Free Things To Do In Singapore

Gardens by the Bay is the one free thing everyone should do here. The outdoor gardens, the waterfront promenade and the Supertree Grove cost nothing, and the Garden Rhapsody light and sound show under the Supertrees runs free every evening. The two conservatories, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, are ticketed, as is the OCBC Skyway walkway between the Supertrees. Bayfront MRT brings you to the gate. Come around sunset and stay for the show.

Photographing the Merlion at Merlion Park costs nothing. The 8.6 metre original and the smaller cub behind it look across the water at Marina Bay Sands, and the promenade loops right around the bay past the Esplanade and the Helix Bridge. Two more approved Merlions stand at Tourism Court and on Faber Point at Mount Faber, and the one that towered over Sentosa has been taken down. Raffles Place MRT is closest.

Spectra is a free light, water and music show that plays on the waterfront outside Marina Bay Sands after dark. Fountains, projections and music run for about fifteen minutes, with no seating and no ticket, so people gather along the Event Plaza steps and the promenade. It runs several times each evening with extra shows at weekends, so check the day's timings. Bayfront MRT exits almost onto it.

The Botanic Gardens have been free since 1859 and became Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. You can walk the rainforest patch, the Healing Garden, Swan Lake and the Ginger Garden without paying anything. The one ticketed part is the National Orchid Garden inside the grounds, which budget travellers can skip and still see most of the place. Enter at Tanglin Gate from Napier MRT or Bukit Timah Gate from Botanic Gardens MRT.

Jewel sits between the Changi Airport terminals and you do not need a boarding pass to walk in. The Rain Vortex, the tallest indoor waterfall in the world, falls seven storeys through the middle of the building and is free to stand and watch, as is the terraced Shiseido Forest Valley around it. Canopy Park on the top level is the ticketed part. Changi Airport MRT is right there, which makes it an easy last day stop.

Chinatown is free to walk and it is the densest few streets in the city. Pagoda Street, Temple Street and Smith Street carry shophouses, red lanterns and market stalls, with the Buddha Tooth Relic and Sri Mariamman temples both a short walk away. Come in the evening when the street market is busiest. Chinatown MRT puts you in the middle of it.

Little India costs nothing to explore and is the most colourful walk in the city. Serangoon Road and the lanes off it are lined with garland sellers, spice shops and gold merchants, and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple welcomes visitors who dress modestly. Sunday evening is liveliest, and Deepavali brings light arches over the street. Little India MRT.

Kampong Glam is the old Malay and Arab quarter and walking it is free. The golden dome of Sultan Mosque anchors the district, and visitors are welcome outside prayer times if shoulders and knees are covered, with robes lent at the door. Haji Lane behind it is one shophouse lane of murals and small shops. Bugis MRT, and late afternoon suits photographs.

The HSBC TreeTop Walk is a 250 metre suspension bridge slung between MacRitchie's two highest points, 25 metres above the forest floor, and it costs nothing. The loop out and back is roughly ten kilometres, so allow four to five hours and carry water. The bridge is one way and closed on Mondays. Keep food out of sight, as macaques are common.

The Southern Ridges is a ten kilometre chain of parks and bridges running from Kent Ridge Park to HarbourFront, and every metre of it is free. The highlight is Henderson Waves, the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. Most people walk it in two to three hours from HarbourFront MRT up over Mount Faber. Go early or after four, as shade is patchy.

Fort Canning is a free hill park in the middle of the city, once the seat of Malay kings and later the British headquarters. The lawns, the Spice Garden, the old Gothic gates and the much photographed tree tunnel are all open with no ticket. The Battlebox, the underground command bunker, is the exception and runs as a paid guided tour. Fort Canning MRT.

Marina Barrage is a dam with a grass roof and it makes one of the best free afternoons in the city. Families spread out on the rooftop lawn to fly kites and picnic with the whole Marina Bay skyline in front of them, and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery downstairs is free too. There is little shade, so come late afternoon into sunset.

East Coast Park runs for kilometres along the sea and costs nothing to use. There are free barbecue pits and picnic tables under the casuarina trees, a long cycling and skating path, and a stretch of sand for swimming. Only bike hire and the food centres cost anything. Buses run from Bedok or Eunos MRT, and weekday mornings are quiet.

This four storey temple in Chinatown is free to enter and is the most striking building on the street. The relic chamber upstairs holds a large stupa faced in gold, said to contain a tooth of the Buddha, and the rooftop garden has a prayer wheel pavilion. Volunteers run free tours on some days, so ask at the desk. Cover shoulders and knees.

Sri Mariamman on South Bridge Road is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, built in 1827, and there is no charge to go in. The gopuram over the entrance is stacked with painted figures and is what most people photograph. Leave your shoes at the door and dress modestly. It is a working temple, so avoid the middle of the day. Chinatown MRT.

Thian Hock Keng is the oldest Hokkien temple in Singapore, built by sailors who had survived the crossing from China, and entry is free. It was put together without nails, and the dragon ridges, granite pillars and iron railings reward slow looking. A long mural on the back wall tells the migration story. Telok Ayer MRT is next door.

This free walk ties the city's history together. Follow the river from Boat Quay past Cavenagh Bridge and the Old Hill Street Police Station with its rainbow shutters, then out onto the Padang. The National Gallery fills the old Supreme Court and City Hall, and its public spaces are open to all, though gallery admission is free only for Singapore citizens and permanent residents. City Hall MRT.

The Esplanade runs free performances almost every day of the year and they are genuinely open to walk-ups. The Concourse stage inside and the Outdoor Theatre by the water carry local bands, classical recitals and dance, with weekend evenings busiest. The programme is published ahead, so look it up rather than turning up hopefully.

Pulau Ubin is the last piece of old Singapore, an island of dirt tracks, granite quarries and wooden houses with about forty residents left. Being there costs nothing, though the bumboat from Changi Point charges a small fare and leaves when it has enough passengers. Bicycles can be hired at the jetty. Go early and give it the whole day.

Chek Jawa sits on the eastern tip of Pulau Ubin where six habitats meet, and the boardwalk over the mangroves and mudflats is free. At low tide you can see starfish, crabs and seagrass from the walkway, so check the tide table before making the trip. Jejawi Tower at the end overlooks the whole wetland. Wear sturdy shoes and carry water.

These two gardens inside Jurong Lake Gardens reopened in 2024 after a long closure and both are free. The Chinese Garden has its pagoda, arched bridges and stone boat, while the Japanese Garden next door is deliberately plainer and quieter. An hour or two covers both, and the lake path links them to the rest of the gardens. Chinese Garden MRT.

The Singapore City Gallery inside the URA Centre explains how a small island was planned into the city you are standing in, and admission is free. The centrepiece is a huge architectural model of the central area. It is closed on Sundays and public holidays, so plan around that. Tanjong Pagar or Maxwell MRT, and an hour is plenty.

Sungei Buloh in the far northwest is Singapore's main wetland reserve and it is free to enter. Boardwalks run out over mangroves and prawn ponds with hides for watching waders, and crocodiles are occasionally seen from the bridges. Migratory birds arrive between September and March. Go at first light and take repellent.

Gillman Barracks is a cluster of old black and white military buildings turned into contemporary art galleries, and the exhibitions are free to walk into. The setting under rain trees is as much of the appeal as the art. Galleries keep their own hours and most shut early in the week, so aim for a Friday or Saturday. Labrador Park MRT.

Haw Par Villa is the strangest place in Singapore, a hillside of painted statues and dioramas of Chinese folklore built by the Tiger Balm family, and the outdoor grounds have always been free. Two things have changed: the Ten Courts of Hell now sits inside the ticketed Hell's Museum, and much of the park has been closed for repairs since late 2025. Check before you go. Haw Par Villa MRT.

Kampong Lorong Buangkok is the last village left on mainland Singapore, a handful of tin roofed wooden houses on a lane off Yio Chu Kang Road, and there is nothing to pay. People still live here, so stay on the lane, keep your voice down and do not photograph homes or residents. Ang Mo Kio MRT and a bus. Twenty minutes is enough.

Singapore's public festivals are free to join and they change the look of whole neighbourhoods. Chinese New Year lights Chinatown, Deepavali does the same for Little India, Hari Raya fills Geylang Serai with a night bazaar, and Thaipusam brings a procession from Little India to Tank Road. Dates move each year, so check before booking.

This one is cheap rather than free, and it is how you keep a Singapore trip affordable. Hawker centres are open air food halls where chicken rice, char kway teow or roti prata costs a fraction of restaurant prices, and the culture is on the UNESCO list. Maxwell, Lau Pa Sat and Old Airport Road are worth the detour. Carry small cash.

Tiong Bahru is a pre-war housing estate of curved white walk-ups and walking it costs nothing. The blocks went up in the 1930s in a streamlined style you will not see elsewhere in the city, and an air raid shelter, the wet market and a set of wall murals sit within a few streets. Tiong Bahru MRT, and Sunday mornings are the nicest.

Beyond the Esplanade, free outdoor music turns up around the city through the year, including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's occasional evening concerts on the lawn at the Botanic Gardens. These are not on a fixed schedule, so they are worth checking for rather than planning around. Bring a mat and arrive early.