Singapore Botanic Gardens Itinerary: A One-Day Route

Fusion Spoon at Tanglin Gate

Fusion Spoon sits on B1 of the Botany Centre at the Tanglin Entrance and is halal certified. You order at the self-service kiosk or scan the QR code on your phone, and clear your own tray. Sit at the outdoor tables while the air is still cool.

One detail sets your start time. It opens at 9am on weekdays and 7.30am at weekends and on public holidays, so a weekday sunrise start means walking the first stops before you eat rather than after.

What to order and what to skip is in our Fusion Spoon review.

Before you go

• Weekdays 9am to 9pm; weekends and public holidays 7.30am to 9.30pm.
• #B1-00, Botany Centre, Tanglin Gate, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569.

Next leg: walk into the Tanglin Core towards Swan Lake.

Swan Lake, Dug in 1866

Swan Lake was constructed in 1866, shortly after the Gardens were founded, and NParks calls it the oldest ornamental water feature in Singapore. It still works for a living, supplying water to the plants across the Tanglin Core. It is named after a pair of mute swans brought in from Amsterdam.

The best angles here are in our Botanic Gardens photo spots guide.

Before you go

• Gardens open 5am to midnight daily. Free.

Next leg: walk on to the Sundial Garden.

The Sundial Garden and a 1929 Warning

The object to find here is the sundial itself. Ursula Holttum, wife of the then director Eric Holttum, designed and sculpted it in 1929. Its four-sided pedestal carries carved figures, two of them Father Time and Death, and the inscription reads “What thou seekest is but a shadow”.

The garden around it is brickwork and formal symmetry, which gives you a clean, structured background while the morning light is still soft. Drink some water before you move on. The open lawns around here have very little shade.

Before you go

• Gardens open 5am to midnight daily. Free.

Next leg: walk on to the Ginger Garden.

Behind the Ginger Garden Waterfall

The Ginger Garden covers one hectare and holds more than 550 species of the ginger order, laid out by region across Asia, Africa and tropical America. At its centre a lily pond sits beside a waterfall with a moss-covered cave.

A path runs behind the waterfall, and that is why this stop is on the route. Step into the cave and look back out through the falling water.

Before you go

• Gardens open 5am to midnight daily. Free.

Next leg: walk on to the National Orchid Garden ticket counter.

The National Orchid Garden and the VIP Garden

This is the only part of the Gardens that charges admission, and the stop to give the most time. The collection runs to more than 1,500 species and 3,000 hybrids, and inside the grounds sits the VIP Orchid Garden: the Gardens’ own hybrids, named after visiting figures including Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela, set beside Burkill Hall of 1866. It sits inside the same grounds, so your orchid garden ticket covers it.

Allow an hour and a half if you want the VIP garden and the Sembcorp Cool House as well. The Cool House holds more than 1,000 species from five regions, kept cool to simulate a montane tropical forest.

What to see inside is covered in our National Orchid Garden guide.

Before you go

• Daily 8.30am to 7pm, last ticket sale and entry 6pm.
• Local: adult S$5, senior 60 and above S$1, student S$1, children under 12 free. Standard: adult S$15, senior S$3, student S$3.
• Local rates apply to citizens, permanent residents and pass holders living in Singapore. Pets are not allowed inside.

Next leg: walk back towards the Bandstand.

The Bandstand, Built in 1930

On the way back, the octagonal gazebo sits on what was once a hill 33 metres above sea level, levelled in the 1860s so regimental bands could play there. The Bandstand itself went up in 1930.

The ring of Yellow Rain trees around it began as a mutation that turned some leaves yellow, and the Gardens have kept the colour going by cloning. Sit on the grass in their shade and drink some water before the walk back. It is a popular wedding photo spot, so expect to wait for a clear frame.

Before you go

• Gardens open 5am to midnight daily. Free.

Next leg: walk back to the Tanglin Core for the galleries.

SBG Heritage Museum in Holttum Hall

The route brings you back to the Tanglin Core at the hottest part of the day. The Heritage Museum sits in Holttum Hall, next to the Botany Centre where breakfast was, and it is properly air-conditioned.

What is inside, and the stories behind Holttum Hall, are in our Heritage Museum and CDL Green Gallery guide.

Before you go

• Daily 9am to 6pm. Closed the last Monday of the month. Free.

Next leg: the CDL Green Gallery is next door.

The CDL Green Gallery

It opened as Singapore’s first zero-energy gallery. It sits on Holttum Lawn as an extension of the Heritage Museum, built with Hempcrete, a bio-composite used for the first time locally, and a prefabricated modular system. The exhibitions rotate every six to nine months, so what is on changes through the year.

If one of the two galleries is shut on the day, stay longer in the other rather than going back out into the heat. Leave by Tanglin Gate for Napier MRT (TE12) on the Thomson-East Coast Line, the station NParks lists for the Tanglin Entrance.

Before you go

• Daily 9am to 6pm. Closed the last Tuesday of the month. Free.
• Information desks in the Gardens are staffed daily 8am to 5.30pm for first aid, lost property and wheelchair loans.