Singapore

Marina Bay is Singapore's modern showpiece and the place to start. The three soaring towers of Marina Bay Sands, joined by a ship-shaped SkyPark with its famous infinity pool (guests only, but the observation deck is open to all), define the skyline; at their feet, the lotus-inspired ArtScience Museum and the Helix Bridge complete the set. The original Merlion — Singapore's half-lion, half-fish mascot — spouts water into the bay from its waterfront park, the classic photo spot. The headline, though, is Gardens by the Bay: a vast waterfront park where the steel Supertrees, vertical gardens up to 50 metres tall, stage a free light-and-sound show after dark, best watched from the OCBC Skyway, an aerial walkway strung between the tallest Supertrees — a separately ticketed attraction with its own admission, not included with the free show. Two giant cooled conservatories hold the Cloud Forest (a misty indoor mountain with a 35-metre waterfall) and the Flower Dome, which rotates seasonal displays around a permanent Mediterranean and semi-arid plant collection. The nightly Spectra light-and-water show on the Sands' boardwalk rounds off a Marina Bay evening.

Eating is the national pastime, and the place to do it is the hawker centre — open-air halls of dozens of specialist stalls where some of the world's best food sells for a fraction of restaurant prices. Maxwell Food Centre, Lau Pa Sat, Old Airport Road and Tiong Bahru Market are among the most celebrated, and two individual stalls have earned Michelin recognition — a genuine rarity for street food anywhere. The food guide carries the dishes to chase, the hawker-centre etiquette worth knowing before a visit, and which famous names live up to the hype.

Singapore's multicultural make-up comes alive in its neighbourhoods. Chinatown layers Buddhist and Hindu temples, restored shophouses and food streets around two landmark sites: the Sri Mariamman Temple, built in 1827 and the city's oldest Hindu temple, and the five-storey Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, built in Tang-dynasty style, whose namesake relic sits on the top floor and can be viewed but not photographed. Little India is the most sensory district — flower-garland stalls, gold and sari shops, the colourful House of Tan Teng Niah, banana-leaf curry houses and the sprawling Mustafa Centre, open around the clock. Kampong Glam, the Malay-Arab quarter, centres on the golden-domed Sultan Mosque, first built in 1824 and rebuilt to its current form in 1932, with Arab Street's textiles and the hip cafés, bars and street art of Haji Lane. East of the centre, Katong and Joo Chiat preserve the pastel Peranakan (Straits Chinese) shophouses and the Nyonya cooking that fuses Chinese and Malay traditions. In between, the colonial civic district holds the white-columned National Gallery and National Museum, the Padang cricket green, St Andrew's Cathedral and the legendary Raffles Hotel, birthplace of the Singapore Sling.

Beyond the centre, Singapore stays surprisingly green and family-friendly. The UNESCO-listed Singapore Botanic Gardens, the city's tropical lung, holds the spectacular National Orchid Garden and rainforest within minutes of Orchard Road's malls. The Singapore Zoo, set in the forested north, is consistently rated among the world's best for its open, moated enclosures, and its after-dark Night Safari and River Wonders (home to giant pandas) complete the cluster. South of the centre, the resort island of Sentosa — reached by cable car (on the Mount Faber-to-Sentosa line), the Sentosa Express monorail from VivoCity, or a walkway — packs in beaches, Universal Studios Singapore, the S.E.A. Aquarium, the Skyline Luge and luxury hotels; a suspension bridge off Palawan Beach reaches a small islet promoted as the southernmost point of continental Asia. For nature, the Southern Ridges elevated walkway culminates at Henderson Waves, Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge, while the treetop suspension bridge at MacRitchie Reservoir and the boardwalks of Sungei Buloh wetland reward those with more time; the car-free island of Pulau Ubin preserves an older, kampong-village atmosphere just a bumboat ride from the mainland. Even arriving and leaving is a highlight: Changi Airport's Jewel, with the world's tallest indoor waterfall (the Rain Vortex) under a vast glass dome, is worth visiting in its own right.

Singapore's nightlife runs from riverside party strip to rooftop skyline view. Clarke Quay, a row of restored warehouses beside the Singapore River, concentrates the city's biggest cluster of bars and clubs under a distinctive canopy roof. For the view, head up: CÉ LA VI and 1-Altitude both perch on skyscraper rooftops with Marina Bay panoramas, while the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark doubles as a bar after dark for guests and ticket holders. Away from the big venues, Haji Lane and Club Street carry a quieter scene of small bars, wine spots and late-opening cafés. Alcohol carries high excise duties regardless of venue, so happy-hour windows are worth timing a night around, and retail alcohol sales stop late in the evening nationwide — plan any convenience-store or supermarket purchase accordingly.