Sultans, coolies and skyscrapers: the city-state born on a river.
In two centuries, Singapore went from a British trading post at the mouth of a river to one of the most modern cities in the world. Among its glass towers survive a sultan's palace, temples built by grateful sailors, mosques paid for by merchants and streets with some very dark stories. Three free walks to explore it on foot, at your own pace and always within reach of some shade.
Choose your free tour
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the essentials.
Singapore before the skyscrapers: a Malay palace, mosques built by merchants and the temples of the Indian quarter.
Coolie lodging houses, a street of the dying, a sacred tooth under suspicion and the goddess who protected sailors.
Raffles Hotel, the Padang, the river where the city was born, the Merlion and the Marina Bay skyline in a single walk.
The map
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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A day in the city
Link the three routes and you will see the best of the city on foot, for free: the essentials in the morning, history in the afternoon and legends as the sun goes down.
Morning
Afternoon
Early evening
Where to eat. Try Hainanese chicken rice at Maxwell Food Centre (Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice).
What to eat
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
The unofficial national dish: poached chicken with silky skin, served on rice cooked in chicken stock with ginger and pandan, with chilli sauce and grated ginger. It arrived with immigrants from the Chinese island of Hainan. At Maxwell Food Centre, a 1928 market turned hawker centre, the Tian Tian stall has served it since the late 1980s, usually with a queue.
Where to try it
Skewers of chicken, beef or mutton marinated in turmeric and spices, grilled over charcoal and served with peanut sauce, onion and cucumber. As evening falls, Boon Tat Street beside the Victorian cast-iron market of Lau Pa Sat is closed to traffic and fills with smoke and grills: this is "Satay Street".
Where to try it
Singapore's breakfast: charcoal-toasted bread with butter and kaya, a sweet jam of coconut, egg and pandan, served with soft-boiled eggs and a kopi, strong coffee with condensed milk. Ya Kun, founded in 1944 by a Hainanese immigrant near the old harbour, still serves it at Far East Square, a short walk from Telok Ayer.
Where to try it
A large, thin pancake stuffed with minced mutton or chicken, egg and onion, folded and fried on the griddle and served with curry for dipping. It is an Indian-Muslim speciality. Opposite Sultan Mosque, Zam Zam, which proudly claims to have opened in 1908, makes it in full view of diners.
Where to try it
Spiced basmati rice cooked with tender chicken or mutton and served with pickles and curry. At Tekka Centre, Little India's market and hawker centre, the Allauddin's Briyani stall has made it since 1968 to a family recipe from Tamil Nadu.
Where to try it
