by Let us clarify the record: Singapore is so much more than a stopover. After several visits, the Southeast Asian island and city state quickly became one of my favorite places in the world. Mobile phone for my conscience is also one of the greenest cities in the world.
One of the first things you will notice when you take the Changi Airport is how prominent nature is in Singapore. Subsequent flowers cascades from his overpasses and merge concrete with flora. Every street feels like it is interrupted by a park. Skery scratches are littered with green enclaves and crowned with roof gardens. And that’s right outside the airport.
The green in Singapore often looks as if it is there by magic – as if this futuristic city is being reclaimed from the earth. But it is not. It is a prerequisite for the urban renovation authority that forces new buildings for the inclusion of flora and fauna in urban areas. London could use a similar policy if you ask me.
It is also easier to get there than ever before. Singapore Airlines started a five -time weekly direct service from Gatwick last year.
In addition, there is the award-winning Street Food, the ultra-modern hotels and the world-famous cocktail bars that serve perfect Singapore rabbits. It is a case of: come for the green, stay because you have to roll out there.
To see what to see
Let us clear it out of the way: you have to make gardens in the bay. You just do it. In contrast to some of the most important tourist attractions of London (which usually tell you that a good local is not worth the crowd), most Singapore evaluate the artificial forest of the so -called “super stages” and visit every evening at 7.45 p.m. and 8.45 p.m. I don’t know if it was my soft nature, the air humidity or the jet lag, but when I visited GBTB for the first time (note: this is a nation that is a nation Loved Acronymes) and accidentally came up with the beginning of the light show, I almost cried.
Well, for somewhere a little more from the leaked route. Swing by Bollywood Farms in the landscape of Kranji in North -Singapur for a really authentic, rural Singapore experience and a meal from the vegetables of the farm. If you are lucky, you will become the owner of the farm, the local celebrity divy Singh-Lim, who get to know her country as seriously as you take her whiskey (on the rock, frozen glass, on request).
Another must is the railway corridor, a continuous green round, which between 1902 and 2011 led trains from the Malaysian peninsula to Singapore for almost a century. It is essentially in Singapore’s version of the Parkland walk, which runs between the Finsbury Park and Highgate, which, if you are not already frequent, definitely not.
Even more rainforest can be seen via the Mandai Boardwalk, which was recently opened near the Singapore Zoo (a very rewarding experience for animal lovers). The boardwalk meanders around the Mandai Nature Reserve and offers unhindered view of the upper Seletar reservoir and the central catchment area protection area.
Where to drink
Now into the city. The Singapore is all about cocktails, which means that they exchange pubs for air -conditioned cocktail rods and roof terraces. I would strongly advise a journey in the natives, which takes a three -story shophouse in the Amoy Street and was recently classified in the 50 best bars in Asia in 2024.
For everyone who is great in their ferments, the bar for them is a bar for them with local and regional suppliers to obtain their ingredients, and ferment a lot internally. And they also get proud of the place. If you sit upwards in the natives, sit directly opposite the breaking, the bad -looking glasses and glasses of home -made brewings, which you finally absorb.
There is also the famous nutmeg and climbable in the Purvis Street, which offers cocktails that you just find anywhere else in the world, such as the Garden City (Fords Gin, Empirical Scripts Ayuuk, Melon, Shiso, Basil, Limette, honey) or the oo-length without tea. This is Vulkan de Mi Tierra Blanco Tequila, Lillet Blanc, Bayleaf, Milk -Toolong, Lemon, Ice Cream Soda, Perrier of sparkling water and red wine swim.
Where to eat
Singapore seems to be on the roof on the roof with unusual bars and upscale restaurants on the roof, and that was it, but did you know that it was also the first city in which Street Food has a street food excellent with Michelin star? Singapurs Hawker centers (similar to Food Courts) are the striking heart (and the rumbling stomach) of the city, and you should explore the best of you. Maxwell, Adam Road, Old Airport Road and Chinatown Complex are some of the best.
The Hawker stand, which was awarded Michelin-Stern, is located in Tai Hwa Eating House in the Crawford Lane, and the full name is the Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle. La Pau Sat is the best-known street food spot in the city, but it is still worth a trip to Satay Street if you can take the crowd with you.
Now for a more glittering option. I am called to mention a hotel restaurant how so many are disappointing, but Singapore is a city that runs practically in hotels (Marina Bay Sands, the resort in the Bayfront Ave) is one of the most popular sights in the city), so it is better than most. In addition, Kaya was rightly one of my favorite dishes in the city in the Singapore standard, so I have to give them their fees. From the beautifully tender sous -vide -pork pork to the bright red and orange tuna and salmon -sashimi, everything was tender and everything was delicious.
For more spot for locals I would recommend the place where the employees of the standard have informed me that you would like to pick up a short bite: Miss Saigon, the Vietnamese position on the second floor of Orchard Plaza around the clock. It is a smaller outpost by Banh Mi Saigon, a jewel in the Ang Mo Kio area, which is known for the most authentic Banh Mi in Singapore.
But I save the best until the end. I visited five -star chicken rice, a Singapore chain restaurant that is famous for the local dish of the same name, twice in two days when I visited Singapore for the first time so that they know that it is worth it. It is not chic or “underground”, it is simply good and especially eat locals there – the ultimate confirmation.
Where is staying
I cannot recommend the Singapore orchard area enough. It is sheet, somewhat suburban and yet perfectly connected, with great transport connections and shops (Singapore is Mall Central, everything is a shopping center for which you will be grateful if you are fed up with the air humidity).
In Orchard there are many great hotel options with two outstanding performances. Uber-Trendy The Standard Singapur on the Orange Grove Road opened its doors to the guests in December and offers something different than its usual functional hotel chain with a stylish, colorful interior and a party sady pool and garden area. As already mentioned, the food should die.
Room from £ 215, Standardhotels.com
Or maybe you are looking for something with a little more size to take the breathtaking skyline view. To do this, you have to go to the Pan Pacific in the Claymore Road, which recently won an architecture award and crowned it into the world’s best new high building in 2024. It is elegant, fluctuating and everything you would hope for from a 23-story Juggernaut of a hotel. You will not stay in anything else.
Room from £ 251, Panpacific.com
How to get there
Flights from Heathrow go directly to Singapore and last about 14 hours. British Airways and Singapore Airlines both serve the route. In order to get to the city center by public transport from Singapore Changi Airport, you can take the MRI (Mass Rapid Transit) or the bus. Alternatively, you can download the grave (Singapore Uber) and have a trip yourself – it will not be too expensive.
