Loin.
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I hope that with all this I will have made you want to discover Singapore, why not during a future stopover, and if you also have your tips for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan with the Kodak PixPro AZ526 Photos not royalty-free, photographer's authorization mandatory before any use
