Insight Guides Pocket Singapore (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

• Verlag: Insight Guides
• Jahr: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781786718358
• Thema: Personal Development
• Thema: Travel

Brand new edition of Insight Guides Pocket Singapore
Innovative extra = incredible value, and unique in the market. All Pocket Guides come with a free eBook, unlike comparable competitors' products
High production values - fresh colour-coded design, full-colour throughout, and includes a pull-out map
Exciting opportunities for bespoke promotions - please contact your Account Manager for details
Content overview:
-Compact, concise, and packed with essential information about Where to Go and What Do, this is a practical on-the-move travel companion
- Includes Top Ten Attractions, Perfect Day itinerary suggestions and an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture

Where To Go

Singapore can take days to explore. In addition to excellent eating and shopping, there are plenty of attractions well worth taking in. The leading sights are grouped here by district, with most located near the heart of the city and the Singapore River, which flows through it. Many of the older neighbourhoods and attractions have been modernised, but there are still some areas that have escaped renewal and offer a window on old Singapore.

The Supertrees found in the Gardens by the Bay

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Singapore River

A good place to begin exploration is the Singapore River. This was where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Singapore’s founder, and early traders and immigrants first landed. The mangrove swamps, sultans’ palaces and floating skulls deposited by pirates are long gone, as are the junks and coolies. The river, now cleaned up, is lined by conservation shophouses painted in colourful hues and surrounded by colonial architectural gems.

North Bank

Raffles’ Landing Site on the north bank of the river is where Sir Stamford Raffles first landed in 1819. The spot is marked by a white marble statue cast in 1972 from a bronze one that is a stone’s throw away in front of the Victoria Theatre. Flanking the white statue is the Asian Civilisations Museum 1 [map] (1 Empress Place; tel: [phone]; www.acm.org.sg; daily 10am–7pm, Fri until 9pm). Built as government offices in 1865, the stately neoclassical building now showcases an excellent collection of artefacts documenting the civilisations of East, Southeast, South and West Asia. You can easily spend a few hours viewing the well-curated displays here. Take a break from sightseeing and have a drink or bite at Empress Place, located at the river-facing side of the building.

Next to the museum is another ensemble of magnificent colonial architecture. The Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall (9 Empress Place; tel: [phone]; www.vtvch.com; daily 10am–9pm) were Singapore’s old Town Hall and Queen Victoria Memorial Hall; in 2014, they were beautifully restored to their 1905 appearance. The original bronze statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, which dates back to 1887, stands in front of the two buildings. Just behind is The Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane; tel: [phone]; www.theartshouse.sg; daily 10am–10pm), built in 1827 as Singapore’s courthouse and serving as the Parliament House from 1965 to 1999. It now has a 200-seat chamber staging arts performances, a visual arts gallery, an art-house cinema and several additional arts venues.

South Bank

From Empress Place Waterfront extends Cavenagh Bridge, built of iron rails from Scotland in 1869 to connect the financial and administrative districts that Raffles had envisioned. This pedestrian bridge leads to the skyscrapers of Raffles Place, the heart of Avi, which dictate the most propitious locations of the city’s Western-style high-rises.

Singapore River runs past the Central Business District

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Next to Raffles Place is the lavish Fullerton Hotel 2 [map] (1 Fullerton Square; tel: [phone]; www.fullertonhotel.com), built as the General Post Office in 1928. The hotel, with grand columns outside and a contemporary interior, stands on the site of Fort Fullerton, which guarded the entrance to Singapore from 1829 to 1873. The hotel’s Post Bar is a firm favourite with workers from the CBD area.

River sculpture

A handful of public sculptures dot the Singapore River area. Of note are Fernando Botero’s Bird and Salvador Dali’s Homage to Newton outside and at the foyer of UOB Plaza respectively. There are also bronze sculptures depicting life along the river in the early days.

Marina Bay

An underpass below the Fullerton emerges at One Fullerton, a waterfront dining and nightlife hub. At the north end of One Fullerton is the Merlion Park, which contains the Merlion statue – the city’s iconic mascot with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. This 8m (26ft) -high sculpture was commissioned in 1972 by the Singapore Tourism Board as a welcome figure to visitors. It is de rigueur to come here to photograph the Merlion against the gleaming city skyline. At the other end of One Fullerton are several architecturally unique structures including Customs House, home to several trendy restaurants and bars; The Fullerton Pavilion, a floating dome structure housing the Monti Italian restaurant; and The Fullerton Bay Hotel, a sophisticated hotel with beautiful views of the bay.

Across the water is Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay 3 [map] (1 Esplanade Drive; tel: [phone]; www.esplanade.com), the epicentre of Singapore’s arts scene. Its unique architecture, resembling the husk of the thorny durian fruit Singaporeans love to eat, has been much debated. Inside are a 1,600-seat concert hall and a 2,000-seat theatre – both with exceptional acoustics. Local and international artists and groups perform year round.

You can take a bumboat or river taxi (tel: [phone]; www.rivercruise.com.sg; daily 9am–11pm) from any of the jetties near Raffles’ Landing Site, Merlion Park, Boat Quay, Esplanade and Clarke Quay for a narrated tour. A bumboat ride offers an excellent view of the city skyline as the boat chugs into Marina Bay 4 [map], an inner harbour created by massive land reclamation projects that include Collyer Quay to the south, and the area to the north where the Esplanade and Suntec City stand.

Bay buzz

The reclaimed Marina Bay area bordering the waterfront is an exciting area. Located here are the Marina Bay Financial Centre, an extension of the CBD, and the lush Gardens by the Bay. Anchoring this area is the massive S$5 billion integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands (www.marinabaysands.com). This mega leisure, entertainment and hospitality complex features a casino, luxury hotel, convention facilities, theatres, and restaurants helmed by celebrity chefs.

One of the many ‘engineering wonders’ in this area is the 200m (656ft) Sands Sky Park, a unique structure designed by architect Moshe Safdie, which crowns the three Marina Bay Sands hotel towers. Perched on top of these towers are a sweeping 1.2-hectare (3-acre) tropical park with landscaped gardens, an observation deck and an infinity pool with amazing views. It’s not just about entertainment here – the integrated resort also boasts an Art Science Museum 5 [map] (tel: [phone]; www.marinabaysands.com; daily 10am–7pm). The enormous lotus-shaped building houses galleries exhibiting art, science, media, technology, design and architecture. Another engineering masterpiece is the world’s first double-helix curved bridge, which allows pedestrians to walk from Marina Bay Sands to the other side of the waterfront where luxury hotels are located. To the west o...