Singapore/Marina Bay

The label "Marina Bay" is a little fuzzy. Technically, it's the body of water created by reclaiming land around the mouth of the Singapore River and blocked off from the sea by the Marina Barrage, but Singaporeans used to associate the name "Marina" with the Marina Square shopping mall and the many hotel developments around it on the north shore of the river. The half to the south of the river, or Marina South, was mostly unused reclaimed land until the government targeted it as Singapore's new downtown hub, turning it into the core of Singapore's urban transformation efforts. Now its centrepiece, the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, dominates the city skyline while sharing the spotlight with the super trees of Gardens by the Bay. With many more upcoming developments planned, Marina Bay is now truly the focal point in any visitor's itinerary: mixing business, shopping, entertainment and culture in one accessible district.

Transport to Marina Bay is organised.
The northern half is best accessed through the Circle MRT Line, with stations at Esplanade (for Suntec City) and Promenade (for Suntec City and Millenia Walk, also on the Downtown Line). Alternatively, you can walk for approximately 15 minutes through the underground (and air-conditioned) CityLink shopping mall from Raffles City (at the City Hall MRT station where the North-South and East-West lines intersect).
If you wish to head to Merlion Park, a less-touristed option would be to walk through an air-conditioned linkway within the Fullerton Hotel complex (located near Raffles Place) towards the Bay.
The southern half, i.e. Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, is best accessed through the Downtown MRT Line, with stations at Bayfront (for Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay), and Downtown for Lau Pa Sat and the Financial District.
From the airport, Marina Bay Sands Hotel guests can use a shuttle bus for $9.
The Marina Bay Cruise Centre is a direct gateway into the heart of Singapore, serving as the docking point for some of the world's largest cruise ships. To get to/fro the Cruise Center, you can use the North-South Line at the Marina South Pier station.

Suntec City, Marina Square, Millenia Walk and the Esplanade in the north are all conveniently linked, either by underground malls or covered walkways. If you don't mind a bit of a walk, the Marina Bay Sands can be reached from the northern half by walking south on the Helix Bridge, which has several viewing platforms overlooking the bay.

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands hosts a slew of attractions. The easiest on your wallet would be to simply sit and enjoy the view of Shenton Way and the Esplanade from the foreshore, which are great in the day, but even more spectacular at night.

• Marina Bay Sands Casino

  phone: +65 6688 8868
  address: 4 Bayfront Ave
  Singapore's second casino, larger and glitzier than its family-oriented competitor on Sentosa, with 600 gaming tables and 1,500 slot machines. Visitors can enter for free, but locals and residents have to pay $150 just to get in. An age limit of 16 applies, and you'll need to bring ID.

• Sands SkyPark

  address: Marina Bay Sands
  Singapore's single most dramatic landmark, the SkyPark defies gravity, perched 55 stories above the ground like a surfboard on top of the three hotel towers. Views aside, for time being there's not much bang for your buck though: the pool is open to guests only. The alternative to paying the entry fee is to visit the restaurants (see Eat) for lunch, which will set you back around $50, but you can freely explore the SkyPark afterwards. The SkyPark consists of one very long infinity pool, 3 heated Jacuzzis, a mini chocolate bar and of course the two high-end restaurants.

• ArtScience Museum

  address: 10 Bayfront Ave
  ArtScience Museum is part of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. It is the world's first ArtScience museum and the largest private museum in Singapore. It hosts mainly international travelling exhibitions. The current permanent exhibition, Future World, is billed as "Where Art Meets Science", invites visitors to enter a futuristic world of high-tech interactive artworks and immerse themselves in a world of art, science, magic and metaphor through a collection of cutting-edge digital installations.

• Light and Water Show

  address: Marina Bay Sands
  A light and water show lasting for 15 minutes every night at designated times. May be dazzling or cheesy depending on your perspective. Can also be seen from across the bay, which holds different vantage views.

Gardens and parks

Marina Bay adds a whole lot of greenery back to the city, all brought in and replanted. Some trees in the Gardens by the Bay are hundreds of years old, and some even date back a millennium.

• Gardens by the Bay

  phone: +65 6420 6848
  address: 18 Marina Gardens Dr
  The free outdoor gardens are themed around plants important to Singapore history and culture. Super trees tower over the rest of the gardens, built to mimic real-life trees using technology such as solar cells. The gardens also has a few event venues like the Meadow.

• Conservatory complexThe gardens houses two cooled conservatories; the Flower Dome simulating a dry-climate area and the Cloud Forest for more tropical highlands plants.

• OCBC SkywayTwo of the larger super trees are linked by a skyway, giving visitors a 50-m view off the ground.

• OCBC Garden RhapsodyLight shows at night. The supertrees get illuminated.

Marina Barrage

phone: +65 6514 5959

address: 260 Marina Way

Provides an educational look at the inner workings of a reservoir and the move towards environmental sustainability. The rooftop garden offers stunning views of the Marina Bay skyline, and you'll see some intrepid kite flyers taking advantage of the breeze.

The Marina South Pier offers a few ferry services out of the city to the Southern Islands of Kusu and St. John. The journey is probably more remarkable than the destinations.

• Southern Islands Ferry

  phone: +65 6534 9339
  address: Marina South Pier
  The ferry will loop from Marina South Pier via St John's to Kusu. The timings give you a few hours on Kusu, depending on which service is taken, which is plenty for seeing the sights.

• Singapore Maritime Gallery

  phone: +65 6325 5707
  address: 31 Marina Coastal Dr
  In the same building as the ferry terminal, this exhibition showcases the Singapore shipping industry.

• Red Dot Design Museum

  phone: +65 6514 0111
  address: 11 Marina Boulevard, #01-01
  In October 2017, the Red Dot Design Museum moved to the present location along the Marina Bay. The museum presents the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary design. Every one of these exhibits is a winner of the international Red Dot Design Award, one of the world’s leading and largest design competitions. It features a design shop and a design cafe bar. Here, you can buy carefully curated design objects from around the world and also the best designs produced by Singapore designers. The cafe bar also featured unique highly "instagramable" design food, craft beer, gourmet coffee and tea.

• Esplanade Theatres on the Bay

  phone: +65 6828 8377
  address: 1 Esplanade Dr
  Singapore's equivalent of Sydney's famous Opera House, except that the two-lobed spiky Singaporean version deliberately bears a striking resemblance to the durian, a tropical fruit related to the jackfruit which is notorious for its sharp odour. Opera, dance, classical concerts and similar entertainment is offered daily. Prices for the main entertainment start from $20-30 for poor seats, up to over a $100 for good ones. For the traveller on a budget, there are usually free productions on the outdoor riverside stage on weekends. Head up to the rooftop for alternate views of the Marina Bay area.

• Singapore Flyer

  phone: +65 6333 3311
  address: 30 Raffles Ave
  Singapore's newest tourist trap, this 150-m-tall observation wheel modelled on the London Eye is the world's tallest. One rotation takes about 30 minutes, and for an extra $36 you can sip on a cocktail while admiring the views, but expect to share your capsule with as many as 28 people unless you stump up $1,000 for a private ride. Discounts are widely available, grab a brochure from any tourist information counter.

Events

• Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix

  address: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
  The Singapore Grand Prix is a motor race, which is on the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The first race held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit was the 15th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was also the first, and thus far only, nighttime event in Formula One history. Night races are held in September, in conjunction with a comprehensive entertainment schedule. Officially known as the Grand Prix Season Singapore, the lead-up to the final race will include parties, race-themed events, music concerts, exhibitions, and dining and shopping .

• i Light Marina BayAsia's first sustainable light art festival that places 30 vivid and innovative light art installations around the bay, as well as a host of interactive events and activities throughout a three-week period in Mar-Apr.

• Millenia Walk

  phone: +65 6883 1122
  address: 9 Raffles Blvd
  Upscale mall known for housing Singapore's best collection of luxury watch retailers.

• Suntec City

  phone: +65 6825 2667
  address: 3 Temasek Blvd
  At the northeastern edge of the CBD is Singapore's 2nd largest shopping mall, featuring the Fountain of Wealth, reputedly the world's largest fountain. If connecting to the Circle Line is inconvenient, the other way in is to take the MRT to City Hall and then follow the signs in the underground CityLink mall, a 15-min air conditioned walk.

• The Shoppes at Marina Bay SandsThe Sands' shopping mall, chock full of expensive brands geared at stripping jackpot winners of their earnings, plus a dinky little canal where you can go for a spin in a sampan boat at $10/person.

Budget

As per usual in Singapore, cheap eats may be found in the food courts of the local shopping centres such as Food Republic and Fountain Food Terrace in Suntec City and The Gallerie in Marina Square. However, be warned that the extravagantly-named Rasapura Masters at Marina Bay Sands is the priciest in the entire country.

• Gluttons Bay

  phone: +65 6336 7025
  address: Esplanade Mall #01-15
  Run by famous foodies Makansutra, this outdoor eatery puts together 12 of Singapore's most famous hawkers. Breezy location by the river, great views of the city and pretty good grub make this a winner. The food here is a tourist-friendly reproduction of some of Singapore's best, though you can usually find better (and usually cheaper) versions in the heartlands.

Mid-range

There are a lot of mid-range eateries in the shopping centres but not many are of note and are mostly part of standard food franchises found elsewhere. The Gardens by the Bay also has some casual dining if you decide to rest in the middle of a walk.

• Supertree Dining

  address: Supertree Grove, Gardens by the Bay
  A mix of dining options ranging from noodles to fast food to sandwiches.

Splurge

Marina Bay Sands has brought in a constellation of big names, with Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Santi Santamaria, Guy Savoy, and Tetsuya Wakuda all opening restaurants in the complex.

• CÉ LA VI

  phone: +65 6688 7688
  address: Marina Bay Sands SkyPark
  A branch of the famous bar/restaurant KU DE TA in Bali, although it had to recently change name over legal issues. The restaurant's tapas-style food is by most accounts overpriced for what you get, but it's still probably a better deal than forking out $50 to enter the bar (one drink included).

• Waku Ghin

  phone: +65 6688 8507
  address: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Atrium 2, L2-02
  Chef Tetsuya's 10-course degustation menu focuses on Japanese cuisine and is created from the best seasonal produce. Rated by Restaurant Magazine as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Also has a bar with premium sake and whiskey.

There are a few interesting places around Marina Square and in the Gardens of the Bay as well.

• Pollen

  phone: +65 6604 9988
  address: Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay
  Offers innovative, Mediterranean-influenced, modern European cuisine from the ideas of Jason Atherton. The restaurant gets fresh herbs and vegetables straight from the in-house garden.

• Shiraishi

  phone: +65 6338 3788
  address: 7 Raffles Ave #03-01
  A tiny place in a quiet corner of the hotel, you won't stumble into this intimidatingly Japanese place by accident, but the restaurant's many regulars come here for some of the best and most consistent sushi and sashimi this side of Tokyo. Lunch sets are good value, but ordering à la carte for dinner can be very expensive indeed. For connoisseurs.

This is the place to be if you are someone, know somebody or just want to get away from the common masses.

• Avalon

  phone: +65 6688 7448
  address: Marina Bay Sands Crystal Pavilion South L1
  Another mega club, in a fancy glass pavilion set on the waters of the Marina Bay Reservoir. Regularly brings in headline trance and house DJs.

• LeVel33

  phone: +65 6834 3133
  address: Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 #33-01
  Billed as a craft-brewery in the penthouse of the Marina Bay Financial Centre. Expect lots of corporate types in the outside terrace enjoying the views overlooking the entire Marina Bay area.

As the glitzy new waterfront of Singapore, Marina Bay accommodation is all made up of high-end hotels, most of which boast expansive city and water views. Cheaper hotels will be found in neighbouring districts. The area is particularly busy during the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix in September, with many booking hotel rooms to be right in the middle of the races. Bayfront Ave will be closed, so traffic to the Marina Bay Sands will be limited through the south end. The Helix Bridge will also be closed during the race weekend (except for those with Zone 1 tickets), making it more difficult to get around.

Splurge

• Conrad Centennial

  phone: +65 6334 8888
  address: 2 Temasek Blvd
  New and impeccably tasteful hotel, next to Suntec City, but a bit far from the MRT. Very good value.

• Marina Bay Sands

  phone: +65 6688 8868
  address: 10 Bayfront Ave
  The three "card decks" of the Marina Bay Sands will house nearly 2,500 rooms offering some of the best views in the city. The other advantage to staying here, is access to the infinity edge pools atop the SkyPark.

• Pan Pacific Singapore

  phone: +65 6336 8111
  address: 7 Raffles Blvd, Marina Sq
  Free in-room wireless and wired internet. Its Cantonese restaurant, Hai Tien Lo is famed for its great service and ambience. Marina Bay Sands entertainment complex is easily accessible via the "Helix Bridge".

• Ritz-Carlton Millenia

  phone: +65 6337 8888
  address: 7 Raffles Ave
  Modern and impeccably stylish, with fantastic full-wall skyline views, even from the bathroom, for rooms on the Marina Bay side. (Don't worry, it's one-way glass.) All rooms are large and equipped with frills like a pillow in the bathtub. Gym, spa, pool and a popular Sunday champagne brunch. Recommended.

• Head eastwards to Riverside for its historic buildings or bigger nightlife, or north to Bugis for street shopping. Both are within walkable distance with frequent breaks, although the MRT may be a more comfortable ride, especially from Marina Bay Sands. You can also take bus 133 if you are heading from Marina Bay Sands to Bugis.