Singapore

Singapore is a city-state on an island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, on the Singapore Strait, one degree north of the equator. It is a garden city: the Supertrees and glass conservatories of Gardens by the Bay, the UNESCO-listed Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bukit Timah’s rainforest and the raised walkways of the Southern Ridges. Marina Bay’s skyline rises over the waterfront, and the Singapore River runs past Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay.

The Civic District holds the National Gallery and the Asian Civilisations Museum, with the ArtScience Museum across the bay. Neighbourhoods each have their own character: Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam, low-rise Tiong Bahru, the pastel Peranakan houses of Joo Chiat and Katong, and leafy Dempsey Hill. Orchard Road is for shopping, Sentosa for beaches, and a boat ride reaches Pulau Ubin, a village island of cycling paths.

Food alone is reason to come: hawker culture is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, and hawker centres serve chilli crab, laksa and Hainanese chicken rice, alongside Peranakan cooking and fine restaurants. The climate is warm and humid all year, around 25–32 °C; showers are frequent, wettest roughly November to January, but there is no bad season. Singapore suits city breaks and stopovers, families, food, design and garden lovers, and pairs easily with Bali, Thailand or the Maldives.