Looking for the best places to see in Singapore? If you are staying near the Kampong Glam district during your trip, you are in for a treat! This colourful neighbourhood offers tourists unique experiences that few places can match. 

For a start, Kampong Glam holds a special significance for the Malay-Muslim population in Singapore. Once a thriving port town, the area was assigned to the local Malay, Arab, and Bugis communities in 1822 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. 

While the neighbourhood has retained much of its ethnic flavour, it has also kept up with the times—its cultural landmarks stand proudly alongside contemporary street art, indie stores, trendy cafes, and bespoke bars.

For guests at PARKROYAL on Beach Road, Singapore: Kampong Glam is just a four-minute walk away. You can easily spend a half-day (or even a full day) touring this vibrant district—read on to discover five local experiences in Kampong Glam that you won’t want to miss!

The best way to explore Kampong Glam is with a local area expert as your travel guide. Cover all bases — history, architecture, traditional trades, and street art — as you weave through the enchanting streets of Kampong Glam. 

You’ll begin your tour at the Masjid Hajjah Fatimah mosque. Built in the 1840s, it was named after its benefactor, a Malacca-born businesswoman with royal connections. The mosque stands out for its fusion of European and Asian architectural elements, which your guide will point out to you. 

You’ll also discover a vibrant street lined with perfumeries (Bussorah Street), see back-lane barbers at work, and perhaps even spot a chicken or two. For photography buffs, Kampong Glam is one of the best places in Singapore for street art photography, and your guide will share the stories behind the art. This 2.5-hour tour is fully customisable—simply let your guide know what your interests are, and he or she will do the rest. 

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When Marvel director Joseph Russo visited Singapore on a promotional trip, he called the Singapore Sidecars’ Kampong Glam tour “the best tour” he had ever been on. It’s high praise indeed, and there’s more to this backstory: visiting along with Russo was actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who apparently wasn’t able to land himself a sidecar. Rather than being mortified, Singapore Sidecars turned this into a badge of honour—of being the tour company to make Doctor Strange “walk, and sweat a lot.”

But the real stars of this tour are, naturally, the people of Kampong Glam. The area owes its distinctive character to the textile wholesalers, spice traders, perfumers, Muslim food caterers, gemstone retailers, and handicraft artisans who plied their trades here in the past. These are the heritage experiences that you’ll get to hear about, as you witness how the area has diversified and changed over the decades—while riding in a vintage Vespa sidecar, and occasionally, stopping for a quick walkabout.

There are three Kampong Glam sidecar tours of varying durations for you to choose from (they range from one to three hours). Choose the longer tours if you wish to cover the wider Civic District, as well as meet and mingle with members of the local community. The three-hour tour includes a cookery session at a Halal cupcake shop; a truly immersive way to experience local Malay-Muslim culture.

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Makan means “to eat” in Malay, but on the “Makan Makan at Kampong Glam” food tour, you’ll not only be eating but seeing for yourself how the area’s well-loved foods are prepared. While doing so, you’ll get to learn all about the tantalising ingredients ensconced in Malay and Indian-Muslim culinary traditions. 

During this three-hour tour, you’ll get to sample sweet snacks known as kueh and savoury bites such as curry puffs and samosas. You’ll catch an Indian chef flipping murtabak (a pancake with meat fillings) on a sizzling hot stove—a performance of speed and dexterity. You’ll also spend time at favourite local hangouts in the neighbourhood, where you can tuck into a nasi padang meal. (This popular dish originated in West Sumatra, and features steamed rice served with curried and spiced meats and vegetable dishes.)

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Malay Heritage Centre

Looking for things to do in Singapore on a budget? Prefer to explore Kampong Glam on your own? 

Begin your free-and-easy tour at the Malay Heritage Centre, which occupies the grounds where Malay royalty once took up residence. Today, the Malay Heritage Centre serves as a museum and cultural hub. Through its exhibitions and workshops, you can learn about the migration of Southeast Asian traders to Kampong Glam and their influence on Malay culture within Singapore.

After your Malay Heritage Centre visit, you can download the official Kampong Glam trail booklet (in pdf format) to explore the rest of the neighbourhood. The booklet contains walking route recommendations, along with all the background information that you’ll need to make sense of the major Kampong Glam attractions.

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Fancy a splurge, and desire to bring home a memorable and “scent-sational” Kampong Glam souvenir for yourself (or a loved one)? Book a personalised perfume-making session at Sifr Aromatics. It’s run by perfumer Johari Kazura, whose father and grandfather were both in the business too. 

Think scents are frivolous? Not quite, says Johari. “[W]e remember things better with a scent, even if it’s from a long time ago,” he says. “We remember how cities smell, when you’re somewhere else the air smells different and you know you’re not home.”

Johari’s mission will be to help you find your special scent—hopefully, to encapsulate your time here in Singapore—in just 1.5 hours. At the end of the session, you’ll have a 50ml eau de parfum all bottled up and ready to bring home. This could set you back anything from S$180 for a simple yet elegant personal blend, to S$450 and over for a more complex blend using premium ingredients.

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