The Impossible City: Singapore Story Free Walking Tour

In 1819, the island of Singapore was little more than a river mouth and a fishing village - a few hundred people, nothing suggesting what was to come. Two hundred years later, it's one of the richest cities in the world. This is a walk through how that happened.

In just two hours through Singapore's Civic District, you'll learn the Singapore story - starting at the exact spot Sir Stamford Raffles landed in 1819, through the colonial town plan that decided where every community was allowed to live, a decision still shaping Singapore's housing policy today. You'll hear about the immigrants who arrived by the thousands in search of a better future, and how they laboured and built this city by hand. The walk takes you through the Civic District and riverfront, past the key historical sites along the way, and ends at Marina Bay and the Merlion - where the story comes full circle.

This tour is for first-timers, the casual tourist on a short stopover, or repeat visitors who've never quite gotten the full history behind the skyline. Two hours, and you'll know how an impossible city became possible.