Places to Chill in Singapore
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Rooftops, Waterfronts, Old Shophouse Streets
Here is the list of 10 Places to Chill in Singapore
1. Tanjong Beach Club, Sentosa
The quietest of the Sentosa beach clubs and the furthest from the ferry terminal, on the southern side of the island. It is a pool, a stretch of sand and a restaurant, and the appeal is that it is calmer than Siloso: fewer speakers, more loungers. Weekdays are close to empty and weekends need a booking. There is no entry fee but a minimum spend applies to the daybeds, so check before turning up expecting a free afternoon.
2. Jalan Besar
A long road running northeast from Rochor through one of the last stretches of unrestored shophouses in the city, and the neighbourhood that absorbed Singapore's independent coffee scene when rents rose elsewhere. What you do here is walk it: hardware shops and hostels next to third-wave cafes and design studios, with the Sungei Road area at one end. Best in the afternoon, when there is shade on one side and somewhere to sit every hundred metres.
3. Marina Barrage
A dam across the Marina Channel that turned the bay into a freshwater reservoir, and the most unexpected place on this list, because its roof is a wide green lawn open to the public and free. It is the city's kite-flying spot, and the view back across the bay to the skyline is the best free one in Singapore. Go late afternoon and stay for the light. The Sustainable Singapore Gallery underneath is air-conditioned and also free.
4. East Coast Park
Fifteen kilometres of reclaimed seafront, and on this page it earns its place for two things rather than for nature: the cycling path that runs the whole length, and East Coast Lagoon Food Village, an open-air hawker centre right on the sand. Rent a bicycle at one end, ride, and eat satay at the other. It is busiest on Sunday. Weekday evenings are the version of it worth having.
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5. PS.Cafe, Dempsey Hill
The Harding Road branch at Dempsey Hill is the one worth the trip: a converted colonial barracks block set back in trees, with floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides and a terrace under the canopy. It is not cheap and there is a minimum spend at peak times. Afternoon is the point, when the light comes through the trees. Dempsey itself is a former military camp turned restaurant enclave, so there is more around it than the cafe.
6. Henderson Waves
The highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore at 36 metres, a curving timber wave deck linking Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill on the Southern Ridges walk. It is lit after dark and that is when to come: the structure is the attraction as much as the view. The full Southern Ridges route runs about ten kilometres from Mount Faber to Kent Ridge, but the bridge alone is a short walk from either car park.
7. CHIJMES
A former Catholic convent and school in the middle of the civic district, built from 1840, deconsecrated and now a courtyard of restaurants and bars around a Gothic revival chapel. The chapel itself is a function hall rather than a church and is often closed for events. The reason to come is the courtyard in the evening, when the lawn and the arcades are lit and it is several degrees quieter than the streets outside.
8. Everton Park
A 1950s public housing estate a few minutes from Chinatown that filled with small independent cafes, bakeries and design shops without losing its residents, which is what makes it work. It is not a park despite the name: the blocks and their ground-floor shophouse units are the whole of it. Come mid-morning on a weekday and walk the loop. It pairs with Tiong Bahru, the other estate people compare it to, ten minutes away.
9. Marina Bay Sands
On this list for two specific things rather than the hotel or the casino: the Event Plaza steps on the waterfront, which are free and are where people sit for the Spectra light and water show, and the ArtScience Museum next door when it rains. The SkyPark observation deck charges, and the infinity pool is for guests only, which catches people out. The bay promenade walk from here round to the Merlion is the best evening walk in the city.
10. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Included here for the walk rather than the wildlife: a gazetted nature reserve holding the best surviving primary rainforest in Singapore, with the highest natural point on the island at 163 metres. Go at opening, before seven, when it is cool and quiet and the paths are yours. It is steep in places and the humidity does the work. Long-tailed macaques are common: keep food out of sight and do not feed them.
Almost nothing on this page needs booking and most of it is free. The pattern that works is to use the parks and the reserves in the morning before the heat, the shophouse neighbourhoods in the afternoon when there is shade and air conditioning within reach, and the waterfront in the evening. Marina Barrage is the one that surprises people: a working dam with a rooftop lawn that has become the city's picnic and kite-flying spot. Everton Park and Jalan Besar are the two places to go if you have already done the sights and want to see how the city actually lives.
This post was published by Harshitha
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FAQs on Places to Chill in Singapore
Where is the best free view in Singapore?
The rooftop lawn at Marina Barrage, which is open to the public at no charge and looks back across the bay to the skyline. The Event Plaza steps at Marina Bay Sands are the other free option and are where the Spectra light and water show is watched from. The paid observation decks are higher but not better, and the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool is for hotel guests only.
Which of these are free?
Most of them. Marina Barrage, Jalan Besar, Everton Park, Henderson Waves, East Coast Park, Bukit Timah and the CHIJMES courtyard all cost nothing to enter. Tanjong Beach Club has no entry fee but a minimum spend on daybeds, PS.Cafe is a restaurant, and at Marina Bay Sands the observation deck and the museum both charge.
What is the best time of day for each?
Early morning for Bukit Timah, before the heat, and mid-morning on a weekday for Everton Park. Afternoon for Jalan Besar and PS.Cafe at Dempsey, where there is shade. Late afternoon and evening for Marina Barrage, Henderson Waves, CHIJMES and the Marina Bay promenade, which are all better lit than they are in daylight.
Is there a good rooftop bar in Singapore?
Yes, but note that 1-Altitude at One Raffles Place, for years the one every list named as the highest in the city, has closed permanently. Current options include CE LA VI at Marina Bay Sands, Smoke and Mirrors on the roof of the National Gallery looking across the Padang, and Lantern at the Fullerton Bay. Most enforce a dress code and a minimum spend.
Where do you go to see how Singaporeans actually live?
Everton Park and Jalan Besar, both on this page, and Tiong Bahru just beyond it. All three are working residential neighbourhoods rather than attractions: public housing blocks and shophouses with cafes, bakeries and hardware shops in the ground-floor units. Go on a weekday morning, walk slowly, and buy something.
Can you do any of this in the rain?
Yes, and it is worth planning for, because the afternoon downpour is routine. The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery under Marina Barrage are both indoors, and the latter is free. CHIJMES has covered arcades around the courtyard. Jalan Besar and Everton Park both have enough cafes to wait it out.
