The Best Singapore Landmarks and Must Dos

By <a href="#author-bio">Stuart Bak</a>
By Stuart Bak
Published: July 18, 2024
The iconic Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

Singapore is one enormous playground, with stacks of fun things to do for all ages, from wild theme park rides to formal garden; down’n’dirty street food to Michelin-starred dining. And, while there’s no such thing as an exhaustive list of all the best Singapore landmarks and must dos, we’ve compiled a short guide to some of the city’s absolute must-sees. Dive in to discover what made our list, including:

  • Merlion Park
  • Singapore Zoo
  • The Sentosa cable car
  • Raffles Hotel
  • Kampong Glam
  • Gardens by the Bay
  • The Marina Bay Sands laser show

Merlion Park

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Can you even say you’ve been to Singapore without grabbing a selfie by the island’s massive mythical mascot? With the body of a fish and water-spouting head of a lion, the 8.6-meter, 70-tonne Merlion statue is truly a sight to behold. You’ll find it in Merlion Park with its diminutive two- meter, three-tonne ‘Merlion Cub’ nearby, and fine views out across the bay.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

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To describe this sprawling 200-acre oasis of vibrant tropical flora as ‘mature gardens’ would be something of an understatement. Here since 1859, it's the only tropical garden on the planet to have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To understand why, simply breathe in the heady scents of the Ginger Garden, enjoy a moment of quiet reflection on the shores of Swan Lake or take a stroll to the picture-postcard bandstand. Don’t miss the park’s star attraction: the National Orchid Garden with its thousands of powerfully scented and eye-poppingly gorgeous blooms.

Spectra at Marina Bay Sands

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Marina Bay Sands Resort, one of Singapore’s most recognizable landmarks, is pretty spectacular in its own right, with its trio of soaring skyscrapers topped with a space-age observation deck and vast infinity pool. The Spectra light and water show really puts on the ritz though, with visual projections, mist effects, lasers and a rousing orchestral symphony that dazzle audiences nightly. Experience it from the plaza, or get a stunning bird’s eye view from the resort’s SkyPark observation platform, a knee-knocking 57 floors up.

Lau Pa Sat

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No visit to Singapore would be complete without hitting up a hawker center to sample some of the finest street food in Asia. And Lau Pa Sat in the Central Business District is among the very best. One of the finest historical landmarks in Singapore, this beautifully restored octagonal Victorian market building oozes old-world Singapore charm, with a decorative internal cast-iron frame that’s filled with the heady scents of zingy chili crab, fragrant Hainanese chicken and, of course, the mother of all Singapore street-food snacks: delectable skewers of chargrilled pork smothered in sticky peanut satay sauce. Unmissable.

Singapore Zoo

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Frequently cited as one of the best things to do in Singapore (and certainly one of the most popular), Singapore Zoo is well worth the day trip. Zones here include a rainforest inside a massive biodome, home to thousands of critters including cute golden lion tamarin monkeys, two-toed sloths and all manner of colorful amphibians and birdlife. Head to the plains of Wild Africa where you might spot a shy white rhino or inquisitive giraffe, and meet regal horned lizards, king cobras, panther chameleons and electric blue geckos in the epic RepTopia reptile house.

Sentosa Cable Car

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There are a few ways to reach Sentosa, the tiny tropical island just off Singapore’s south coast, but none quite as fun as the cable car. Soaring 200 feet above sea level, this 15-minute journey is a Singapore must-do, with views of Sentosa’s beaches and lush foliage as you cross. This is a thrill ride with a gentle pace that limbers you up for the somewhat more high octane entertainments – rollercoasters, bungee ropes, sky-high swings – that you’ll encounter on arrival. You can even have dinner and drinks on board a private cable car as you and your partner take in the sunset views over three courses. Fear not: two round-trip rotations of the circuit ensure there’s no need to rush dessert.

Raffles Hotel

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They don’t come much more iconic than this 19th-century grande dame hotel, one of the most historical landmarks in Singapore. Stop by the Raffles Hotel to admire its pristine colonial-style architecture and, perhaps more importantly, to sample a Singapore Sling, the fruity tropical cocktail that was invented right here more than a century ago. You’ll be in good company, too: Raffles has hosted a who’s who of ultra-glam stars down the years: Elizabeth Taylor, Christian Louboutin, Rudyard Kipling and Queen Elizabeth II, to name-drop just a few. Chin chin!

Punggol Waterway Park

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Punggol Waterway Park in the northeast of the island is an Instagram addict’s dream come true, all weird, wonderful and outright wacky bridges, spanning wetlands that teem with native wildlife. Seek out the Sunrise Bridge for its photogenic pillarbox-red railings and long, snaking walkway and grab your perfect sunset selfie on the Jewel Bridge with its distinctive dome. Add to this some incredible waterfront views, a sand-and-water play zone for the kids and a peaceful therapeutic garden and you’ve got everything you need for a divine day out.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

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Discover the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth at the pagoda-style Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in downtown Singapore. Whether the main event here – a 7.5cm-long tooth displayed in a huge golden stupa – actually originated from the mouth of the Buddha is a matter we'll leave to your discretion, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the intricate and colorful architecture here, even for non-believers.

Henderson Waves Bridge

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Not to be outdone by the funky bridges in Punggol Park Waterway, the Southern Ridges trail on the island’s south coast features the highest – and quite possibly most extraordinary – pedestrianized bridge in Singapore. We’re talking of course about Henderson Waves, a striking landmark with undulating steel ribs that snake over and under the walkway, creating a quite stunning work of art to connect Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill Park over the busy Henderson Road 36 meters below. Look out for colorful tropical critters including red-whiskered bulbuls, banded bay cuckoos and orange-bellied flowerpeckers along the way.

Kampong Glam

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Kampong Glam is one of Singapore’s hippest ‘hoods, where the glorious golden dome of the Sultan Mosque rises like a shining beacon over the surrounding labyrinth of streets and alleyways. Arab Street is a must-visit for its seemingly timeless antique stores. These great cavernous treasure troves heave with Turkish handicrafts and goods including intricate textiles, ceramics and mosaic lanterns. Head to Sifr Aromatics’ fabulous Arab Street perfume emporium to design your own unique scents and take them home in delicate colored-glass bottles.

Gardens by the Bay

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Last but certainly not least, Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay are recognized the world over for their magnificent glass hothouses (designed to look but thankfully not smell like overgrown durian fruits), and the futuristic Supertree Grove with its towering structures that are festooned with plantlife. Get up close to these supersized trees on a stroll around the elevated walkway that connects them, and come back after dark to see them lit up in all their glory at the hugely entertaining light and music show.

Save on attractions and activities in Singapore

Save on admission to Singapore attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.

Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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Young family eating lunch together
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Family-Friendly Restaurants in Singapore

What makes a restaurant family friendly? Ask most parents of small kids and they’ll likely say play areas and activity corners first, baby-changing facilities second and a decent kids’ menu third (or, better still, a kids-eat-free option). Good news: Singapore is a fab destination to visit as a family, boasting not only a world-class zoo, great theme parks, an aquarium and dozens of other kiddie-tastic attractions, but also a plethora of cafés and restaurants that are perfect for families and that raise the bar well above the usual soulless international fast food joints. Don’t worry though, there are plenty of those too! We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite family-friendly Singapore eateries, from toddler-pleasing cafés with playgrounds to rip-roaring restaurants for ravenous teenagers. Open Farm Community Let’s start as we (sort of) mean to go on with a healthy option that won’t have the kiddos turning their noses up in disgust. The Open Farm Community is a verdant urban oasis, just south of Singapore’s sprawling Botanic Gardens. Wander among beds of organic herbs and vegetables in the restaurant’s expansive grounds, the air heavy with the scent of basil and thyme. Pause for family selfies by the arty sculptures and challenge the kids to a game of bowls on the lawn. Appetite well and truly worked up, you’ll love the menu of garden-fresh crowd-pleasers that includes bolognese, fish and chips and flatbreads for the kids, and sharing platters of salmon, duck and eggplant for the grown-ups. Yum. Find it: 130E Minden Road, Singapore 248819 Tiong Bahru Bakery Safari Sticking with the green theme, Tiong Bahru Bakery Safari is pretty much next door to the Open Farm Community, so an ideal pitstop if you’re staying in the sassy Dempsey Hill neighborhood. Expect a range of breads and pastries and dine-in dishes including sourdough waffles and fresh garden salads. The safari theme includes plenty of lush tropical foliage around a large tent (for that outdoorsy eating vibe), as well as a fab playground and an edible garden for intrepid young jungle explorers to discover. It’s from right here that the ingredients for this eatery’s salads are plucked daily, though you can of course opt for a great big slab of carrot cake and a coffee instead. Find it: 130E Minden Road, Singapore 248819 Bayswater Kitchen Lazy weekend brunches don’t get much more perfect than at Bayswater Kitchen, a breezy, informal diner overlooking Keppel Bay Marina. The Sunday menu, served 11AM–3PM (also public holidays), is particularly good. Parents can grab a table al fresco and gorge on freshly shucked oysters and whole grilled snapper with bottomless prosecco while watching the yachts bobbing gently in the turquoise waters. For kids: classics including burgers and fish and chips. Foosball and ping-pong tables and a playground should also keep them entertained long enough to justify just one more glass of prosecco... Find it: 2 Keppel Bay Vista, Singapore 098382 Trapizza Just across the bay on the northern tip of sunny Sentosa Island, Trapizza is about as family-friendly as Singapore restaurants come. Close enough to the shore to dip your toes in the bay’s warm waters, this is a pizza joint par excellence, with a huge range of 16-inch sharing options with classic toppings from Siciliana to quattro formaggi and – love it or loathe it – Hawaiian. Kids can go solo with build your own bento lunches including a choice of pasta, sauce, veggies and juice, plus a slice of pizza on the side. Dedicated play zones and a coloring corner will also keep little uns busy while the grown-ups finish their Singapore Slings. Find it: Shangri-La Rasa Resort, 101 Siloso Road, Singapore 098970 SandBank You don’t need an excuse to visit Singapore’s East Coast Park with its white sands, swaying coconut palms, abundant wildlife and – critically – excellent play areas. But if you did, SandBank is it. A dedicated kids’ menu and a 15-meter plunge pool keep kids of all ages entertained, while parents tuck into chargrilled meat and seafood dishes, handmade pizzas and freshly baked treats from the on-site bakery. Find it: 920 East Coast Parkway, Parkland Green, Singapore 449875 Platform 1094 Singapore’s roster of themed restaurants ranges from Hello Kitty to Japanese animé. Harry Potter-inspired eatery Platform 1094 lies somewhere in between, with wizard-themed decor, fun dressing up materials and, naturally, oodles of Instagram opportunities. We’re talking cute owl-shaped cookies, wizardy tableware, cauldron-shaped serving plates, Quidditch-themed desserts, and magical dry smoke effects aplenty. There are brightly colored flaming cocktails for the grown-ups, too. For a treat, book the Enchanted Afternoon Tea which includes savory snacks and sweet treats such as chocolate frogs and golden blood mousse. Find it: 1094 Serangoon Road, Singapore 328192 Baker & Cook Baker & Cook’s belly-busting brunches and foot-log sourdough pizza ‘planks’ are fast earning it a reputation as a Singapore institution. Hit up the Dempsey location for all of the above, plus a kids’ menu that includes irresistible Nutella sandwiches, truffle fries and mini cheeseburgers with fries. The airy glasshouse dining area overlooks a large leafy garden with a shaded play area, so the kids can let loose while adults enjoy some much-needed downtime accompanied by great pizza, healthy garden salads, grazing platters and a long list of excellent red and white wines from New Zealand. Find it: 30C Loewen Road, Singapore 248839 Waffle Place Kampong Glam, Singapore’s Muslim district, isn’t short on great places to eat, but for family-pleasing goodness, the Waffle Place is hard to beat. This eye-catching halal café serves up a kaleidoscope of waffle toppings with flavor combinations to satisfy every palate. Try crispy-skin salmon with spicy mentaiko mayo sauce or go for crispy chicken with fried egg, mayo and maple syrup. Kids will no doubt insist on sweeter options like strawberry cheese and classic apple pie flavors, or can have fun creating their own topping combos with fruit, marshmallows, chocolate flakes, whipped cream and more. Find it: 56 Kandahar St, Singapore 198904 Hawker Centers Singapore’s legendary hawker centers are a sensory explosion of steaming hot plates, heady spice-laden aromas and Instagrammable food stalls. Take the kids to any one of around 100 of these bustling foodie meccas across the city for maximum selfie opportunities and to give them as wide a choice of different cuisines as you’re likely to find under one roof. Sizzling BBQ pork, zingy fried noodles, fish head curry and lime-drenched chili crab might be at the more adventurous end for younger kids, but sticky peanut satay, melt-in-the mouth steamed bao buns and more takeaway desserts than you can shake a very large stick at should be enough to keep everyone happy. Check out the likes of the Old Airport Road Food Centre, Ghim Moh Market and Adam Road hawker center for some of the most mouthwatering snacks in the eastern hemisphere! Find them: everywhere! Save on attractions and activities in Singapore Save on admission to Singapore attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Loris in a tree.
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Singapore Night Safari Walking Trails

Singapore’s Night Safari is the world’s first nocturnal zoo, part of the epic Mandai Wildlife Reserve which also boasts Singapore Zoo, Bird Paradise and River Wonders among its uber-popular attractions. The Night Safari’s whopping 86 acres of parkland houses some 100 species of night-loving creatures, with around 900 different animals to meet on its themed walking trails and tram tour. We’re talking Tasmanian devils, clouded leopards, giant anteaters, flying foxes, barking deer and more. You won’t even need night-vision goggles to spot these crepuscular critters going about their dusky maneuvers. Artificial moonlight means your eyes soon become accustomed to the gloom, allowing you to observe the inhabitants of this tropical forest during the hours of darkness, when even the slowest of lorises will be at its most active. The whole thing is open-air, too, with many curious critters often only separated from you, their human counterparts, by cattle grids. Board the complimentary tram for a 40-minute wildlife adventure complete with audio commentary, or stroll the four themed Night Safari walking trails to get even closer to the park’s residents. Our expert guide to the East Lodge Trail, Fishing Cat Trail, Leopard Trail and Tasmanian Devil Trail gives you the lowdown on what to expect from each walk. East Lodge Trail Titans of the African savannah meet majestic beasts from the Asian tropics on the awe-inspiring East Lodge Trail. This is where you’ll find cartoonish African aardvarks rubbing shoulders (or perhaps snouts) with majestic Malayan tigers and shaggy sloth bears (metaphorically speaking, of course). Compare African red river hogs with their distant babirusa cousins from the Indonesia island of Sulawesi. And see servals, spotted hyenas, bongos, white-faced owls and more peering at you suspiciously from their enclosures. Fishing Cat Trail If you’re a fan of oddball animals, this is the walking trail for you. Alongside the titular fishing cat – a small but muscular beast which, if you’re lucky, you might even see living up to its name at suppertime – you can expect to encounter spectacled owls, whistling ducks, gray-handed night monkeys and giant Asian pond turtles. Star of the show here, however, is the unbearably cute Sunda pangolin. These prehistoric-looking critters have been driven to the edge of extinction by poachers and motor vehicles – here’s your chance to see one living its best life in the safety and security of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. You’ll also spot palm civets frolicking in the vines like mini Tarzans, see the eyes of the slow loris glowing in the twilight, and hear the bone-chilling sound of the barking muntjac deer. Leopard Trail There’s more than just leopards along this trail, where animals indigenous to the Asian peninsula rule the roost. There are, as we have already established, leopards. Clouded leopards, for example, with their huge (and frankly terrifying) jaws. And leopard cats, which look a lot like domestic cats, but with pimped-up hunting skills that go well beyond your little Simba’s penchant for attacking balls of wool. Joining these formidable creatures of the night are majestic Asiatic lions from India’s Gir National Park and huge Malayan flying foxes that soar between the treetops. You can also meet inquisitive palm civets, ferociously cute bushbabies, powerful hog badgers and prickly porcupines. Tasmanian Devil Trail Further weird and wonderful beasts await intrepid night-time explorers of the Tasmanian Devil Trail, where it's all about animals of Antipodean origin. We’re talking New Zealand’s North Island brown kiwi, tree-dwelling sugar gliders, wallabies and – undisputed stars of the show here – the carnivorous critters that give the trail its name. If you’re lucky enough to reach their enclosure at feeding time, you’ll be rewarded with the bloodcurdling screeches and screams that accompany all mealtimes, as well as the spectacle of these ferocious little beasties tearing their supper to shreds in a feeding frenzy that puts larger animals to shame. Guided Tram Ride Before embarking on the Night Safari walking trails for those unforgettable up-close experiences with the animals, you should consider taking a ride on the tram. It’s a cool way to get a broad overview of the park, and means you get to catch a glimpse of some residents – including hippos and Asian elephants – that can only be viewed from the tram, not from the walking trails. The 40-minute narrated ride departs from right at the park entrance and takes you on a journey through six geographical regions, from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the Himalayas' lofty peaks. It’s included with your ticket and is the ideal appetite-whetter for your Night Safari experience. Creatures of the Night Show Also worthy of your attention is this twice-nightly show (three times on weekends) in the Night Safari Amphitheatre, in which expert handlers present a variety of the park’s animal ambassadors, such as the bearded pigs, raccoon dogs, Asian small-clawed otters and fennec foxes. Entry to the show is included with your ticket but you’ll need to book a seat at your preferred performance. You can do this via the park’s booking portal up to two hours before each presentation. Ticket Info and Opening Hours General admission to the Night Safari is included with a Singapore attractions pass from Go City, which can save you money if you plan to visit multiple Singapore attractions. The pass includes entry to the other Mandai Wildlife Reserve parks, plus Gardens by the Bay, SkyHelix Sentosa, the National Museum of Singapore, and more. Alternatively, you can buy tickets direct from the official Night Safari website, where options include multi-park tickets and other add-on experiences. The Night Safari is open daily from 7.15PM until midnight. Last entry is at 11.15PM. Save on attractions and activities in Singapore Save on admission to Singapore attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Woman Looking at Singapore Skyline
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Singapore in 24 Hours: A Day of Must-Sees, Eats, and Adventures

Only got 24 hours in Singapore? Here’s how to do it all!

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