bras basah and bugis

Encompassing the heritage Civic District, a host of cultural sites

and part of the city’s business centre, this area is one of the most diverse in Singapore. It has sophisticated restaurants and lively bars—many of them in architecturally significant conservation buildings. The retail stores in the district are not as high-profile as those on Orchard Road but offer everything from craft materials to custom-fit clothes. Also, there are important temples, world-class galleries featuring contemporary art from the region, and museums focusing on indigenous culture and practices. Regardless of your taste, you’ll find plenty here to keep yourself occupied.

START

From Bugis MRT, enter 1 Bugis Junction, the perfect place to shop for high street brands like Esprit, Topshop and Levi’s. After perusing the selection of wares, cross the connecting bridge to another mall 2 Bugis+, which boasts a seven-storey high crystal-like façade and the largest Uniqlo outlet in Singapore.

Behind the mall is the 3 Sri Krishnan Temple, a shrine built in 1870 which is dedicated to the Hindu Lord Krishna, as well as 4 Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, where worshippers honour Kwan

Im, the Goddess of Mercy.Then take a walk down

Waterloo Street to Sculpture Square, the island’s first exhibition venue for three dimensional art. The 144-year-old building used to be a church and boarding house. At the square, you’ll also find the

charming 5 Artichoke Café & Bar, which

serves up unpretentious Middle-Eastern inspired fare.

Nearby, there’s Purvis Street, home

to many respected local eateries. There’s 6

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, a stalwart of Italian cuisine in Singapore, and Gunther’s, helmed by chef and co-owner Gunther Hubrechsen who presents fine contemporary French creations. For more

BRAS BASAH AND BUGIS—A BOUNTY OF RICHESExperience the best of local arts, culture, food and entertainment in this heritage precinct.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar’s

crab salad

bras basah and bugis

Chijmes

bras basah and bugis

affordable Gallic specialties, dine at Saveur where dishes such as sous vide foie gras and crispy duck confit go for wallet-friendly prices.

Over at the next street, Seah Street, lies 7 MINT (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys. The world’s first purpose-built museum for toys showcases a private collection of more than 50,000 toys from over 40 countries.

Just a short walk away, you’ll find 8 Raffles Hotel, which opened in 1887 and is among the city’s most photographed landmarks. Its world-famous Long Bar is the birthplace of Singapore’s iconic drink, the Singapore Sling. At Royal China, a renowned Chinese restaurant, feast on top-notch selections including lobster noodles with ginger and shallot sauce and crispy aromatic duck. The hotel’s Tiffin Room offers authentic Indian specialities while the Raffles Grill serves European fare in colonial surrounds.

The hotel also boasts a selection of top-of-the-line shops. Not only can you order bespoke garments from CYC Custom Shop (where Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew is said to get all his shirts fitted), you can find Thai silk brand Jim Thompson here too. There’re also high-end timepiece and jewellery specialists like The Hour Glass and Tiffany & Co.. Curious about the building’s history? The on-premise Raffles Hotel Museum houses Loof

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COLEMAN STREET

FORT CA

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ARMENIAN STREET

FORT CANNING ROAD

STAMFORD ROAD

ORCHARD ROAD

NORTH BRIDGE ROAD

BEACH ROAD

MIDDLE ROAD

MIDDLE ROAD

QUEEN STREET

WATERLOO STREET

BENCOOLEN STREET

PRINSEP STREE

TSHORT STREET

LIANG SEAH STREET

TAN QUEE LAN STREET

PURVIS STREETSEAH STREET

BAIN STREET

ARAB STREET

ARAB STREET

HAJI LANE

QUEEN STREET

VICTORIA STREET

VICTORIA STREET

BEACH ROAD

NICOLL HIGHWAY

BRAS BASAH ROAD

BRAS BASAH ROAD

RAFFLES BOULEVARD

HILL STREET

ROCHOR ROAD

ROCHOR ROAD

EW12BUGIS

EW13 NS25CITY HALL

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CC2BRAS BASAH

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artefacts and memorabilia that tell the legendary hotel’s story through postcards, old letters and photographs, highlighting its heyday during the ‘Golden Age of Travel’ between 1880 and 1939.

Stroll across the street to 9 Bras Basah Complex, a popular spot that’s chock full of art supply shops and bookstores. Closeby, you’ll find eateries like Cantonese establishment 10 Asia Grand Restaurant and HAN, which specialises in kushikatsu (deep-fried Japanese skewers). Upstairs is Loof, a chic rooftop bar with views of Raffles Hotel and the Civic District.

Further down the street, you’ll see the 11 Singapore Art Museum and its new

annex SAM at 8Q. A beautiful white 19th century structure, SAM has amassed one of the world’s largest public collections of contemporary Southeast Asian artworks since it opened in 1996. 8Q focuses on the later pieces from after 1970. Another cultural centre in the vicinity, the 12 National Museum of Singapore is where you can view historical relics like the Singapore Stone, which dates back to at least the 13th century, and gold ornaments unearthed from nearby Fort Canning Hill in 1928.

Proceed round Stamford Road and down Armenian

Street to quiet exhibition space 13 The Substation, which displays contemporary photography, oil paintings and installation pieces. Beside it is the 14 Peranakan Museum where you’ll see Straits Chinese furniture, jewellery and artefacts spanning three floors. For an additional dose of modern and contemporary art, visit 15 Art Plural Gallery, founded by Swiss art dealer Frédéric de Senarclens. Then swing by 16 Singapore Philatelic Museum, which exhibits stamps and archival philatelic

material from the 1830s to the present day.

To wind down for the day, why not sip on some cocktails at 17 CHIJMES? More than 130 years old, the refurbished

former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus

is one of the city’s hottest nightlife destinations with its exclusive restaurants and bars.

With great shopping, fine food and culturally-rich attractions in this area, there’s no better place for a comprehensive introduction to this modern metropolis.

Singapore Philatelic Museum

ADDRESS BOOKART PLURAL GALLERY

38 Armenian Street. (65) 6636-8360.

www.artpluralgallery.com

ARTICHOKE CAFE & BAR161 Middle Road.

(65) 6336-6949. www.artichoke.com.sg

ASIA GRAND RESTAURANT#01-02 Odeon Towers, 331 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6887-0010. www.asiagrandrestaurant. weebly.com

BRAS BASAH COMPLEX231 Bain Street.

(65) 6334-1108. www.bras-basah-complex.com.sg

BUGIS JUNCTION200 Victoria Street.

(65) 6557-6557. www.bugisjunction-mall.com.sg

BUGIS+201 Victoria Street.

(65) 6634-6810. www.bugis-plus.com.sg

Singapore Art Museum

bras basah and bugis

CHIJMES30 Victoria Street.

(65) 6337-7810. www.chijmes.com.sg

CYC CUSTOM SHOP#02-12 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6336-3556.www.cyccustomshop.com

ESPRIT#01-77 to 80 Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria Street.

(65) 6336-6915. www.esprit.com

GARIBALDI ITALIAN RESTAURANT & BAR

#01-02 Talib Centre,36 Purvis Street.

(65) 6837-1468. www.garibaldi.com.sg

GUNTHER’S RESTAURANT#01-03 Talib Centre, 36 Purvis Street.

(65) 6338-8955. www.gunthers.com.sg

HAN#01-04 Odeon Towers, 331 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6336-2466.www.han.com.sg

THE HOUR GLASS#01-14/15 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6334-3241. www.thehourglass.com

JIM THOMPSON#01-07 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6336-5322.www.jimthompson.com

KWAN IM THONG HOOD CHO TEMPLE

178 Waterloo Street. (65) 6337-3965.

LEVI’S#02-17/18 Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria Street.

(65) 6337-6501. www.levi.com.sg

LONG BAR#02-01 Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road.

(65) 6412-1230. www.raffles.com

LOOF#03-07 Odeon Towers,331 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6338-8035.www.loof.com.sg

MINT MUSEUM OF TOYS26 Seah Street.

(65) 6339-0660. www.emint.com

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE

93 Stamford Road. (65) 6332-3659.

www.nationalmuseum.sg

PERANAKAN MUSEUM39 Armenian Street.

(65) 6332-7591. www.peranakanmuseum.sg

RAFFLES GRILLRaffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road.

(65) 6412-1816.www.raffles.com

RAFFLES HOTEL1 Beach Road.

(65) 6337-1886. www.raffles.com

RAFFLES HOTEL MUSEUMRaffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road.

(65) 6412-1310. www.raffles.com

ROYAL CHINA#03-09 Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road.

(65) 6338-3363. www.raffles.com

SAVEUR#01-04, 5 Purvis Street.

(65) 6333-3121. www.saveur.sg

SCULPTURE SQUARE155 Middle Road.

(65) 6333-1055. www.sculpturesq.com.sg

SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM71 Bras Basah Road.

(65) 6332-3222. www.singaporeartmuseum.sg

SAM AT 8Q8 Queen Street.

(65) 6332-3222. www.singaporeartmuseum.sg

SINGAPORE PHILATELIC MUSEUM

23B Coleman Street. (65) 6337-3888.

www.spm.org.sg

SRI KRISHNAN TEMPLE152 Waterloo Street.

(65) 6337-7957.

THE SUBSTATION45 Armenian Street.

(65) 6337-7535. www.substation.org

TIFFANY & CO.#01-05 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road.

(65) 6334-0168. www.tiffany.com

TIFFIN ROOMG/F Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road.

(65) 6412-1190. www.raffles.com

TOPSHOP#01-112/#02-112 Bugis Junction,200 Victoria Street.

(65) 6238-7927. www.topshop.com

UNIQLO#01-15/16, #02-15/16/17 Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street.

(65) 6238-7401. www.uniqlo.com/sg

Gunther’s cold angel hair pasta wth Oscietra caviar