Orchard Road
Two kilometres of department stores on land where nutmeg once grew, with garden hotels off its side roads and a three-star French dining room on Scotts Road.
- Arrival
- Singapore Changi · SIN
- To Orchard
- About 20 km from Changi
- Private jets
- Business aviation centre at Seletar
- Best time
- February · June to August
The city
From plantations to plate glass.
Orchard Road runs about 2.2 kilometres from the Tanglin junction down to Dhoby Ghaut. In the 1830s the land was planted with nutmeg; disease ended that by the late 1850s. Tangs opened its department store in 1958, the first big hotels followed in the 1970s, and ION Orchard rose on land released in 2005. Government House, built in 1869 beside the road, has been the Istana since independence.
The hotels lie a few steps back from the shops, on Orange Grove Road, Scotts Road, Tanglin and Orchard Boulevard, and Les Amis holds three MICHELIN stars in the Shaw Centre. Temperatures are steady all year, so the choice turns on sun and rain: February tends to be brightest, and June to August a little less wet.
Arriving
Changi or Seletar, then Orchard.
Airline passengers land at Changi, about twenty kilometres from the Orchard hotels. Seletar, up in the north, is the private-jet airport; Changi takes them by day.
- Phuket 1 h 35
- Bangkok 2 h 10
- Beijing 6 h 10
- Dubai 7 h 50 long-range jet
- Sydney 8 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
February, and June to August.
Equatorial: highs of 29 to 31 °C in every month and rain all year, heaviest with the Northeast Monsoon from November to January. Sun peaks in February; the rain eases slightly from June to August.
- 29° J 200
- 30° F 177
- 31° M 198
- 31° A 201
- 31° M 176
- 31° J 157
- 31° J 156
- 30° A 166
- 30° S 172
- 31° O 198
- 30° N 246
- 29° D 272
What to see and do
Days in and around Orchard Road.
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Landmark
The Istana
Built in 1869 as Government House and renamed after independence, with Istana Park beside it set to grow to three times its size.
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Landmark
Tangs and Ngee Ann City
Tangs has faced the Ngee Ann site since 1958; the tower across the road was once the largest shopping centre in Singapore.
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Landmark
The Christmas light-up
The road has been strung with lights each Christmas since 1984.
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Nature
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Founded in 1859 on 82 hectares at Tanglin, a UNESCO site since 2015 with the paid National Orchid Garden inside.
Official site -
Nature
Gardens by the Bay
One hundred and five hectares opened in 2012, with the Flower Dome, the Cloud Forest and a Supertree Grove lit nightly.
Official site -
Culture
National Gallery Singapore
Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art shown across the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, open daily 10am to 7pm.
Official site -
Opera & music
Esplanade Theatres on the Bay
Singapore's national performing arts centre, in use since 2002 for music, dance and theatre across the year.
Official site -
Golf
Sentosa Golf Club
Two par 72 courses, the Serapong of 1982 by Ron Fream and the Tanjong, on Sentosa Island, a club founded in 1974.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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18–20 Nov 2026
Finance
Singapore FinTech Festival
Annual financial technology festival organised with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, held at Singapore EXPO.
Singapore EXPO, Singapore, about 14 km away
In 2 weeks
-
21–24 Jan 2027
Art
ART SG
Fifth edition of Singapore's international art fair during Singapore Art Week, with a VIP preview on 21 January.
Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore, about 4 km away
In 3 months
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15–18 Apr 2027
Yachting
Singapore Yachting Festival
In-water yacht show at ONE°15 Marina in Sentosa Cove, presenting superyachts and motor and sailing yachts.
ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove, Singapore, about 7 km away
In 5 months
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20–23 Sep 2027
Finance
Sibos
Annual conference and exhibition of Swift for banks, payments and securities firms, held in Singapore in 2027.
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, about 4 km away
In 11 months
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8–10 Oct 2027
Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix
Round 18 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore, about 4 km away
In 11 months
Where to stay
Gardens behind the shopfronts.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Shangri-La Hotel Singapore Tower, Garden and Valley wings set in fifteen acres of tropical gardens.
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Goodwood Park Hotel A colonial-era hotel of 233 rooms and suites, with two outdoor pools and Min Jiang among its restaurants.
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Pan Pacific Orchard Three levels of open sky gardens, themed on forest, beach, garden and cloud.
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Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Two hundred and fifty-nine rooms with a MICHELIN Key, Cantonese cooking at Jiang-Nan Chun, and Nobu.
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Artyzen Singapore A MICHELIN Key on a side street off Orchard, with a rooftop pool.
- The St. Regis Singapore Fully renovated, with butlers on call around the clock and the Botanic Gardens close by.
Where to dine
Three stars on Scotts Road.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Les Amis Three Michelin stars French $$$$ Shaw Centre, Scotts Road
- Omakase @ Stevens One Michelin star Innovative $$$$ Stevens Road
- Sushi Ichi One Michelin star Sushi $$$$ Marriott Tang Plaza, Orchard Road
- Buona Terra One Michelin star Italian contemporary $$$ Scotts Road
- Iggy’s One Michelin star European contemporary $$$ voco Orchard, Orchard Road
- Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine One Michelin star Teochew $$ ION Orchard
- Shisen Hanten One Michelin star Sichuan $$ Hilton Orchard, level 35
Elsewhere in Singapore
More reasons to come.
Flying to Orchard Road?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.