Fort Canning, the Forbidden Hill

Most people exploring the Civic District stay down on the flat among the museums and never climb the hill behind them. We'd start higher. Fort Canning Park keeps the island's story in a spice garden and an old colonial gate, and in a bunker underground where the British decided to surrender. Our pick is a morning up here: be among the spices by 8.30am, head into the Battlebox when it opens at 10am, then walk down to the Armenian Church for noon. Give the spice garden and the Battlebox about 90 minutes each, and the same for any museum you add.

The park covers 22 hectares and is open 24 hours, so you can arrive whenever suits you, and early suits you best. From Dhoby Ghaut MRT it's 8 to 10 minutes uphill, and Dhoby Ghaut Green, the lawn above the interchange, is a good place to sit once you're back down. Fort Canning MRT, on the Downtown Line, is about 10 minutes away. Either way it's a climb, so we'd do it before the heat builds. Wheelchair users can only get into the park from the drop-off at the Cox Terrace roundabout, so arrange to be dropped there.

The spice garden and Fort Gate

Long before the British, this was Bukit Larangan, the Forbidden Hill. The Malays gave it that name because a palace stood on top and ordinary people kept away. Raffles planted an experimental garden up here in 1822, the island's first go at the plant-collecting that the Botanic Gardens still carry on. Later the old Christian cemetery became parkland, gently at first and then all at once, which is how this city tends to handle its history.

The spice garden is where to begin. It holds more than 180 varieties of herbs and spices, and pandan is usually the first thing your nose picks up. Crush a leaf between your fingers and try to guess it. A short walk on, the Fort Gate is the last remnant of the colonial fort. The park also keeps 15 heritage trees, and the ASEAN Sculpture Garden rewards anyone who enjoys reading a plaque.

Down into the Battlebox

On 15 February 1942, British commanders sat in a bunker 9 metres under this hill and decided to surrender Singapore. That bunker is the Battlebox, at 2 Cox Terrace, and it's the hour we'd build the rest of the morning around. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, public holidays included, from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5pm, and it's closed on Mondays. Dhoby Ghaut is about eight minutes away on foot. If you're driving, Fort Canning Park Carpark B is the closest.

There are two ways in, and you'll need to book either one. Basic entry is free, with a limited number of slots. The enhanced experience costs S$20 for adults or S$15 for Singaporeans and PRs, and children aged 5 to 17 pay S$15, or S$10 for Singaporeans and PRs. That buys a 40-minute audio tour, two projection rooms and a pair of anaglyph glasses to take home. We'd pay for it, because the audio is what turns a set of rooms into a story. Bookings can't be cancelled, so settle your plans before you pay.

The audio plays on your own phone, so bring it charged, along with earphones. A few devices are lent out on site, first come, first served. Children under 4 get in free but go without audio or glasses, and children 12 and under need a paying adult with them. Inside it's cool and dim, with plenty of stairs, so leave the pram behind. Keep the flash off for the whole visit.

The Heritage Gallery and walks

If the bunker was enough war for one morning, the Fort Canning Heritage Gallery is a gentler half hour. It's free and usually close to empty, with artefacts dating back to the 1300s and the hill's own story. It's typically open from 10am to 6pm. Groups and film shoots on the hill need a Park Use Request first, and so, it turns out, does a marriage proposal. The Tree Tunnel is looked after by LTA rather than NParks, so any questions about it go to LTA.

NParks runs free guided walks on the hill from time to time, and you book them through NParks. Heritage on the Hill is on 3 October from 10am to noon, and Trees of the Fort follows on 10 October from 10am to 11.30am. If you'd rather have a storyteller who knows all the names, the Saturday tour is led by park volunteers, and the Battlebox is a booked extra. The park is free either way; the Battlebox is the part you pay for or book.

Hill Street and the museums

From the hill it's about 10 minutes downhill to the Armenian Church at 60 Hill Street. It's Coleman's chapel from 1835, which makes it Singapore's oldest church. Entry is free and 10 minutes covers the inside, though the garden is where we'd linger. The Peranakan Museum at 39 Armenian Street sits opposite, two minutes' walk away. It's open daily from 10am to 7pm, until 9pm on Fridays, with last admission half an hour before closing.

We'd stop at one museum a day, and after the bunker even one might feel like plenty. The National Museum at 93 Stamford Road is five minutes from Exit B of Bras Basah MRT and opens daily from 10am to 7pm, with last tickets at 6pm. Its Singapore History Gallery reopens on 10 October; until then, go for the building itself. The National Gallery, four minutes from Exit B of City Hall MRT, is open every day, which makes it the easy pick when the Battlebox is shut.

Two more are worth knowing. The National Archives at 1 Canning Rise has free exhibitions from 10am to 9pm, with staff on hand on weekdays from 10am to 6.30pm. It's a quiet stop for anyone who likes old files.

Sri Thendayuthapani, the Chettiar temple on Tank Road, is about 10 minutes from Dhoby Ghaut towards the river. It's the finish of the Thaipusam procession, usually in January, and a quiet hall the rest of the year, so we'd save it for a morning of its own. Take your shoes off at the entrance and cover your shoulders.

In the Dhoby Ghaut area, the House of Tan Yeok Nee at 101 Penang Road is the only one of Singapore's Four Grand Mansions still standing. This National Monument was built in the 1880s by a Teochew businessman, and a gallery follows the house from family home to refuge and school. It's free and open daily from 10am to midnight.

Beyond the hill

On a Monday the bunker's closed, but the rest of the park stays open, so give the morning to the spice garden and the Fort Gate. Then go on to the National Library at 100 Victoria Street, which opens at 10am, or head to Singapore City Gallery at Maxwell, open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm. During Formula 1 race week, 7 to 13 October, Stamford Road sits inside the circuit fence, so come in via Coleman Street or from Fort Canning MRT.

The river is close too. STPI at 41 Robertson Quay is five minutes from Fort Canning MRT along the water, open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm and closed on Sundays and public holidays. Or go downhill to the Raffles Arcade for a verandah and a Singapore Sling, if you'd like a drink with some history in it.

Mount Emily Park is another small hill with its own grass, if one wasn't enough. The Cenotaph sits below in Esplanade Park by the Padang, a 1922 war memorial worth 15 quiet minutes, and City Hall MRT also serves it. It makes a good last stop while the Battlebox is still in your head. On the way out, glance back up at Fort Canning. The hill looks different once you know what's under it.