Free tour

Singapore History & Culture Walk

4.80

Excellent(20)

Singapore

Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Languages: English

Guru: Gregory

Registered on 10 July 2022

I am Singaporean and love to travel and learn about the history and people of each place I visit. I guide at museums and heritage trails. It is my pleasure to meet people and show them around my city.

Free reservation and cancellation

Pay-what-you-want tour, no set price, reservation and cancellation are free

Tour description

Discover how modern Singapore began at the Singapore River and see how we live and conserve our heritage.

From our starting point at Empress Place (now the Asian Civilizations Museum), we will proceed to the landing site of Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of modern Singapore in 1819. We head south across the Singapore River to Chinatown one of the first ethnic quarters, visiting temples along Telok Ayer (Malay for Water Bay) the ancient coastline before land reclamation filled it and allowed the rise of the present financial district. We will then head to the City Gallery to see the city model of modern Singapore. Then we will gaze at Sri Mariaman, a Hindu temple in the heart of Chinatown beside a mosque, before ending at Chinatown Complex where locals live, work and play. There, I will also point out some of Singapore’s world famous hawker food from around 200 hawker stalls in the complex, part of the hawker culture that made the UNESCO intangible heritage list in 2020.

Highlights

What will we see on this tour?

Meeting point:

10 Empress Pl, Singapore 179557

I will be at the front steps of Empress Place with my blue backpack.

Outside visit

Empress Place

We will start the tour here and learn about rise of the civic district from the Raffles town plan.

Outside visit

Old Parliament Lane

Learn about Sir Stamford Raffles and his role in founding modern Singapore as well as the rise of the commercial heart of the port along the Singapore River.

Outside visit

Telok Ayer Street

Visit a restored temple that is now part of the Amoy Hotel. View a model of what life was like in early Chinatown.

How much does this tour cost?

Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end the amount they consider appropriate (amounts usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).