How to spend 48 hours in Singapore

8pm: Stretch your legs
If you arrive in the evening after a long flight, Singapore’s lights will beckon. And, rather like getting into a cold pool, it’s best to just dive right in. A stroll along the iconic Marina Bay is a great way to acclimatise to the tropical heat while marvelling at the city’s glowing skyline reflected in the bay below.

9pm: Drinks at Raffles
Not far from the bay frontage is the Raffles hotel, named after the nation’s colonial founder, Sir Stamford Raffles. While the Long Bar is its most renowned watering hole (and birthplace of the Singapore Sling), the Writer’s Bar is more intimate. For a change of pace, head to the utterly OTT Art Deco masterpiece that is the Atlas grand lobby and bar. Drinks are every bit as elaborate and gilded as the surroundings and patrons.

8am: Discover a city in a garden
While the local temperature measures a year-round 30°C, the air feels freshest first thing in the morning. Hop in an (air-conditioned) cab to the Botanic Gardens, which sprawl across 200 acres and showcase more than 10,000 horticultural species in a collection that’s been 160 years in the making. Bee’s Knees Petite at the Gallop Park Extension is the destination for your early morning caffeine hit.

10:30am: Visit the neighbourhood
Ready for breakfast? Head to Tiong Bahru by bus or the MRT metro system. The heart of this Art Deco neighbourhood is filled with coffee shops, restaurants, small bars and markets, and its vibe is much more laidback than the polished perfection of the Bay area. Peoplewatching at the eponymous Bakery in the shade of a covered arcade or doing as locals do and tucking into Teochew-style rice porridge at Ah Chiang’s, round out an authentic taste of Singapore.  

12:30pm: Explore Singapore’s cultural heritage
Famously once at the epicentre of world trading routes, multi-ethnic Singapore has four official languages and a community that vibrantly merges Chinese, Malay and Western cultures. The Peranakan Museum, which reopened last February, takes you on a deep dive into the ways of the Peranakans, who began their exodus from Southern China to the ‘lion city’ in the 14th century. Discover many now-lost Chinese customs and local traditions once found across the Straits of Malacca, including exhibits on the adoption and adaption of Indonesian batik design or a deep dive into the culinary heritage of Peranakans that draws on and fuses multiple regional delicacies, from India to northern China. 

2pm: Escape to Pulau Ubin
It’s easy to forget that much of modern-day Singapore was once mangrove swamp and impenetrable tropical forest. Take a short boat ride to the island of Pulau Ubin to uncover this history, where the ‘granite island’, as it’s colloquially known, has been returned to its natural state. Head for the boardwalks of Chek Jawa nature reserve – a wetlands sanctuary that teems with plant and marine life.

7pm: Feast on tantalising street food
If Singapore is known for anything, it’s its world-class hawker centres. These outdoor food courts are home to hundreds of stalls dishing up signature dishes (and recipes guarded for generations), from mounds of smoky char kway teow to sides of stingray topped with rich and spicy sambal. Wash down your feast with sugar cane juice infused with lemon that’s prepared to order.

9pm: Indulge in local libations
Jigger & Pony is our next stop. Its ‘past, present and future’ menu delivers new twists on classic cocktails. Try the update to the early 20th-century Savoy cocktail, the Hanky Panky, whose blend of gin, red vermouth and a dash of Italian bitters is brought eastward with Indian gin, tuak (a wine from palm trees), Cocchi Americano and a hint of oud. The surrounding neighbourhood of Ann Siang Hill, which served as a backdrop to the hit film Crazy Rich Asians, offers further choice, with back-to-back boutiques by day and bars and restaurants by night.

Bars and restaurants aren’t the only nightlife to be had, though, and a younger audience may be more interested in a night safari. Regional natural attractions such as the Malayan tiger or monochromatic tapir roam after dark and, with more than 900 other animals on site, you won’t be nodding off.

8am: Load up at a kopitiam
The shutters of the iconic Chin Mee Chin kopitiam roll up at 8am sharp and, while the institution may have been updated by the latest generation, the classics hold firm. None more so than a breakfast of kaya toast and eggs – a sandwich of fluffy white toast lathered with coconut jam before being dipped into soft-boiled eggs. A cup of kopi or teh (coffee or tea) with condensed milk is all nostalgia.

10am: Wander an outdoor art park
With tradition in mind, a trip to Haw Par Villa is in order. This often-overlooked and recently renovated theme park was the brainchild of the Aw Boon brothers – the founders of Tiger Balm – and brings Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian mythological stories to life through elaborately painted and detailed dioramas. The ‘10 circles of hell’ section is worth a visit in itself.

11:30: Sip on an aperitif above Southeast Asian masters
Back in the city centre, the National Gallery is a bounty of beauty, both inside and out. Home to the world's largest public display of modern Southeast Asian art, the collection is housed within the former supreme court and city hall, facing the striped lawns of the Padang and bay area. Maximising on this prime real estate is rooftop bar Smoke & Mirrors, a truly sublime spot for an evening (or pre-lunch) aperitif, or Odette, which serves up three-Michelin-star fare.

1.30pm: Lunch at the Coconut Club
For a slightly less formal affair, book a table at the nearby Coconut Club. This palm-fronted bistro is a favourite with locals, especially for its signature nasi lemak, where rice cooked in coconut milk is given a fiery kick with lashings of chili, smoky ikan bilis (dried fish), and a crispy fried whole chicken leg, all crowned with a fried egg. It’s a fierce blend for the senses, topped only by the deliciously moreish gula melaka chiffon cake, made from bittersweet sugar from palm flower sap.

3pm: Let young ones loose on Sentosa
Beyond the steel and glass canvas of Singapore’s mainland is Sentosa, a verdant island packed with family attractions including Universal Studios and the exhilarating Mega Adventure park, home to some of the world’s largest zip lines. If you’re after something more sedate, book into Tanjong Beach Club, where day beds, cocktails and choice of sea or pool await.

6.30pm: Be dazzled by an evening light show
Back on the mainland, make a stop at Gardens by the Bay waterfront gardens, whose giant, foliage-covered Supertrees have become a symbol of Singapore. Close out the trip with a viewing of the park’s evening light show, surrounded by lush flower beds, burbling fountains and towering palms, all within the beating heart of this thriving city.