1 destination · 28 things to do
Singapore
Singapore is the city-state that turned a swampy trading port into a garden with a skyline, and it is the easiest great city in Asia to do well on a short trip: spotless trains, English everywhere, food that costs a few dollars and wins Michelin attention, and a run of world-class attractions that stay open late because the heat makes evenings the best hours. The Supertrees of Gardens by the Bay light up to music every night beside the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome; Marina Bay Sands holds its boat-shaped SkyPark two hundred meters above the bay; the Night Safari, the first zoo built for after dark, shares a rainforest reserve with one of the best open-concept zoos on earth; and Sentosa packs beaches, the new Singapore Oceanarium and Universal Studios onto one island. This guide books the city properly, from timed sunset slots on the observation deck to the right hour for the Night Safari tram and the days the conservatories close for maintenance, and pairs it with the Singapore locals actually love: hawker centres recognised by UNESCO, shophouse lanes in Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Gelam, the National Gallery inside the old Supreme Court, the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens and the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi. Then it matches you to the right hotel, from the colonial calm of Raffles and the restored Fullerton to the rooftop pool everyone photographs, a resort hideaway on Sentosa and a value base on Orchard Road, because in a city this compact the right address saves hours.
