7 -Day Singapore Itinerary

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What to eat today

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Singapore's hawker icon and its most culturally significant dish: poached free-range chicken served at precisely room temperature over rice cooked in chicken fat and stock; three condiments are mandatory: chilli sauce, ginger-spring onion oil and sweet dark soy; the chicken's silky, just-cooked texture is the skill benchmark; Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Centre is the queue everyone joins.

Day 2

⭐ Top Attractions

4 places

Marina Bay Sands

Moshe Safdie three-towered masterpiece is capped by a 340-metre long cantilevered SkyPark that holds the world largest infinity pool at an elevation of 200 metres; the structure is a triumph of 21st-century engineering and feng shui principles; stand at the northern observation deck at dusk; the city skyline turns into a grid of liquid light while the wind off the Singapore Strait provides a constant; cool friction.

Also nearby

Fort Siloso

Sultan Mosque

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

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What to eat today

Laksa

Singapore's most complex noodle soup: thick rice noodles in a coconut-cream curry broth of dried shrimp, candlenut, lemongrass, galangal and belachan topped with cockles, tofu puffs, prawns and a quenelle of sambal; Katong laksa uses short noodle pieces eaten with a spoon; 328 Katong Laksa is the most debated address in Singaporean food history.

Day 3

⭐ Top Attractions

4 places

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

A 163-hectare primary rainforest fragment containing more tree species than the entire North American continent; the summit marks Singapore highest point at 163 metres; traverse the steep granite paths of the Main Road at dawn; the sound of cicadas creates a dense; physical wall of noise; while the pre-flood light reveals the textured bark of 40-metre tall Dipterocarp trees slicked with overnight equatorial rain.

Also nearby

Night Safari

Singapore Zoo

Haw Par Villa

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What to eat today

Char Kway Teow

Singapore's wok-charred obsession: flat rice noodles and yellow egg noodles stir-fried at blistering heat in pork lard with prawns, cockles, lap cheong sausage, bean sprouts and chives; the wok hei (charred breath of the wok) from a coal fire hawker cannot be replicated electrically; the Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle uncle holds a Michelin star.

Day 4

⭐ Top Attractions

4 places

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

A Tang-style architectural monolith completed in 2007; featuring a 420-kilogram solid gold stupa housing the sacred relic; the exterior is defined by layered vermillion eaves and grey roof tiles; visit the fourth-floor Sacred Light Hall during the midday chanting; the light turns amber as it reflects off the thousands of miniature gold Buddha statues; the sound of rhythmic Sanskrit sutras creates a heavy; meditative resonance.

Also nearby

Peranakan Museum

Joo Chiat Road

Chek Jawa Wetlands

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What to eat today

Satay

Singapore's most evocative street food: marinated chicken, beef or mutton threaded on coconut palm skewers and grilled over fanned charcoal until charred and caramelised; served with a thick peanut sauce sweetened with palm sugar, a compressed rice cake (ketupat) and a dice of cucumber and raw onion; the Lau Pa Sat festival market at dusk is the canonical satay experience.

Day 5

⭐ Top Attractions

3 places

Henderson Waves

Singapore highest pedestrian bridge at 36 metres above the forest floor is defined by a seven-span steel undulation clad in yellow Balau timber slats; the bridge connects Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill; walk the deck at 7 pm when the LED illumination turns the timber a glowing honey hue; the view spans from the industrial cranes of Keppel Harbour to the dark; unbroken treeline of the southern ridges.

Also nearby

Lazarus Island

Jewel Changi Airport

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What to eat today

Seafood

Chilli Crab

Singapore's national dish and the most dramatic seafood experience in Southeast Asia: whole Sri Lankan mud crab stir-fried in a lava-thick sauce of tomato, chilli, egg and shrimp paste that clings to every crevice of the shell; eaten with bare hands and mantou (fried buns) to mop up the sauce; first created by Cher Yam Tian in 1956 at the original Palm Beach restaurant.

Day 6

⭐ Top Attractions

1 place

Armenian Church

The oldest Christian church in Singapore; built in 1835; is a Neoclassical masterwork by George Coleman featuring a circular internal space and deep doric porticos; the surrounding Memorial Garden contains weathered tombstones of the early Armenian community; sit in the pews at 10 am; the thick masonry walls keep the interior naturally chilled; while the light through the tall windows highlights the texture of the white-washed chunam plaster.

Explore this place →

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What to eat today

Breakfast

Kaya Toast

Singapore's most essential breakfast ritual, thick-cut white toast or steamed bun halves spread with kaya (a coconut and egg jam perfumed with pandan and caramelised to amber) and a cold slab of butter; eaten with two soft-boiled eggs in a bowl seasoned with white pepper and dark soy; dip the toast in the egg; consumed with kopi (local coffee) at any kopitiam from 6 a.m.