Island escapes and eco adventures

While Singapore is renowned for its modern architecture and rich culture, it also boasts a vibrant beach scene, particularly on Sentosa Island, ‘where discovery never ends’. Located off Singapore’s southern coast and once home to a British military fortress, you can reach the island not only by taxi, monorail, or bus, but now also by cable car for stunning bird’s-eye views.

Singapore is also known as being a very eco-friendly destination, with a vast array of parks, gardens, and nature reserves providing retreats in the midst of the city – many of them for free, including Singapore Botanic Gardens, the Garden Rhapsody Lightshow at the dazzling Gardens by the Bay, the MacRitchie Reservoir, and the Southern Ridges.

North of it, Little India is another lively enclave with brightly painted shophouses, colourful street art, temples, and mosques, while Kampong Gelam, Singapore’s Muslim Quarter, has an eclectic combination of old-school sundries shops and long-established textile stores, plus the gold-domed Sultan Mosque and the Malay Heritage Centre.

Last comes Katong-Joo Chiat, a residential conservation area in the east, winner of architecture heritage awards from the United Nations, UNESCO, and others. It's a vibrant Peranakan enclave, showcasing the unique culture of descendants from Chinese immigrants who intermarried with local Malays. Explore Peranakan artefacts including pots and jewellery at the Intan Museum, and sample the distinctive Peranakan cuisine.

There are plenty of free festivals and events during the year, including Chinese New Year in January/February and the Dragon Boat Racing Festival each June. There’s also the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, with mooncake feasts and lantern-carrying in venues, including Chinatown and Chinese Garden, Deepavali – the Hindu festival of lights – in October/November, and Buddhist and Muslim festivals too.