Singapore: The City-State That Reinvented What a City Could Be

Singapore is a city-state of 5.9 million people on an island of 733 square kilometres at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula — one of the most densely populated places on Earth and one of the wealthiest, with a GDP per capita that ranks among the highest in the world. The city was founded as a British trading post by Stamford Raffles in 1819, became a Crown Colony in 1867, was occupied by Japan during the Second World War, and achieved independence in 1965 after a brief and troubled merger with Malaysia. In the six decades since independence, it has transformed itself from a developing country with no natural resources into one of the world's leading financial and commercial centres.

Gardens by the Bay, opened in 2012 on reclaimed land beside Marina Bay, is the most spectacular expression of Singapore's ambition to be a 'city in a garden'. The 101-hectare park contains two giant climate-controlled conservatories — the Flower Dome, the largest glass greenhouse in the world, and the Cloud Forest, which recreates the cool, misty environment of a tropical mountain — and 18 Supertrees: vertical gardens between 25 and 50 metres tall, covered in over 162,900 plants, that light up at night in a choreographed display of colour and music.

The hawker centres of Singapore are the city's greatest culinary institution — open-air food courts where dozens of stalls serve a dizzying variety of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Peranakan dishes at prices that make eating out cheaper than cooking at home. The hawker culture was recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020, and two hawker stalls — Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle and Hawker Chan — have been awarded Michelin stars, making them the cheapest Michelin-starred meals in the world. Chicken rice, laksa, char kway teow, and roti prata are among the dishes that every visitor should try.

The Peranakan culture — the hybrid culture of the Straits Chinese, descendants of Chinese immigrants who settled in the Malay Peninsula and adopted elements of Malay culture while maintaining Chinese traditions — is one of Singapore's most distinctive cultural contributions. The Peranakan Museum in the Armenian Street conservation area documents this culture through its extraordinary collection of beaded shoes, embroidered textiles, and elaborately decorated ceramics. The Katong neighbourhood, with its rows of colourful Peranakan shophouses, is the best place to experience the living culture — the restaurants serve Peranakan cuisine, the shops sell Peranakan crafts, and the architecture tells the story of a community that created something entirely new from two very different traditions.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens, founded in 1859 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, is one of the finest tropical gardens in the world — 82 hectares of rainforest, formal gardens, and specialist collections including the National Orchid Garden, which contains over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchid. The gardens are free to enter (except the Orchid Garden) and are used by Singaporeans for morning walks, picnics, and concerts — the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage hosts free outdoor concerts by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The colonial district around the Padang — the open field that was the social centre of British Singapore — contains some of the finest colonial architecture in Southeast Asia: the neoclassical Supreme Court and City Hall (now the National Gallery Singapore), the Raffles Hotel (opened in 1887 and still one of the great hotels of Asia), and the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. The National Gallery, which opened in 2015 in the restored Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, contains the world's largest public collection of Southeast Asian art — a remarkable resource for understanding the region's artistic traditions.

Singapore is a year-round destination — the equatorial climate means that temperatures are consistently between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius throughout the year, with rain possible at any time. The main festivals — Chinese New Year in January or February, Hari Raya Puasa at the end of Ramadan, Deepavali in October or November, and Christmas — each transform different parts of the city with decorations, food, and events. The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, held on a street circuit around Marina Bay in September, is one of the most spectacular events in the racing calendar and transforms the city centre into a festival of speed and light.