• Dinner somewhere fancy.
• Beer overlooking Esplanade.
• Tony Bourdain hawker center
• Yong Siak Street
• Stories Behind Singapore Streets - National Library, near Bugis
• Bras Basah Complex - Cat Socrates
• Three blocks west, the Singapore Art Museum (11) at 71 Bras Basah Road (00 65 6332 3222; singart.com ) occupies a 19th-century mission school, where a permanent collection of South-east Asian art is augmented by visiting exhibitions. Admission $10 (£4.50); open 10am-7pm daily (to 9pm on Fridays, when admission is free after 6pm).
• Head north along Waterloo Street, studded with temples and public art, then jink north-west across the Rochor Canal to the foot of Little India. Thread your way along "Backpackers' Row", officially known as Dunlop Street, then aim north along Serangoon Road to take a slice through Little Indian life – branching off to explore lanes such as Little India Arcade (12) and Sri Veeramakali-amman temple (13).
• Considering five million residents are squeezed into an area less than twice the size of the Isle of Wight, Singapore manages to offer plenty of green escapes. The most formal manifestation can be found at the Botanic Gardens (18), beyond the end of Orchard Road (00 65 6471 7361; sbg.org.sg ). Modelled on Kew Gardens, though with rather more profuse vegetation, it is an ideal antidote to city life, with a horticultural inner sanctum in the shape of the National Orchid Garden. Open 5am-midnight daily (Orchid Garden daily 8.30am-7pm, S$5/£2.20).
• The "hawker centre" or food court is a great Singapore concoction: dozens of vendors, each with its own culinary specialism, compete for custom. Choose what takes your fancy and then take a seat in the centre. The most architecturally attractive is Lau Pa Sat (21), which occupies a former Victorian market building right in the heart of the city. It was created in Glasgow in 1894 and shipped across to be assembled locally. You can swill down pig organ soup, though Indian, Korean and Japanese dishes are also available. Open 24 hours, but best experienced at lunchtime on weekdays.
• Pulau Ubin
• Trip to the beach. Sentosa.
• Watch football at a sports bar.
• Asian Civilisations Museum Losing track of time – cultural immersion at the Asian Civilisations Museum. 1 Empress Place, ☎ +65-63327798, [2]. Mon 1-7 PM, Tue-Sun 9:30 AM-7 PM. One of Singapore's newest, largest and best-presented museums. As the name hints, all of Asia is covered in the scope, although naturally there is an emphasis on the cultures near and in Singapore. Also hosts visiting exhibitions. $5, or $10 for Peranakan Museum joint ticket.
• Little India Trying not to be overwhelmed in Little India Sunday evening when things get very ‘Bolly’
• Singapore Zoo and Night Safari Talking to the animals at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari
• Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, MacRitchie Reservoir and Pulau Ubin Rampaging through greenery at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, MacRitchie Reservoir or Pulau Ubin
• Chinatown Embracing the full Chinatown experience – tea, Chinese opera, yum cha
• Singapore Botanic Gardens Chilling out with orchids and tropical finery at the serene Singapore Botanic Gardens
• Orchard Road Getting your shop-weary limbs massaged after a hard day’s credit-card abuse on Orchard Road
• Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay Catching a cultural performance at the architecturally controversialEsplanade – Theatres on the Bay
• Riverside Merlion Merlion Park (Raffles Place MRT exit H, off Fullerton Rd). Singapore's official symbol, 8.6 meters tall and weighing 70 tons, spouts water daily on the south bank of the mouth of the Singapore river. (The statue previously resided further down the river, but was moved in 2002 after the opening of the Esplanade Bridge.) Designed by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in 1964, many a commentator has pondered on the inherent contradictions of a creature that is half-cat, half-fish — much like Singapore itself. Singaporeas themselves regard the monument as a bit of a joke, and indeed in Singaporean slang the verb to merlion means "to vomit"! But any time of night or day, a steady stream of tourists troops up to see the mythical beast, and a purpose-built pier lets you take pictures with the Merlion and the CBD in the background. When paying your respects, don't miss the bite-sized Mini-Merlion (officially the "Merlion cub"), a mere two meters tall, just 28m away towards the bridge. Free.
• Mint Museum of Toys 26 Seah St (behind Raffles Hotel), ☎ +65-63390660, [3]. 9:30AM-6:30PM daily. Built to house the 50,000-piece toy collection of local enthusiast Chang Yang Fa, the contents of this five-story building covers come from 25 countries and span over a century of "Moments of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys" (hence MINT), with everything from wind-up toys to Darth Vader masks. Guided tours (45 min) available and recommended. S$15/7.50 adult/child (under 12).
• Sentosa
• Southern Ridges Walk
• Katong - East Singapore
• Cycling at East Coast
• Sight-seeing at Everton Road

Drinks

• Raffles Hotel Slinging back Singapore Slings at the regal Raffles Hotel or a hole-in-the-wall watering hole
• Raffles Hotel top-floor museum (open 10am-7pm daily, admission free). An array of sepia photographs, extracts from newspapers, luggage labels and travel posters remind you that Britain was once much more than 12 hours away. If the door to Jubilee Hall, Raffles' own 400-seat theatre, is open, take a peek.
• Drinks on Wednesdays or Thursdays--ladies' night @ Clarke Quay, Robertson Quay, or Mohamed Sultan Rd

Food

• Gluttons Bay
• Heeren : The Place Formerly Known as *Marche The Village
• Blue Ginger
• Ya Kun Kaya
• Hooters
• Kopitiam (24 hours)
• Heat bar
• Swensens in Bugis
• Froyo

From The Lonely Planet

• East Coast Seafood Village, only 10 minutes by cab from the airport. The signature venue is Jumbo (00 65 6442 3435; jumboseafood.com.sg ), where you can feast outdoors on prawns, satay or soup, watching the planes line up to land before you take off. Reckon on S$30 (£13.50) per person, including a beer or two; if your cash reserves are dwindling, just along the shore the East Coast Lagoon is a hawker centre with much lower prices.