4 Best Sights in Singapore

This market is the largest Victorian cast-iron structure left in Southeast Asia. Already a thriving fish market in 1822, it was redesigned as an octagon by George Coleman in 1834 and again redesigned, as seen today, in 1894. It now serves as a food court, with hawker stalls that are busy during the day with office workers. After 7 pm, Boon Tat Street is closed to traffic, and the mood turns festive: hawkers wheel out their satay carts, and buskers often perform.

Also known as Newton Circus, this is one of the best-known hawker centers in town. (The "circus" refers to a roundabout, as in Piccadilly Circus.) It's a great place to visit at night, when the atmosphere is buzzing, and it's usually very busy no matter which evening you go. Food vendors here often get pushy with their menus, so walk with confidence if you don't want to be accosted. Note that you can sit anywhere: it can feel strange buying food at one stall, then sitting down in front of another, but that's the practice. In fact, it can sometimes be hard to find a table, so grab whatever you can get. The barbecue seafood stalls are famous here, though things like tiger prawns and chilli crab are priced by weight, so have the bill tallied up ahead of time to avoid expensive surprises.

Renovated in 2023, this is one of the city's largest and busiest wet markets (where meat and fish are sold). Tekka also has a staggering array of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices for sale. On the Sungei Road side of the ground floor are stalls selling Chinese, Indian, Malay, and Western foods. Many of the stalls are run by second- or third-generation hawkers, making this an excellent place to sample Singapore's famed hawker food. Upstairs shops sell hardware, shoes, luggage, textiles, and Indian clothing.

Typically, this market is swamped. On the first floor, hawker stalls sell local eats that are great for a quick, cheap meal, but it's the basement floor that fascinates. Here, you'll find a wet market—so called because water is continually sloshed over the floors to clean them—where meat, fowl, and fish are bought and sold. There's also an open-air produce market where you can find bargain local fruit—including the infamous durian—for an after-lunch snack.