Mandai

The Botanic Gardens in the Tanglin district is an approximately 82-hectare park featuring lakes, themed gardens, and the National Orchid Garden. Since July 4, 2015, it has been listed as the first and, to date, only tropical botanical garden on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was established in 1859 by an Agricultural and Horticultural Society at its current location. Under Director Henry Nicholas Ridley, who took office in 1888, research into rubber cultivation was conducted here; his methods helped Malaya become the world's largest natural rubber producer.The Gardens are freely accessible daily from 5 AM to midnight. You can stroll from Swan Lake at Tanglin Gate across lawns and themed gardens to the National Orchid Garden, which is the only paid-admission area. Two MRT stations are located directly at the entrances: Botanic Gardens in the north and Napier in the south.

Orchard Road is Singapore's most famous shopping street, stretching approximately 2.5 kilometers through the city center. You'll come here to shop at malls like ION Orchard and Ngee Ann City, and for the Peranakan terraced houses of Emerald Hill right next door. The street presumably owes its name to the nutmeg, pepper, and fruit plantations that the dirt path led to from the 1830s onwards. After the decline of the plantations, villas and residential buildings emerged, but the major development into a shopping mile only began in the 1960s.Away from the main street, you'll find quieter corners: the terraced houses of Emerald Hill Road, the restored shophouses of Peranakan Place, and at the southeast end, the Istana presidential palace with Istana Park. You can reach the street via several MRT stations, including Orchard, Somerset, and Dhoby Ghaut.

Little India along Serangoon Road is Singapore's historic Indian quarter. You come for the Hindu temples, the biryani eateries, the Tekka Centre, and the 24-hour Mustafa Centre. It began as a cattle trading district: Indian immigrants, many of them cattle farmers, settled here, and in 1915, the Kandang Kerbau Market, named after the cattle trade, was established. The area was only named Little India in the 1980s at the initiative of the Singapore Tourism Board; in 1989, it was heritage listed. Many Singaporeans still call it Tekka today.Between the temples, eat at the Tekka Centre or Bismillah Biryani on Dunlop Street; afterwards, the Indian Heritage Centre is worth a visit. During Deepavali and Thaipusam, the district becomes a festival ground. The Little India MRT station is located on the North East Line and the Downtown Line.

Kampong Glam is Singapore's historic Malay-Muslim quarter, located north of the Singapore River. You come here for the Sultan Mosque, the fabric shops on Arab Street, the murals in Haji Lane, and the murtabak eateries along North Bridge Road. Following the 1819 treaty between the East India Company, Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, and Temenggong Abdul Rahman, the Sultan settled here with his entourage. The 1822 town plan allocated the area to the Sultan's court and to Malay, Arab, and Bugis traders; street names like Arab Street, Bussorah Street, and Muscat Street serve as a reminder of this.The golden domes of the Sultan Mosque are the focal point, surrounded by restored shophouses housing cafés and boutiques. The Malay Heritage Centre in the former Sultan's palace reopened in April 2026. Kampong Glam is a few minutes' walk from Bugis MRT station.

Tiong Bahru is Singapore's oldest public housing estate, a tranquil neighbourhood of curved 1930s Art Deco blocks southwest of Chinatown. You come for the architecture, the Tiong Bahru Market, home to some of the city's most renowned hawker stalls, and the cafés and bakeries that have set up shop on the ground floors.The name means 'new cemetery', from the Hokkien word 'tiong' for cemetery and the Malay 'bahru' for new. In 1927, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) acquired around 70 acres of land to build the country's first public housing estate here; the first block was ready for occupation in December 1936. Today, 20 pre-war blocks are heritage-listed. Between the blocks, you'll find a Monkey God Temple, murals depicting scenes from old Singapore, and one of the last surviving World War II air raid shelters.