Singapore conjures up visions of skyscrapers, but this tropical island state is surprisingly verdant. A clean, green destination, a fastidious approach to urban planning, which incorporates swathes of public parkland, means it’s developed hand-in-hand with health and wellbeing. For a city break rich in relaxing retreats and outdoor living, visit the Lion City…
ECO STAY
PARKROYAL on Pickering
Chic contemporary PARKROYAL on Pickering boasts eco design by Singaporean architects WOHA, including dramatic vertical sky gardens. This inspiring green hotel features a dedicated Wellness Floor including an infinity lap pool with birdcage-shaped cabanas, plus zen St. Gregory Spa, fitness centre and 300-metre Garden Walk. Enjoy a Balinese or traditional Chinese Tui Na massage at the spa, then chill out in a poolside cabana with seductive skyline views and you’ll soon forget you’re on a city break.
3 Upper Pickering Street, +65 6809 8888, parkroyalhotels.com/en/hotels-resorts/singapore/pickering.html
GREEN SPACES
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Beautifully manicured and lush, 183-acre Singapore Botanic Gardens is a gorgeous green escape a mere skip from Orchard Road. For tropical thrills, check out the Ginger and National Orchid Gardens, or just unwind in the Healing Garden. Visit in the cooler early morning or late afternoon, or go for dinner at foliage-fringed Halia restaurant, which serves Singaporean-Euro cuisine on the fan-cooled deck. The main gardens open until midnight for nocturnal wandering.
1 Cluny Road, +65 6471 7361, sbg.org.sg; Halia, +65 8444 1148, thehalia.com
Gardens by the Bay
(Photo Credit: Paula Prekopova)
Futuristic Gardens by the Bay combines a grove of giant, artificial supertrees linked by dizzying walkways and mammoth, glass-domed conservatories filled with fabulous flowers and plants. Launched in 2012, this man-made wonder is an architectural must-see and nature-lover’s dream, but a stroll from Marina Bay Sands. The outdoor gardens are open from 5am to 2am daily, so you can easily avoid the heat and Sunday hordes.
18 Marina Gardens Drive, +65 6420 6848, gardensbythebay.com.sg
MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
A splendid watery jungle teeming with wildlife in the middle of the city, MacRitchie Reservoir Park offers a green escape fringing a reservoir. The 30-acre haven has kayaks for rent, plus walking trails (from 3.2 to 11 kilometres long), and the knee-wobbling TreeTop Walk, a view-blessed suspension bridge. Adventurous hikers can follow the rewarding 12-kilometre jungly route between MacRitchie and rainforested Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Just don’t feed the monkeys!
MacRitchie Reservoir, Lornie Road
Bukit Timah, 177 Hindhede Drive,
Mount Faber Park
Soak up expansive harbour and island views from the Singapore Cable Car to Mount Faber, a 138-acre, jungly hilltop park on the island’s southern tip. You can trek up the 105-metre peak, but why sweat when you can take the cable car over from Sentosa island (a 15-minute ride)? Lookouts, historical monuments, walking trails and bird watching all beckon.
Faber Peak, 109 Mount Faber Road, +65 6270 8855; Singapore Cable Car, +65 6377 9688; onefabergroup.com/singapore-cable-car-sky-network
ISLAND GETAWAYS
Pulau Ubin
(Photo Credit: Hannah Persson)
For an old-world island escape, hop on a 10-minute bumboat ride to the small, rustic isle Pulau Ubin, which local liken to the city pre-high rises. Ubin is perfect for a half-day getaway: rent a bike, discover traditional kampong life, visit the Chek Jawa Wetlands and take in glinting panoramas of the city, then chow down on pepper crab at Ah Lian food shack beside the jetty.
Changi Point Ferry Terminal, 51 Lorong Bekukong off Changi Village Road, nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/pulau-ubin-and-chek-jawa
Sentosa Island
(Photo Credit: Hanson Lu)
Boasting Singapore’s best beaches (albeit not all naturally made) and a smart marina to moor the yacht, resort-like Sentosa is a laidback pleasure island 20 minutes drive from the CBD. Beeline to Tanjong Beach, for sandy strolls or a game of volleyball and cocktails with the beautiful people at retro-cool Tanjong Beach Club. Sentosa Golf Club is Singapore’s fanciest with two 18-hole courses, including The Serapong, while upscale pampering awaits at Auriga Spa at the gorgeous Capella hotel.
Tanjong Beach Club, 120 Tanjong Beach Walk, +65 6270 1355, tanjongbeachclub.com; Sentosa Golf Club, 27 Bukit Manis Road, +65 6275 0090, sentosagolf.com; Auriga Spa, 1 The Knolls, +65 6591 5023, capellahotels.com/singapore/spa/singapore-spas
SAILING EXCURSIONS
ONE15 Luxury Yachting and Marina at Keppel Bay
Get out on the water with a half-day yacht charter around the Little Red Dot. ONE15 Luxury Yachting, at Sentosa Cove’s ONE˚15 Marina, offers crewed vessels for hire from classic fishing boats to luxe superyachts, for sociable or romantic cruises. Marina at Keppel Bay provides private skippered boats for one or more days sailing. Drop anchor off idyllic islands, swim or kayak, then enjoy lunch or a sunset barbecue.
#01-01, 11 Cove Drive, +65 6305 9676, one15luxuryyachting.com, one15marina.com; Marina at Keppel Bay, 2 Keppel Bay Vista, +65 6303 8448, marinakeppelbay.com
SPA TREATS
COMO Shambhala Urban Escape, Singapore
Stuck in the city? You can still relax in style, thanks to exclusive wellness centre COMO Shambhala Urban Escape. Boost your health with yoga of all persuasions, state-of-the-art Pilates, and Gyrotonics. Prefer to let someone else take the strain? Book in for a therapeutic massage, including fabulous Thai Lanna or Deep Tissue pampering sessions by expert Master Song.
#06-01/02 Delfi Orchard, 402 Orchard Road, +65 6304 3552, comoshambhala.com/singapore
Remède Spa at The St. Regis Singapore
For the ultimate in pampering, retreat to Remède Spa, a modern, airy and sumptuous pleasure palace that blends Eastern and Western traditions. Water treatments offer aquatic healing, from eucalyptus-scented Steam Chambers in the heated marble wet lounge to a zen garden for outdoor soaks. Try the 90-minute signature Black Soap and Rassoul Hammam Ritual. Massages and facials are super-soothing, or request a pedicure by Bastien Gonzalez's crack team of podiatrists.
St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road, +65 6506 6896, remedespasingapore.com
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This article is produced by LUXE City Guides. Cigna makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the content of the article.
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