The most efficiently run city in the world and one of its great food cities — hawker centres with Michelin-starred stalls, a colonial core alongside futuristic architecture, and Gardens by the Bay.
Getting There
Fly into Changi Airport (SIN) — consistently rated the world's best airport. The MRT metro from the airport reaches the city in 30 minutes. Singapore is a natural stopover on routes between Europe and Australia or between Europe and Southeast Asia.
The Food
This is the main reason to be here. Singapore's hawker centre culture — open-air food courts where dozens of individual stalls serve single dishes refined over generations — produced the world's first street food stall with a Michelin star (Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle) and dozens of other stars across the hawker system. Important hawker centres: Newton, Maxwell Food Centre, Old Airport Road, Tiong Bahru. A complete meal costs £3–6. The hawker centres are not tourist attractions designed for visitors; they are where Singaporeans eat every day, and the quality reflects that.
The Architecture
Gardens by the Bay (the Supertree Grove and the climate-controlled Flower Dome and Cloud Forest biomes) is one of the most extraordinary landscape and architecture projects of the 21st century — visit at night when the Supertrees are illuminated. The National Museum of Singapore is excellent for understanding the colonial and postcolonial history. The Peranakan Museum covers the distinctive Straits Chinese culture. Walking along the Singapore River from the CBD to Boat Quay gives the best condensed view of old and new Singapore.
Neighbourhoods
Chinatown is worth a morning. Little India (around Serangoon Road) is more raucous and more interesting. Kampong Glam (the Malay quarter around the Sultan Mosque) is the best area for textiles and the best Middle Eastern food in the city. Tiong Bahru is the oldest housing estate in Singapore and now contains some of the city's best independent cafes and bookshops.
Practical Notes
Singapore is clean, safe, and efficient to a degree that other cities find bewildering. Rules are enforced — no eating or drinking on the MRT, no gum, no jaywalking. The food is extraordinary and the city works perfectly. It's one of the most pleasant urban environments on earth.
Posts from Singapore
Singapore's Hawker Centres: The Definitive Eating Guide
Singapore's hawker centres are a UNESCO-recognised cultural phenomenon — and more importantly, the greatest concentration of excellent cheap food anywhere in Asia. Here is where to go and what to order.
Reviews from Singapore
Raffles Hotel Singapore: Colonial Legend, Post-Restoration
After a two-year, £120-million restoration completed in 2019, Raffles Singapore has returned to the standard its legend demands. It remains the most important hotel in Southeast Asia and, quite possibly, the finest colonial hotel in the world.
Videos from Singapore
Singapore Hawker Centres: The World's Best Street Food
Singapore's hawker centres are UNESCO-listed cultural heritage — and the best place on earth to eat well cheaply. We visit Maxwell Food Centre, Lau Pa Sat, and Old Airport Road, and eat the ten dishes you absolutely must try.
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