The Best Must Visit Museum in Singapore
You will be surprised to learn how many museums are available in this tiny Singapore city state. There is total 29 Singapore museum, with some of them are considered the best museums and galleries in South East Asia. These museums cover wide range of exhibits, including Singapore History, culture and religions, and design, future world, funky collection, vintage toys, dinosaurs and art that you never knew existed.
This article has curated the Top 10 museum in Singapore.
- National Museum of Singapore
- National Gallery Singapore
- Asian Civilization Museum
- Art Science Museum
- Singapore Art Museum
- National Design Centre
- Peranakan Museum
- Singapore Philatelic Museum
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
- Mint Museum of Toys
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE
Address
93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897
How to get to National Museum of Singapore
| Mode of Transportation | Details |
|---|---|
| MRT | Bras Basah (Circle Line), Dhoby Ghaut (North-South, North-East, and Circle Lines) |
| Bus Services | Routes: 7, 14, 16, 36, 77, 111, 124, 131, 147, 162, 167, 171, 700 |
| Parking Facilities | Nearby Fort Canning Park, YMCA, limited parking at the museum |
Opening hours
| Opening Hours | Timing |
|---|---|
| Galleries | 10:00 am – 7:00 pm (daily) |
| Quiet Mornings at the Museum | 9:00 am – 10:00 am (every Tuesday) |
Admission Tickets Fee
| Ticket Type | Price (SGD) |
|---|---|
| General Admission | |
| Adults | 15 |
| Seniors (60 and above) | 10 |
| Students and Children (6-18) | 10 |
| Children (under 6) | Free |
| Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents | |
| All Permanent Galleries | Free |
| Selected Exhibitions | Free |
| Special Exhibitions | |
| Adults | Varies |
| Seniors (60 and above) | Varies |
| Students and Children (6-18) | Varies |
Website
www.nationalmuseum.sg
Established in 1887, National Museum of Singapore is the oldest museum in Singapore. With an architecture that featuring an elegant European style neo-Palladian design, it is one of the most popular museums in Singapore that displays abundance of exhibitions and artifacts in Singapore. It is a great place to learn about Singapore history and culture with the events that organized by the museum from time to time.
There is a Singapore History gallery here. This living gallery has 4 themes, namely Food, Fashion, Photography, Film & Wayang. Guided tours which are conducted in different languages is available here to help visitors to understand the exhibits better.
The food gallery with an imitation of Singapore local street life, displays close to real food-related artifacts with sound effect. Visitors might also enticed by the aroma of spices displayed in the backroom.
This special Fashion Gallery exhibits different types of women costumes, and how it is made.
The main exhibits in the Photography gallery are photographs that reflects the local life in Singapore which are collected from various sources.
Film & Wayang gallery has 3 big screens where visitors can watch movies paraphernalia, old films or listen to various movie theme songs, and Chinese opera.
NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE
Address
1 St Andrew’s Rd, Singapore 178957
Ticket Fee
General Admission: Free | Special Exhibition: $15
Singaporean and Permanent Residents
All children below 6 years old
Students from government schools and University
Special Access for PWD (+ 1 caregiver)
General Admission: $20 | Special Exhibition: $25 | All Access Pass: $30
All other foreigner
CONCESSION AT $5 OFF FOR:
Children aged 7–12
Seniors aged 60 and above
Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) excluding foreign personnel
Overseas students and teachers
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET ADMITS ONE TO ALL OF THESE GALLERIES:
DBS Singapore Gallery
UOB Southeast Asia Gallery
Level 4 Gallery
Wu Guanzhong Gallery
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Concourse Gallery
Koh Seow Chuan Concourse Gallery
City Hall Chamber
Chief Justice’s Chamber & Office
Opening hours
Daily from 10:00 to 19:00
Website
www.nationalgallery.sg
How to get there
MRT:
City Hall MRT Station
Take Exit B.
The Gallery is approximately a 7-minute walk from City Hall MRT station via the Art Connector.
Raffles MRT Station
Take Exit B.
The Gallery is approximately a 10-minute walk away through the business district.
National Gallery Singapore is the largest art museum in Singapore, which transformed from 2 national monuments, the former City Hall and Supreme Court buildings.
With a total area of about 64,000 square metres, it is the leading visual arts institution which oversees the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern art.
National Gallery Singapore is home to more than 9,000 artworks from across Southeast Asia spanning the 19th century to the present.
National Gallery Singapore also holds many exhibitions based on different and unique themes from time to time.
National Gallery Singapore has proved to the world as one of the world’s best museum to visit by winning multiple accolades since it’s establishment. This include the “Best Theme Attraction” at TTG Travel Awards 2017, “Best Attraction Experience”, “Breakthrough Contribution to Tourism” and “Best Customer Service (Attractions)” at the prestigious Singapore Tourism Awards in 2016.
Check out more about National Gallery Singapore here.
ASIAN CIVILISATIONS MUSEUM
Address
Asian Civilizations Museum
1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555
Ticket Fee
All Access (Permanent Galleries + Body & Spirit Exhibition)
Singaporean and Permanent Residents Adults: $12
Other Adults: $25
All children below 6 years old: FREE
Opening hours
Daily from 10:00 to 19:00
Friday from 10:00 to 21:00
Website
www.arm.sg
How to get there
Fullerton Square Bus Stop lines:
10, 57, 70, 75, 100, 107, 128, 130, 131, 162, 167, 196, 700, 850E, 868, 951E, 971E
(2 mins walk from bus stop 03011)
MRT station: Raffles Place MRT (NS26/EW14) (5 mins walk from Exit H)
Located at the bank of Singapore River, being the only museum in Singapore that dedicated for artifacts from all Asia, Asian Civilisations Museum is the place that you can learn about Asia’s history and cultures. To be exact, it is exhibiting artifacts and collections that representing different regions of Asia including China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia/ Islamic, where the diverse ethnic groups of Singapore trace their ancestry.
The Asian Civilizations Museum (ACM) is an institution which forms a part of the four museums in Singapore, the other three being the Peranakan Museum at Old Tao Nan School, the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum.
There are 5 galleries within Asian Civilisations Museum, including Singapore River Gallery which artifacts are related to the early history of Singapore development, from coolies to Chettiars, and the indigenous Orang Laut to the newly arrived Europeans, China Gallery which mainly dedicated to artifacts related to Chinese cultures, South Asia gallery where you can explore South Asia region religion, science and arts, and the West Asia galleries that focus on Islam religion as well as Southeast Asia galleries that covers over 2,500 years of history and cultures of Southeast Asia countries.
Art Science Museum
Address
Art Science Museum
6 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018974
Ticket Fee
The Museum Ticket (Future World + Patricia Piccinini + Mental)
Singaporean and Permanent Residents Adults: $43
Singaporean and Permanent Residents (Concession): $34
Other Adults: $50
Other (Concession): $38
*Concession: Age 65+, Children 2-12 years old, PWD and NSF
Opening hours
Daily from 10:00 to 19:00
Website
https://www.marinabaysands.com/museum.html
How to get there
Bus lines: 97, 97E, 133, 133M, 502, 518
MRT:
BayFront Station
Exit D: 7mins walk
Exit B: 11 mins walk
Exit C: 17 mins walk
Located at Marina Bay Sands, Art Science Museum has an iconic architecture design that is a reminiscent of a open lotus flower, which symbolize the welcoming hand of Singapore with ten fingers.
The Art Science Museum has 21 galleries spread over three storeys with a total floor space of about 64,584 square feet. It fuses art and science beautifully.
This premier venue is where immersive and cutting-edge exhibition that has pushed the boundaries of art, science, technology and creativity. These includes those large scale exhibitions by some of the world’s top artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Salvador Dali, Vincent Gogh, M.C.Escher, multimedia art pieces by Eric Valli that reflect life along the Yangtze River of China, “The Deep” which exhibits deep-sea life that saw the largest collection of abyssal creatures ever displayed in SouthEast Asia.
Art Science Museum is also home to the permanent exhibition, Future World, which is designed by Japanese arts collective teamLAB. Visitors can immerse themselves in a dynamic 1,500 sqm digital universe of interactive art installations revolving around the themes of Nature, Town, Part and Science.
SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM
Address
Singapore Art Museum
39 Keppel Rd, #01-02 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065
Ticket Fee
Free (Can Everybody See My Screen?)
Opening hours
Daily from 10:00 to 19:00
Website
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg
How to get there
10, 30, 57, 80, 97, 97e, 100, 131, 145 and alight at bus stop no. 14061 (Opp Former Railway Station) along Keppel Road.
MRT station:
Tanjong Pagar MRT (EW15)
1. Take Exit E and head towards bus stop no. 03217 (Opposite AXA Tower), located along Shenton Way
2. Hop onto any of the buses: 10, 97, 100 and alight at bus stop no. 14061 (Opp Former Railway Stn) along Keppel Road
3. Walk straight for 200m along Tanjong Pagar Distripark Block 37 on your left and turn left at the side entrance to Block 39
Harbour Front MRT (NE1)
1. Head towards Exit A bus stop no. 14129 (HarbourFront Station Exit A), located along Telok Blangah Road
2. Hop onto any of the buses: 10, 57, 80, 97, 131 and alight at bus stop no. 14069 (Former Railway Station) along Keppel Road
3. Cross to the opposite side and walk straight for 200m along Tanjong Pagar Distripark Block 37 on your left and turn left at the side entrance to Block 39
Singapore Art Museum is a contemporary art museum that was established in January 1996. Being the first art museum in Singapore, Singapore Art Museum is building one of the world’s most valuable collections of Singapore and South East Asian contemporary artworks.
It focuses to seed and nourish a stimulating and creative space in Singapore and to connecting the art and the artists to the public and future generation through good exhibitions and public programmes including outreach and education, research and publications as well as cross-disciplinary residencies and exchanges.
National Design Centre
Address
National Design Centre
111 Middle Rd, Singapore 188969
Ticket Fee
FREE
Opening hours
Daily from 09:00 to 21:00
How to get there
Bus lines: 130, 145, 197, 51, 56, 7, 980
MRT:
Bras Basah (CC2): 2 min walk
Bencoolen (DT21): 4 min walk
Bugis (EW12/DT14): 10 min walk
Located at the national arts, cultural, learning and entertainment district of Bras Basah-Bugis, National Design Centre is the only design centre museum in Singapore. Housed in the former St. Anthony’s convent, the National Design Centre building is consisting of 3 pre-war art deco block and a post-war modern block.
Being the focal point for all things design in Singapore, National Design Centre hosts design exhibitions, events and programmes that promoting Singapore’s design scene and that resonances with the pulse of design lovers.
This includes the permanent exhibit, 50 Years of Singapore Design, that provide visitors with a quick history lesson on the evolution of Singaporean design.
It is not a complete trip to National Design Centre if you do not visit the lifestyle boutique Kapok on the first level.
Kapok at NDC is an offshoot of the Hong Kong-based cult lifestyle and design boutique. This 2,300-square-foot store curates a range of fashion, clothes, shoes, bags and accessories from Singapore and regional designers.
You are recommended to stop at Tanuki Raw as well after visiting the exhibitions and shopping at Kapok NDC, to indulge in the refreshing cocktails and hearty, Japanese-inspired rice bowls. What a perfect way to exploring the design in Singapore!
PERANAKAN MUSEUM
Address
Peranakan Musuem
39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941
Entrance Fee
Citizens & Permanent Residents: Free
Children aged 6 and below: Free
Concession admission: S$3.00
Others: S$6.00
Opening hours
Temporary Closed for Revelopment
Website
How to get there
Bus: 124, 147, 166, 174, 174E and 190 (Walking 2 mins from bus stop B04143)
MRT:
Bras Basah MRT (CC2): 5 mins walk from Exit B
The Peranakan Museum is a gallery in the Museum district of Singapore that focus on Peranakan culture.
Located at 39 Armenian Street, Peranakan Museum Singapore is a sister museum to Asian Civilisations Museum. The building was built in 1912, some 100 years ago and was formerly housed the Tao Nan School. It was first converted to the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in 1994, and subsequently redeveloped into the Peranakan Museum in 2008. Government had started the redevelopment of the Peranakan Museum in 2019 that include a complete revamp of all permanent galleries with new displays and content.
What is Peranakan Culture？
Due to the region’s location at the cultural confluence of India, China and, later, the European colonial powers, mixed marriages between people of different cultures became increasingly common. Peranakan culture resulted from the intermarrying of indigenous Malay communities and immigrant Chinese traders during 15-16th century. The descendants of these mixed marriages, known as ‘Peranakans’ began to forge a distinct community and cultural identity that had a tremendous influence upon society in Southeast Asia, and particularly in the lands that would become modern Singapore and Malaysia.
The Peranakan Museum offers a fascinating insight of the Peranakan culture that is unique to Southeast Asia. It possesses one of the finest and most comprehensive public collections of Peranakan objects houses in 10 galleries, covered under 3 main themes.
Like the National Museum of Singapore, the Peranakan Museum is sectioned according to themes like food, marriage, fashion, and funerals. Visitors can learn about the culture’s unique practices and see stories of prominent Peranakans in Singapore’s history come to life through interactive videos in each segment that elaborate on the static artefacts on display, explaining their origins, their evolution over time, and how they have come to define the unique Peranakan culture.
Children’s Museum Singapore
Chindren’s Museum Singapore
(formerly SINGAPORE PHILATELIC MUSEUM)
Address
Singapore Philatelic Museum
23-B Coleman Street, Singapore 179807
Entrance Fee
Free until 31March2023
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Monday)
9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm
Website
How to get there
Bus:
Old Hill Street Police Station: 124, 145, 147, 166, 174, 174e, 190, 851, 851e
Grand Park City Hall: 2, 12, 12e, 33, 147, 147A, 190
| Armenian Church: 2, 2A, 12, 12e, 32, 33, 51, 61, 63, 80, 197 After City Hall Station Exit B: 32, 51, 63, 63A, 80, 195, 195A, 851, 851e, 961, 961M |
MRT:
City Hall MRT: 8 mins walk from Exit B
Children Museum of Singapore (CMSG) is the first museum in Singapore dedicated to children 12 years old and below. It aspires to be a place of wonder and fun learning for all children to engage with Singapore and the world.
CMSG is located inside the same building that house the former Singapore Philatelic Museum which was closed in 2020 for redevelopment into CMSG. This building is a historic double-storey colonial building which was built more than 100 years ago.
CMSG provides an opportunity for young children to explore and learn through artefacts, immersive displays, interactive exhibits, anchored in rich storytelling, hands-on, role playing and engaging in special themed programmes that related to heritage, culture and contemporary issues.
There are exhibitions and events that specially created for young kids, spreading in every space in this newly re-developed Children Museum of Singapore. “A Voyage Back in Time” is a permanent exhibitions that go on a time-travelling voyage with a Captain and WonderBot to olden Singapore, where there will be a short and immersive theatre show to welcome you. Young kids will learn how the forefathers came to Singapore and experience the perilous journey on the way to Singapore.
At the time of this writing, there are few others special exhibitions organized in this Children Museum of Singapore, such as “Imagine a Garden”, “Happy Birthday!” and “Play Pod”. Young children will definitely find their fun and happiness in this museum.
Lee Kong Chian Natural HISTORY Museum
Address
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Drive, Singapore 117377
Entrance Fee
Citizens & Permanent Residents:
Adult: $16
Concession Rate: $9
Standard Rate:
Adult: $21
Concession Rate: $13
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 10am to 6pm
Monday: Closed
How to get there
Bus: 151, 96
MRT:
Clementi MRT: Transfer to Bus 96
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is a newer museum in Singapore. It was opened only on 18 April 2015, at the Kent Ridge Campus of National University of Singapore. Named after a Singapore prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist active in Malaya and Singapore between 1930s and 1960, The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) is a natural history museum that has more than 560,000 collection and more than a million of specimens from all over the region.
The museum is perfect for adults or kids that interested in natural wildlife. With over 2000 natural history specimens on display in 15 thematic zones that include the gamut of mammals, plants, fungi, dinosaurs etc, visitors will be taken back to the beginning of time.
Among the unique and amazing highlights visitors can see here including the only specimen of the largest species of turtle ever recorded, a sperm whale skeleton, a dinosaur fossil and an Asian Brown Flycatcher specimen collected by the famed British naturalist Alfred Wallace.
Another must-see here is the Heritage Gallery which featuring some rare collections like the Leatherback Turtle from 1883 as well as other pop-up exhibitions like Body Snatchers that explores nature’s vampires.
And there are 4 gardens that surrounding this museum, namely the Phylogenetic garden which displays the evolution of plants and habitats, and gardens that themed after swamps, mangroves and dryland forests.
Sound Interesting? Head to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum now.
Mint Museum of Toys
Address
Mint Museum of Toys
26 Seah Street Singapore 188382
Entrance Fee
Adults: $25
Children: $15
Seniors: $15
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 9.30am to 6.30pm
Monday: Closed
Website
How to get there
Bus: 100, 51, 7, 851, 961
MRT:
Bugis MRT:4 mins walk from Exit C
City Hall MRT: 6 mins walk from Exit A
MINT Museum of Toys is a private modern contemporary museum founded in 2007 by Chang Yang Fa, who is an avid toy collector. It is the largest vintage toy and specialty collectable items museum in the Asia, with a collection of more than 50,000 items on display, some are dated back as far as 1840’s from more than 40 countries around the world.
Besides toys, Mint Museum of Toys also houses a collection of vintage movie posters, action figures, confectionery biscuit tins, First edition comic books, board games, large-item displays such as Mobo horses, pedal cars as well as original enamel advertising signs.
Visitors to Mint Museum of Toys will be amazed when they find some specialty collectable items here, which includes the only Mekon Mask from Dan Dare in existence, a century-old Steiff Teddy Bear and a ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ Doll owned by Alice Liddell, the girl whom was the inspiration for the character ‘Alice’ in the ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ novel and franchise.
These are displayed across four thematic levels of the museum (Outerspace, Characters, Childhood Favourites and Collectables). On the rooftop lovel you’ll find the enamel sign gallery which is also a bar that offers a fantastic view of the City Centre.
Today, the museum has attracted visitors from both local and overseas, including locals, tourists, artists, students as well as collectors. Mint Museum of Toys continues to be a place that is devoted to presenting vintage toys and childhood memorabilia – a space where visitors can also rediscover the past and revisit wonderful childhood memories, taking them on a ‘Journey of Rediscovery’ to rekindle that ‘Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys’ (MINT).
Definitely a place that not to be missed by tourists to Singapore.
Singapore is such a lovely island city state that has many wonderful tourist attractions for every tourists who come from all over the world. Check out Singapore attraction below now!:
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