Ultimate Guide To Singapore: Part 3

Ultimate guide to Singapore: part 3

By Anna Purpurpurpur

If you thought that I’ve covered all the attractions of Singapore in my first two blogs, that’s not correct. This tiny city has so much to offer!

Here goes the third part of my guide, featuring attractions no less alluring than those mentioned in the first Singaporean guide. Enjoy!

31. National Museum of Singapore

The National Museum of Singapore’s gorgeous historical building, constructed in Neoclassical style back in 1849, is currently under renovation, but the main gallery is still open. Come here to see the main events of the 700-year-old history of Singapore.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: Singapura (1299-1818), Crown Colony (1819-1941), when Singapore became a thriving port under British rule; Syonan-To (1942-1945), when the Japanese occupied the area; and finally Singapore (1945 to present), when Singapore regained its independence.

32.Bird Paradise

Bird Paradise is another park out of the Mandai reserve parks. It opened in 2023, taking over from Jurong Bird Park, which operated from 1971 to 2023.

You’ll be amazed by the number of birds living here: there are around 400 species and over 3,500 birds in total! The weather during our first visit was pretty tropical with heavy rain, so we didn’t see much. The penguin cove was a must-visit and it was under a roof — just look at all these themed desserts!

Because the weather limits our park exploration, at least we watched the animal presentation there!

This activity takes place three times a day, where a few birds are presented one by one to the audience, with a small talk given about each. At the end, you’ll see flamingos and pelicans roaming around the lawn while everyone waves goodbye to the audience.

However, in two month time we returned to Singapore again! And that time we were incredibly blessed with the weather and had the most amazing time exploring!

Lory Loft, Wings of Asia, and Crimson Wetlands were our favourite areas, but there are many more to discover.

If you have the opportunity, be sure to participate in one of the bird feeding activities. We had participated on one around the Asian wings area where the park resembles Bali with its water terraces, and fed Storks and Pelicans with fish and insects.

33. Clarke Quay

Clarke Quay is named after Governor Sir Andrew Clarke. Merchants established their warehouses here in the late 19th century, close to the Singapore River, when trade boomed.

Now you can see the traditional houses, shophouses, and warehouses preserved here—the oldest one, named the River House, dates back to the 1880s. The style of the houses is called ‘Teochew,’ referring to the ethnicity of the people who tended to live here. Now, it’s a buzzing district filled with restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world: Turkish, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean… and it’s also considered a nightlife center!

34. Peranakan Museum

If you’re interested in local traditions and culture, don’t miss the Peranakan Museum! This museum showcases the Peranakan culture, where travelers and traders from China, India, the Middle East, and Europe settled in Southeast Asia and started families with local communities.

As a result, colorful and distinctive designs used in daily life and at home were born! The museum is divided into several sections: Origins, Family & Community Life with magnificent furniture and ceramics on display; and Fashion, including pieces used in modern cinematography.

The temporary exhibition ‘Batik Nyonyas: Three Generations of Art and Entrepreneurship’ is dedicated to the lives and art of three women who were batik masters.

35. CHIJMES

CHIJMES is a former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, which has now been converted into a modern spot with numerous restaurants and cafes.

The convent was founded in 1854 and operated until post-WWII, while the CHIJMES Hall was constructed in the early 1900s and served as the main chapel of the convent; it’s now used for ceremonies and corporate events. This place is very unusual and has a great selection of dining options, especially Japanese food.

36. The Fountain of Wealth

The Fountain of Wealth was once the largest fountain in the world and was even included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998! The fountain is located inside the Suntec City Mall, and for good luck, you can walk three times around the central section of it.

The Suntec City shopping mall surrounds the fountain—its food court literally encircles it! It was the largest mall in Singapore before the opening of VivoCity. Come here for fashion shops, cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets.

Since the fountain is situated within the food court of Suntec City Mall, you can enjoy breakfast at one of the cafes there. The recommended way to experience a traditional Singaporean breakfast is to add a bit of soy sauce to soft-boiled eggs and enjoy them with toast spread with kaya (coconut jam) and butter.

37. Singapore Botanical Gardens

The Singapore Botanical Gardens is a must-visit even if you don’t have a plant obsession like me.

The first botanical garden in Singapore was founded at Fort Canning by Raffles and was called ‘Botanical and Experimental Garden’. It’s the only tropical garden on UNESCO’s World Heritage List!

In 1859, the garden opened at its current location, close to today’s main shopping route, Orchard Road. The territory is vast, and you can easily spend 3-4 hours walking around without crossing the same path twice.

We loved the frangipani collection (with yellow-colored flowers on some trees!), the Ginger Garden (with signs indicating that otters could be passing through there with their cubs), the Palm Alley, the rainforest section, the Swan Lake, and more.

The National Orchid Garden is located within the Singapore Botanical Gardens; while entry to the gardens is free, you’ll need a ticket to see the orchids. This space is fantastic for orchid lovers!

The diversity of orchids is truly amazing, and even the Kew Gardens’ annual exhibitions cannot compete with this garden. Overall, there are about 1,500 species and 3,000 hybrids displayed throughout various locations inside the garden, such as The Sembcorp Cool House, which mimics mountain tropical conditions from all over the world; the Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection; the Tropical Montane Orchidetum; and the Heritage and Celebrity Orchid Gardens.

38. Chinatown Heritage Centre

Chinatown is a very special district of Singapore, and I wrote about it in details earlier. However, it used to be very different from what we see today.

To get the glimpse in the past, visit the Chinatown Heritage Centre, which has been recently redeveloped. There are several floors inside a historical house on Pagoda Street in the heart of Chinatown where you can explore the life of tenants from back in the 1950s. The place has a very authentic vibe!

You’ll explore the tiny rooms occupied by a tailor and his apprentices, a trishaw rider, a carpenter, a hawker woman and her family, a samsui woman, a clog maker, and a family with eight kids. They all ate, slept, and even worked inside these confined spaces with no windows.

Additionally, there is an extensive insight into the daily life of Chinatown back in the day: where the people came from, how they worked, what they celebrated, and the festivals they struggled with. Don’t miss this museum if you’d like to truly feel how Chinatown has changed over the years!

39. Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre

Tiong Bahru Food Centre is a popular hawker centre (an open-air food market typical of Singapore and some other Asian sites like Hong Kong and Malaysia) with lots of small kiosks selling food from all over the world, but focusing on Asian food, of course.

It’s a great place to try street food from Singapore! You can find other shops here too, such as fresh produce and flowers. It’s busy all day long but especially in the evenings!

You can spot lots of murals in the area, commemorating the sites that were demolished during the district redevelopment.

We also popped into the Tiong Bahru Bakery for some delicious croissants and coffee.

40. Haw Par Villa

There is a very unusual Singapore landmark you probably haven’t heard of—the Haw Par Villa!

This cultural theme park is dedicated to Chinese folklore, mythology, and religions such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Previously known as the Tiger Balm Garden, it was founded in 1937 by Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, two brothers who invented Tiger Balm, the herbal heating cream everyone knows in Asia.

This rub is said to treat where it hurts! The brothers brought this recipe with them to Singapore from Burma in the 1920s and turned it into a very prosperous pharmaceutical business.

The original villa was bombed and occupied by the Japanese during WWII and was eventually destroyed but later rebuilt.

Now it may not be that popular, but it’s still a very good spot to see, especially because they have a unique Hell Museum!

Here you can explore the afterlife beliefs in different religions and walk through the dioramas of the Chinese Ten Courts of Hell! Of course, it’s a bit scary but educational as well.

There is also Cafe 1937 where you can try traditional kopi served in an old-fashioned cup along with Kaya toast.

41. Singapore Cable Car

Want to enjoy the best bird’s-eye views of the city? Ask me how to see them without a drone! These cutest gondolas are part of the Singapore Cable Car, which opened in 1974.

It starts from Mount Faber and goes to Sentosa Island across Keppel Harbour, with cruise liners and Vivo Shopping Mall. A couple of years ago, some cabins were decorated with Pokémons and Pokéballs. However, we went not for the Hello Kitty gondolas but for an exclusive SkyOrb (which comes with an extra fee)—it’s one of the most modern glass-bottomed cabins just introduced in 2024.

Simply breathtaking views over the Resort of Sentosa are accompanied by convenience, as it’s definitely a fun way to get to Sentosa. Next, you can switch from the Faber Mountain line to the Sentosa line to observe an even better view over Siloso Beach. I’d suggest buying a round-trip pass to enjoy all the views!

After your trip, come to Resorts World Sentosa, which has a shopping mall, restaurants, the Michael Hotel Sentosa, and access to Universal Park or the Aquarium.

42. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, a part of the National University of Singapore, focuses on evolution, biodiversity, Malaysian and Singaporean flora and fauna.

The idea of the museum belongs to Stamford Raffles (yes, that man again!), and the collection was initially started as part of the Raffles Museum in the mid-19th century (it was later turned into the National Museum of Singapore). We loved it a lot: it features numerous educational short films and highlights important scientific concepts that all kids must be aware of from a young age.

43. Asian Civilisations Museum

The Asian Civilisations Museum is a unique museum dedicated almost solely to Asia (there are also some exhibitions on Islamic and Christian art).

Here you can learn about the maritime trade that shaped the entire area of Southeast Asia, including insights into the Tang shipwreck that welcomes you into the galleries. The second floor is dedicated to a set of religious and folk beliefs common among the people of the region.

The last floor contains marvelous examples of Asian decorative elements such as textiles from India and jewelry.

The temporary exhibition is dedicated to a pagoda collection originally carved by hand in 1915 in Shanghai and now reunited.

This museum is also super family-friendly! There are tasks and trails for kids, and there’s also a pagoda corner where you can construct your own pagoda from LEGO or paper.

2. Rainforest Wild ASIA

Rainforest Wild ASIA is known as ‘the first wildlife adventure park in Asia’, and this is very true – it felt like a civilised and just a tiny bit artificial safari park! Despite the weather, we decided to give a thumbs up to the Rainforest ASIA park (we bought our tickets in advance) and didn’t regret it.

This is not a zoo; it’s a close rainforest simulation adapted for humans to get a slow adrenaline rush and to search for animals in the wild (they have LOTS of space and can hide whenever they want).

It felt good and safe for both humans and animals. There are 36 species of animals living here, and we had a chance to see a tiger, a tapir, some hogs, a crocodile, various turtles, and different species of monkeys and squirrels despite the stormy weather.

There are three large zones: the karsts, the forest treks, and the cavern. Even if you know they are human-made, they look very impressive! For someone who simply loves plants, this park was like a candy shop, with so many plant species growing around.

There are a few routes you can follow: ‘wilder’ ones, those with easy hiking and ramps for strollers and wheelchairs, or simply those who feel less adventurous that day. There are also some perks for those who’d like to acquire a deeper experience as an explorer: you can find narrow hanging bridges, jumping canopies, cave exploration, and much more. Don’t get discouraged if you’d simply like to walk around, as there’s an accessible easy route available for everyone.

45. Children’s Museum

The Children’s Museum is located inside a historical colonial house near Fort Canning Park, which was previously part of a school.

There are two floors of activities for kids under 12, all linked to Singapore’s history, including hawkers and street food, traditional markets, a post office, and exhibits about maritime history. It is highly recommended for kids for an hour or two on a rainy day!

Where to stay: Marina Bay Sands family suit

Without doubt, the Marina Bay Sands is one of my favourite hotels in the world.

And there is a good reason behind that! It’s stylish, it has amazing views, an observational deck and the world-famous infinity pool, Gardens by the bay is super close as well as the Shoppers.

For our second time we stayed in this iconic hotel of Singapore we opted for a family suite – and George had his own room.

Additional perks were the super stylish interior of kid’s room with double bed, and some presents such as activity books, backpacks with Rori the lion,a symbol of the hotel, bath toy and soft toy and so on.

Oh, and did I mention that if you stay at MBS and get a Family Explorers pack, you get unlimited sampan boat rides, access to the ArtScience Museum and Canvas area, plus one limousine transfer, complimentary breakfasts, some credit to use in restaurants, and other perks?