10 Best Things to do in Singapore | International Traveller

What the island city-state of Singapore lacks in sheer girth (its landmass measures just 719 square kilometres) it more than makes up for in density of choice when it comes to things to see and do.

Forget the stereotype of it being just a stop-over destination: you are going to need a solid four or five days to get through this selection alone.

1. Gardens by the Bay

Singapore prides itself on being a city within a garden, and the magnificent Gardens by the Bay complex is the crowning glory of this concept: two gargantuan domed conservatories filled with myriad plants and flowers and the sculptural Skytree Grove that is illuminated each evening in a dramatic light show. The Cloud Forest dome really is stunning, with its almost 35 metre waterfall and elevated walkway that snakes around the lush tropical indoor ‘mountain’. This is one of the most popular attractions in town so plan to get there early.

Sunset shot of Supertree Grove at Garden by the Bay

2. Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum

The behemoth Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum is an impressively-sized Buddhist temple complex built in 2007 that houses a Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic that reputedly belonged to Buddha himself, housed in a giant stupa. The temple complex is a cavalcade of lanterns, statues and relics; make your way through the floors to the peaceful rooftop garden with its pagoda and prayer wheel. Entry is free.

Street vendors and locals surround Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum

3. High tea at Raffles Singapore

An historic landmark within its own right, this world-renowned hotel has undergone a serious restoration, but the traditions have not been sacrificed at the altar of modernity. And one of the most delightful of these is taking afternoon tea in the Grand Lobby. With a dress code listed as ‘casual chic’ the afternoon tea menu includes dainty finger sandwiches, homemade scones and petit sweet treats crowned with a steaming pot of tea or a glass of bubbles. Bookings are listed as recommended, but having seen the daily turn-out first hand, they are actually essential.

High Tea at Raffles hotel is a bucket list experience

4. National Gallery Singapore

Boasting the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern art in the world, the imposing National Gallery Singapore is made up of the historic City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings, which have been restored and fused together by a stunning modern glass atrium designed by studioMilou Singapore.

After browsing the permanent and visiting exhibitions, head to the rooftop garden for stunning views over the city and then exit through the gift shop; Gallery & Co. is a funky shopping and dining spot offering up art and design products and a light café menu. Come back after dark to dine and drink at some of the best restaurants and bars in town including National Kitchen by Violet Oon and Odette.

Laser show on the walls of the National Gallery

5. The Southern Ridges

An oasis for bird watchers and nature lovers, The Southern Ridges consists of 10 kilometres of paths and elevated walkways, including Henderson Wave, an undulating bridge suspended 36 metre above the streets and connecting one hill to another. Pack a hat and water and stroll through the open spaces of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Hort Park, Kent Ridge Park and Labrador Nature Reserve, including amongst the canopies, admiring native bird species and stunning flora and fauna. Catch the MRT to the Harbourfront station to start the walk at the Marang Trail.

6. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Located at the National University of Singapore, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is a must as much for the building it is housed in as what it houses. Designed by Singapore architect Mok Wei, the arresting building, known as the Rock, is a cast-form concrete hulk with a large section looking like it has been sliced off to reveal a verdant terraced garden. Windows on the structure are limited and small in order to protect the 2000 natural history specimens inside, including three giant diplodocid sauropod skeletons at its heart.

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7. Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple & the Mustafa Centre

The Little India neighbourhood is a vibrant and fragrant slice of Indian culture in Singapore, complete with the colourful Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, a great museum detailing the local history (Indian Heritage Centre), restaurants and sweet stores selling delicious curries and sticky Indian desserts and fabric and jewellery stores selling silky sari fabric and elaborate gold designs. While in the area don’t miss the chance to browse the Mustafa Centre, a multi-level markets selling everything from frozen roti to Bollywood DVDs: the local wisdom is that if you can’t find it here, it doesn’t exist. Use the Little India MRT.

8. Night Safari

Part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which includes Jurong Bird and Singapore Zoo, recognised as one of the best facilities in the world, the 35-hectare Night Safari is a chance to see some of the most fascinating animals in the world after the tropical heat of the day has subsided, from families of Asian elephants to the critically endangered Malaysian tiger and the curious Sanda Pangolin, one of the most trafficked animals in the world. The Night Safari trams weave through coloured-coded zones, with regular stops where you can jump off to explore by foot and get a closer look at some of the almost 900 animals, a staggering 41 per cent of which are threatened.

9. Kampong Glam

Kampong Glam is one of Singapore’s oldest urban neighbourhoods, anchored by the golden-domed Sultan Mosque. The pleasure of visiting here is in strolling the streets and lanes; head to Haji Lane for its funky little boutiques, bars and restaurants or Arab Street with its shops selling traditional fabrics like batik and handmade perfumes.

The golden-domed Sultan Mosque of Kampong Glam

10. The Baba House

Singapore’s Peranakan heritage derives from the Chinese settlers from the southern provinces who came to the Malay Archipelago and integrated into the local population, resulting in a culture of unique traditions, language and food. The striking blue Baba House, one of the best preserved Peranakan family homes in Singapore, was built in 1890 and eventually gifted to the National University of Singapore. Now restored to the glory days of the 1920s, tours can be booked to explore the period and antique furnishings, vintage photos of the family who once owned it and lovely architectural features.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

Top 10 things to see and do in Singapore