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Étaperia

Singapore itineraries, day by day

An equatorial city-state with something of the laboratory about it: the luminous supertrees of Gardens by the Bay, the infinity pool of the Marina Bay Sands, Chinese, Indian and Malay quarters answering each other a few metro stops apart, and the best street food in the world in UNESCO-listed hawker centres. Green, safe, proverbially clean, Singapore is savoured in three or four days, a perfect stopover or a destination in its own right.

Capital
Singapore
Currency
Singapore dollar (S$)
Language
English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil
Direct flight
≈ 13 hr from Paris
Time difference
+7 hr in winter, +6 hr in summer
Aerial view of Marina Bay at dusk, the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands and the lotus-shaped ArtScience museum

Itineraries

Our trip ideas in Singapore

Or take it one module at a time

A steel walkway running through Singapore's tropical forest

Module

Singapore in 14 days: islands, forests and kampongs, day by day

Fourteen days from the southern islands to Pulau Ubin: Little India and Kampong Glam, the Unesco-listed botanic gardens, the primary forest of Bukit Timah, the five Mandai parks, the mangroves of Sungei Buloh and the last village on the main island.

14 days €39

See the itinerary

The right season

When to go in Singapore?

One degree from the equator, Singapore lives at 31 °C all year round, with a stormy shower almost daily in the late afternoon. From November to January, the north-east monsoon makes the rains longer; February to April is the driest spell. In practice, the city is visited twelve months out of twelve, air conditioning and covered arcades doing the rest.

  • January : In-between
  • February : Ideal
  • March : Ideal
  • April : Ideal
  • May : Pleasant
  • June : Pleasant
  • July : Pleasant
  • August : Pleasant
  • September : Pleasant
  • October : Pleasant
  • November : In-between
  • December : In-between
  • Ideal
  • Pleasant
  • In-between
  • Avoid

Quick guide

Understanding Singapore

Getting around

The MRT, clean and icy with air conditioning, covers the island; you enter simply by tapping your contactless bank card. Grab fills in for night rides. Walking remains the best way to feel the neighbourhoods.

Money

The Singapore dollar (S$). Everything is paid by card, including most hawkers now. A high budget for the hotel, a tiny one for eating: a hawker feast costs S$5. No tipping.

Language

English is official and universal, tinged with the delicious Singlish. Mandarin, Malay and Tamil complete the official quartet.

Useful apps

Grab for rides, a contactless bank card doubles as a transport ticket, Chope to book restaurants and Klook for reduced-price attraction tickets.

Accommodation

The boutique hotels in the shophouses of Chinatown and Kampong Glam have more charm than the towers of Marina Bay, for half the price. The well-kept capsules help small budgets.

Etiquette

The fines are no folklore: no chewing gum, no jaywalking, no food on the metro. Return your tray at the hawker centre and reserve your seat with a packet of tissues, that is the local chope.

Must-sees

The iconic places

  • Gardens by the Bay

    Marina Bay

    The 50 m Supertrees and their vertical gardens, plus two spectacular conservatories. The free light-and-sound show at 7:45 pm is a fixture.

  • Marina Bay Sands

    Marina Bay

    Three towers, a ship laid on top, the most photographed infinity pool in the world. The SkyPark can be visited even without sleeping there.

  • Chinatown

    Outram

    Pastel shophouses, the Buddha Tooth Relic temple and historic hawker centres: the Chinese heart of the island.

  • Little India

    Serangoon Road

    Dravidian temples, jasmine garlands, saris and biryanis: a sensory plunge into South India, two metro stops away.

  • Botanic Gardens

    Tanglin

    160 years, 60 hectares and a collection of 60,000 orchids: the only tropical garden on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

  • Sentosa

    Sentosa Island

    The leisure island: beaches, Universal Studios, a giant aquarium. Reached on foot, by cable car or by monorail.

Pick a point on the map, or browse the list below.

Also on the map

  • Merlion : The half-lion half-fish emblem of the bay
  • Kampong Glam : The Sultan Mosque and Haji Lane
  • Jewel Changi : The tallest indoor waterfall in the world

Ready to go in Singapore?