Visitors Info

Walking the Ground – Free Heritage Trails in Singapore

Walking is one of the best ways to get to know the nitty gritty of a country. Get up close and personal with Singapore's heritage and culture with the numerous heritage tours and trails available, many of which are absolutely free! Whether you’re a nature lover, history buff, culture vulture or hardcore shopaholic, there’s a walking trail for you.


SG Heart Map Tours App

 

Screenshots taken from the SG Heart Map Tours Android App.

Missed the national day celebrations? Don’t worry – the fruits of Singapore’s Jubilee celebrations are still available for you to enjoy. Download the SG Heart Map Tours app from the App Store or Google Play, and explore the various places in Singapore along five zonal routes – Captivating North East, Adventurous North West, Scenic South East, Enchanting South West and Charming Central. Not only are tourist attractions featured, the app also allows you to explore heartlands and local neighbourhoods such as Chong Pang Market & Food Centre, Punggol Waterway, Old Airport Road, Holland Village and Tiong Bahru Market. Take your pick from seven routes, which include the new Beautiful Parks Tour and Yummy Food Tour that were created just for this app! This real-time app is able to track your location and through that, each self-guided trail will take you on an interactive journey to gain new insights about familiar as well as lesser known places, through trivia, quizzes and puzzles. You can also read Singaporeans’ stories about these places, and add to these shared memories by contributing your own stories on the SG Heart Map portal.


NParks Tours

Look no further than the series of walks and tours available on the NParks website at www.nparks.gov.sg. NParks is Singapore’s National Parks Board, and they are dedicated to the greening of Singapore. They also organise community programmes to foster engagement with the public, which is where the walking trails come in. Join any of their guided tours listed here or follow one of their Do-It-Yourself walks available here and discover a different side of Singapore!

The NParks tours and walks will be of special interest to those who love nature and greenery. If the listed tours aren’t enough for you, check out some of our recommended off-the-beaten-path spots: Various parks and gardens; St John’s Island, Lazarus Island and Kusu Island; Pulau Ubin ; and various other hidden gems.


YourSingapore Walking Tours

Of course you can count on the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to come through for you with suggestions on where to go and what to see. Not only are the more mainstream tourism spots such as Chinatown, Orchard Road and Kampong Glam covered, but different aspects of them are revealed in these walking tours as well. Want to shop in Orchard Road? Sure, that’s a no-brainer. But did you know you can go on an art trail too? Check out www.yoursingapore.com/walking-tour.html.

If you can’t get enough of shopping, or just want a different shopping experience from the slick one at Orchard Road, browse through our recommendations at www.visitors.sg/shopping for more suggestions.


Urban Redevelopment Authority Walking Maps & Trails

To really get at the heart of Singapore, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is your best bet. They have published numerous walking maps over the years, available on their website at www.ura.gov.sg/uol/publications/lifestyle-reads/walking-maps-trails.aspx. Chock-a-block full of nitty-gritty details about various neighbourhoods, you can not only find out more about Chinatown and Marina Bay but also areas that are less well-known to tourists but are no less fascinating. Balestier, Toa Payoh and Jalan Besar are just some of the other areas you can explore with these maps! Architecture aficionados, especially, should check these out.


Singapore HeritageFest

For the mother lode of guided tours and walking trails though, you need to hit up the month-long Singapore HeritageFest while it’s on. From Singapore’s ancient history to the best of local arts, food and entertainment, there’s a trail for any topic you could possibly want to find out more about. Unfortunately, 2015’s HeritageFest is over, but 2016’s is slated to be held in April so keep an eye on www.heritagefest.sg for more details when it’s released! The website is still worth browsing through as some of the trails have their brochures available for download, meaning you can go on the trails on your own. If you can time your trip to coincide with the HeritageFest, hit it up as it comprises of so much more than just guided walks. Look forward to film screenings, talks, live performances, open houses, exhibitions and more!

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