Designed by Malaysian architect and ecologist Ken Yeang, this white, curvaceous brains trust is home to numerous facilities, including a reference library, lending library and drama centre. For visitors, the real draws are the display of beautiful maps of Asia on level 10 (some dating back to the 16th century), and the library's program of free exhibitions. If you have little ones in tow, head to the forest-themed children's library in the basement for some story-time R&R.
National Library
Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.56 MILES
Take a tour through the Battlebox Museum, the former command post of the British during WWII, and get lost in the eerie and deathly quiet 26-room…
8.58 MILES
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1.23 MILES
Singapore's 21st-century botanical garden is a S$1 billion, 101-hectare fantasy land of space-age biodomes, high-tech Supertrees and whimsical sculptures…
0.53 MILES
Connected by a striking aluminium and glass canopy, Singapore's historic City Hall and Old Supreme Court buildings now form the city's breathtaking…
2.72 MILES
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4.14 MILES
Made up of a series of parks and hills connecting Kent Ridge Park to Mt Faber and the Labrador Nature Reserve, the Southern Ridges will have you trekking…
3.37 MILES
MacRitchie Reservoir makes for a calming, evocative jungle escape. Walking trails skirt the water's edge and snake through the mature secondary rainforest…
1.83 MILES
Baba House is one of Singapore's best-preserved Peranakan heritage homes. Built in the 1890s, this beautiful blue three-storey building was donated to the…
Nearby Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay attractions
0.07 MILES
Cape of Good Hope is a spacious gallery showcasing local Singaporean artists, both established and up-and-coming.
0.09 MILES
Nostalgia rules at this slinky ode to playtime, its four skinny floors home to over 50,000 vintage toys. You'll see everything from rare Flash Gordon…
0.15 MILES
The younger sibling of the Singapore Art Museum, which is undergoing a significant revamp until 2021, is named after its address. Snoop around four floors…
0.16 MILES
Although its resplendent lobby is only accessible to hotel and restaurant guests, Singapore's most iconic slumber palace is worth a quick visit for its…
0.22 MILES
Now the home of trendy restaurants and entertainment hot spots, including famed Whitegrass and exotic Coriander Leaf, neo-classical Chijmes was once a…
0.23 MILES
Formerly the St Joseph's Institution – a Catholic boys' school – SAM now sings the praises of contemporary Southeast Asian art. The museum was undergoing…
0.24 MILES
The polychromatic Hindu Sri Krishnan Temple has a magnificent silver-and-gold shrine.
8. Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple
0.24 MILES
Awash with the frenetic click of chien tung (Chinese fortune sticks), this is one of Singapore's busiest (and according to devotees, luckiest) temples. It…