Culture in Singapore
Heritage, craft & stories. 126 listings — instant demos, partner tickets and free entries.
Best neighborhoods: Katong & Joo Chiat · Little India · Marina Bay · Chinatown · Jurong & the West · Kampong Glam
RequestKatong Peranakan Walk & Laksa Lab
Heritage shophouses, kueh tasting and a laksa masterclass
Sat, Sep 27·East Coast·S$75
RequestLittle India Spice Trail & Banana-Leaf Feast
Grind masalas, drape a sari, feast off a banana leaf
Sun, Sep 28·Little India·S$69
Instant demoGardens by the Bay Night Photography Walk
Supertrees, light shows and long-exposure tricks with a pro
Fri, Sep 26·Marina Bay·S$95
FreeEsplanade Outdoor Theatre
Free gigs on the waterfront
1 hour·Marina Bay·Free
FreeSri Mariamman Temple
Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, free
30 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeHaw Par Villa
Tiger Balm sculpture park — grounds partly closed
2 hours·Kent Ridge·Free
FreeBugis Street Market
Night market chaos, souvenirs, snacks
1.5 hours·Bugis·Free
FreeFort Siloso
Singapore's only preserved WWII coastal fort — free
2 hours·Sentosa·Free
FreeThian Hock Keng Temple
Oldest Hokkien temple, Telok Ayer, free
30 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeEmerald Hill
Peranakan terrace houses off Orchard
45 min·Orchard·Free
FreeKranji War Memorial
Commonwealth cemetery, free, quiet
1 hour·Kranji·Free
FreeEsplanade – Theatres on the Bay
The durian, concerts, free lobbies
1 hour·Marina Bay·Free
FreeCHIJMES
Gothic chapel, restaurants, a courtyard
45 min·Civic District·Free
FreeCapitol Theatre
Restored 1930s movie palace
varies·Civic District·Free
FreeKampong Lorong Buangkok
Singapore's last mainland kampong — a lived-in lane, not a museum
45 min·Central·Free
FreeSultan Mosque
The gold dome of Kampong Glam — visitor hours, not all day
45 min·Kampong Glam·Free
FreeSri Veeramakaliamman Temple
Kali on Serangoon Road, 1855
30 min·Little India·Free
FreeSri Srinivasa Perumal Temple
Start of the Thaipusam chariot route
30 min·Little India·Free
FreeKwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple
The luckiest temple on Waterloo Street
30 min·Bugis·Free
FreeKong Meng San Phor Kark See
Singapore's largest Buddhist monastery
2 hours·Central·Free
FreeLian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery
1902 monastery in Toa Payoh
1 hour·Central·Free
FreeArmenian Church of St Gregory
Singapore's oldest church, 1835
30 min·Civic District·Free
FreeAbdul Gafoor Mosque
Saracenic mosque in Little India, 1907
20 min·Little India·Free
FreeYueh Hai Ching Temple
Wak Hai Cheng Bio, Telok Ayer, 1826
30 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeSri Thendayuthapani Temple
Tank Road temple, Thaipusam's end point
30 min·River Valley·Free
FreeHaji Lane
Murals, independent shops, evening bars
1 hour·Kampong Glam·Free
FreeArab Street
Textiles, carpets, the better Kampong Glam street
1 hour·Kampong Glam·Free
FreeKoon Seng Road Shophouses
The pastel Peranakan terrace postcard
30 min·East Coast·Free
FreeCivilian War Memorial
Four pillars for four communities
20 min·Civic District·Free
FreeThe Cenotaph
Esplanade Park war memorial, 1922
15 min·Civic District·Free
FreeRaffles' Landing Site
The white statue, the river, the argument
15 min·Civic District·Free
FreeGillman Barracks
Contemporary galleries in 1936 army blocks — free precinct
2 hours·Harbourfront·Free
FreeDempsey Hill
Ex-barracks, restaurants, weekend browsing
2 hours·Bukit Timah·Free
FreeHolland Village
Expat-village cafes, a wet market, late bars
2 hours·Holland Village·Free
FreeLight to Night Festival
Civic District art after dark — January, annual
Evening·Civic District·Free
FreeSingapore Night Festival
Bras Basah.Bugis after dark — annual, typically Aug–Sep
Evening·Bugis·Free
PartnerChingay Parade
The big national street parade
3 hours·Citywide·From S$28
FreeRiver Hongbao
CNY lanterns on the bay
2 hours·Marina Bay·Free
FreeThaipusam Procession
Kavadi from Perumal to Tank Road
Half day·Little India·Free
PartnerPeranakan Batik Workshop
Wax, dye, a piece you take home
3 hours·Katong·From S$88
PartnerPottery Wheel Class
Throw a bowl, get muddy, keep the pot
2.5 hours·Tiong Bahru·From S$95
PartnerScentopia Perfume Workshop
Blend an orchid scent at Siloso — take the bottle home
2 hours·Sentosa·From S$95
PartnerChinese Calligraphy Class
Ink, brush, one character you might frame
2 hours·Chinatown·From S$55
PartnerSingapore Symphony Orchestra
The SSO at Esplanade or Victoria
2 hours·Marina Bay·From S$35
PartnerFilmhouse
Indie cinema at Golden Mile Tower — The Projector closed Aug 2025
2.5 hours·City Hall·From S$13
PartnerWild Rice at Funan
Singapore theatre, proper seats
2.5 hours·Civic District·From S$45
FreeNational Library Roof Garden
Free views, free AC, actual books
1 hour·Bugis·Free
FreeThe Arts House
The old Parliament House, now a venue
45 min·Civic District·Free
FreeVictoria Theatre & Concert Hall
The clock tower by the river
varies·Civic District·Free
FreeSingapore Chinese Cultural Centre
SINGAPO人 gallery and a rooftop over the CBD
1.5 hours·Chinatown·Free
FreeTemple of 1,000 Lights
Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya, 15-metre Buddha
30 min·Little India·Free
FreeBurmese Buddhist Temple
White marble Buddha, Tai Gin Road
30 min·Little India·Free
FreeWat Ananda Metyarama
Thai Buddhist temple, Bukit Merah
30 min·Tiong Bahru·Free
FreeHajjah Fatimah Mosque
The leaning minaret, Beach Road
20 min·Kampong Glam·Free
FreeJamae Chulia Mosque
South Indian mosque on South Bridge Road
20 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeHong San See
Hokkien temple on a hill, Mohamed Sultan
30 min·River Valley·Free
FreeTan Si Chong Su
Clan temple on Magazine Road
20 min·Clarke Quay·Free
FreeMaghain Aboth Synagogue
Singapore's oldest synagogue, Waterloo Street
30 min·Bugis·Free
FreeClifford Pier & The Fullerton Bay
The old embarkation pier, now a restaurant hall
30 min·Marina Bay·Free
FreeCavenagh Bridge
The 1869 suspension bridge, still walking
15 min·Civic District·Free
FreeHong Lim Park & Speakers' Corner
The only legal outdoor soapbox, plus a lawn
30 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeYouth Olympic Park
Sculptures on the Marina Barrage walk
20 min·Marina Bay·Free
FreeJapanese Cemetery Park
The largest Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia
1 hour·Central·Free
FreeMustafa Centre
24-hour department store, Little India
1.5 hours·Little India·Free
FreeOrchard Road Walk
The shopping mile, as a walk not a shop
2 hours·Orchard·Free
FreeChinatown Night Market
Pagoda Street after dark, souvenirs, snacks
1 hour·Chinatown·Free
FreeLucky Plaza
Filipino town on Orchard, Sundays especially
1 hour·Orchard·Free
FreeNational Day Parade
9 August, the Padang or the Bay, tickets or TV
Evening·Marina Bay·Free
PartnerTerrarium Workshop
A glass jar garden you take home
2 hours·Tiong Bahru·From S$68
PartnerKokedama Workshop
Japanese moss-ball planting
2 hours·Orchard·From S$75
PartnerHenna in Little India
A design on Serangoon Road, 20 minutes
30 min·Little India·From S$15
Freelibrary@esplanade
The performing-arts library, free, on the water
1 hour·Marina Bay·Free
Freelibrary@orchard
Design-forward public library in Orchard Central
45 min·Orchard·Free
FreeSt Andrew's Cathedral
The white church on the Padang, 1861
30 min·Civic District·Free
FreeCathedral of the Good Shepherd
Singapore's oldest Catholic cathedral
30 min·Civic District·Free
FreeCentral Sikh Temple
Gold dome in Towner, langar if you're invited
45 min·Central·Free
FreeMasjid Al-Abrar
Chulia mosque on Telok Ayer, 1827
20 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeSri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple
Ceylon Road Ganesha temple, Katong
30 min·East Coast·Free
FreeThe Padang
The field that is the civic centre
20 min·Civic District·Free
FreeOld Hill Street Police Station
The rainbow windows, MICA building
20 min·Civic District·Free
FreeThe Fullerton Hotel
The old GPO, now a hotel you can walk
30 min·Civic District·Free
FreeAliwal Arts Centre
Kampong Glam arts cluster in old school blocks
1 hour·Kampong Glam·Free
FreeGoodman Arts Centre
Studios in an old school, Mountbatten
1 hour·East Coast·Free
PartnerSingapore Chinese Orchestra
Huayi and the year-round hall concerts
2 hours·Chinatown·From S$28
PartnerStar Performing Arts Centre
The big hall above VivoCity
3 hours·Harbourfront·From S$68
FreeSMU City Campus Walk
A university folded into the Civic District
45 min·Civic District·Free
FreeNUS University Town
A campus town, a bridge, a view of the west
1.5 hours·Kent Ridge·Free
FreeElgin Bridge
The 1929 river crossing, lamps, the civic seam
10 min·Civic District·Free
FreeAnderson Bridge
F1 flies over it, the rest of the year you walk it
10 min·Civic District·Free
FreeBukit Brown Cemetery
The last great Chinese cemetery, still walkable
2 hours·Central·Free
FreeFort Tanjong Katong
Unearthed coastal fort under a Katong park
30 min·East Coast·Free
FreeGeylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar
The Ramadan night market, once a year
2 hours·Geylang·Free
FreeDeepavali Light-Up, Little India
Serangoon Road in lights, the ten days that matter
2 hours·Little India·Free
FreeChinatown Mid-Autumn
Community lanterns at Kreta Ayer — not New Bridge
2 hours·Chinatown·Free
FreeVesak Day Temple Circuit
Lanterns, chanting, vegetarian stalls
Half day·Chinatown·Free
FreeGolden Mile Complex
Little Thailand, conserved, still itself
1.5 hours·Kallang·Free
FreePeninsula Plaza
Little Myanmar on North Bridge Road
1 hour·Civic District·Free
FreeYue Hwa Chinese Products
The department store of Chinese medicine and silk
45 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeCity Plaza
Cheap fashion, Paya Lebar, a Sunday crowd
1 hour·Paya Lebar·Free
FreeFar East Plaza
Streetwear, tattoos, the other Orchard
1 hour·Orchard·Free
FreeBugis+
The mall next to the market, youth fashion
1 hour·Bugis·Free
FreeRead Bridge
Clarke Quay's iron bridge, 1881
10 min·Clarke Quay·Free
FreeColeman Bridge
The river crossing named for the architect
10 min·Civic District·Free
FreeLim Bo Seng Memorial
Esplanade Park, a resistance story
10 min·Civic District·Free
FreeTan Kim Seng Fountain
Victorian iron, Esplanade Park, drinking water once
10 min·Civic District·Free
PartnerLeathercraft Workshop
A wallet or a cardholder you actually made
3 hours·Tiong Bahru·From S$88
PartnerFloral Arrangement Workshop
A bunch you take home, not a mall bouquet
2 hours·Orchard·From S$78
Freelibrary@chinatown
A small public library above the Complex
30 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeTelok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
A national monument on the Telok Ayer strip
20 min·Chinatown·Free
FreeSri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple
Serangoon Road, a second Kali temple
25 min·Little India·Free
FreeFoo Hai Ch'an Monastery
A Geylang monastery, quieter than Kong Meng San
45 min·Geylang·Free
PartnerIstana Open House
Walk the grounds on selected public holidays
2 hours·Orchard·From S$2
FreeTampines Regional Library
A serious public library inside Our Tampines Hub
1 hour·Pasir Ris·Free
FreeWoodlands Regional Library
One of the biggest public libraries, north
1 hour·Kranji·Free
PartnerSilver Jewellery Workshop
A ring or a pendant you make and wear
3 hours·Kampong Glam·From S$98
PartnerCandle-Making Workshop
Scent, wax, a jar you take home
2 hours·Tiong Bahru·From S$68
FreeHungry Ghost Festival
Getai, offerings, the seventh lunar month
Evening·Citywide·Free
FreeSingapore Art Week
Galleries, museums, the civic district after dark
Evening·Civic District·Free
PartnerSingapore Writers Festival
Readings, arguments, the Arts House
Half day·Civic District·From S$15
PartnerSingapore International Festival of Arts
SIFA — the year's serious theatre and performance
varies·Civic District·From S$35
PartnerHuayi — Chinese Festival of Arts
Esplanade's Chinese-language season
varies·Marina Bay·From S$30
PartnerKalaa Utsavam
Indian arts festival at the Esplanade
varies·Marina Bay·From S$28
PartnerPesta Raya
Malay arts festival at the Esplanade
varies·Marina Bay·From S$25
FreeSingapore Biennale
The city's contemporary art blowout, every two years
Half day·Civic District·Free
PartnerWatercolour Workshop
Shophouses on paper, a quiet afternoon
2.5 hours·Tiong Bahru·From S$78
PartnerSoap-Making Workshop
A bar you take home, not another magnet
2 hours·Kampong Glam·From S$68