National Museum of Singapore facade.

National Museum of Singapore

Top choice in Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay


Imaginative and immersive, Singapore's National Museum is good enough to warrant two visits. At once cutting edge and classical, the space ditches staid exhibits for lively multimedia galleries that bring Singapore's jam-packed biography to vivid life. It's a colourful, intimate journey, spanning ancient Malay royalty, wartime occupation, nation-building, food and fashion. Look out for interactive artwork GoHead/GoStan: Panorama Singapura, which offers an audiovisual trip through the city-state's many periods. Free guided tours are offered daily; check online for times.

The museum's neoclassical wing, graced by a stained-glass rotunda, once housed the Raffles Museum and Library.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay attractions

1. Singapore Art Museum

0.16 MILES

Formerly the St Joseph's Institution – a Catholic boys' school – SAM now sings the praises of contemporary Southeast Asian art. The museum was undergoing…

2. Peranakan Museum

0.17 MILES

Housed in the eclectic classical-style Tao Nan building, this museum is the best spot to explore the rich heritage of the Peranakans (Straits Chinese…

3. Battlebox

0.17 MILES

Take a tour through the Battlebox Museum, the former command post of the British during WWII, and get lost in the eerie and deathly quiet 26-room…

4. Cathay Gallery

0.2 MILES

Film and nostalgia buffs will appreciate this pocket-sized silver-screen museum, housed in Singapore's first high-rise building. The displays trace the…

5. Fort Canning Park

0.21 MILES

When Raffles rolled into Singapore, locals steered clear of Fort Canning Hill, then called Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill), out of respect for the sacred…

6. SAM at 8Q

0.24 MILES

The younger sibling of the Singapore Art Museum, which is undergoing a significant revamp until 2021, is named after its address. Snoop around four floors…

7. Chijmes

0.26 MILES

Now the home of trendy restaurants and entertainment hot spots, including famed Whitegrass and exotic Coriander Leaf, neo-classical Chijmes was once a…

8. Armenian Church

0.28 MILES

The Armenians were the first Christian community to build a permanent place of worship in Singapore – this handsome, neoclassical number was designed by…