The Esplanade, one of the important landmark in Singapore located at the Marina Bay. Esplanade is actually named after a nearby park called Esplanade Park which was built in 1943, one of the oldest among Singapore’s heritage parks! The place is used to be the venue of the Satay Club, a place full of satay stalls for satay lovers. Now no more satay stalls.
Free Performances at the Concourse Esplanade
You can always come here for the free shows, usually musical performances in the evening.
Free Performance at the Outdoor Theatre
Seats are available on first come first serve basis. I like the outdoor theatre as it has the Singapore River and the Merlion as the backdrop!
Esplanade is much more than an art performing center, there are many more to offer here. A place to shop, plenty of nice cafe, bars & restaurants for you to spend your day.
Esplanade Library
There is a very classy library located at third floor of Esplanade. This is not the ordinary library because the shelves are lined with books on all kinds topics relating to performing arts, from dance to drama, literature, filming. Do check out their broad selections of DVD too!
“Makan Angin” by local artist Lim Soo Ngee
Makan Angin in English “Eating wind” or “jiak hong” in Hokkien depicts a family of five enjoying a day at the old Esplanade Waterfront. The local artist Lim Soo Ngee adds a touch of nostalgic feeling . It reminds us that the simplest act of “eating wind” can be one of life’s greatest delights.
You can also get your river cruise ticket here! Click here to purchase cruise ticket to enjoy discounted rate!
An evening stroll along Singapore River, overseeing the iconic MBS Hotel Casino, Five Finger Museum/Art Science Museum are one of the best thing you can do to spend you weekends.
Marina Bay Floating Stadium
If you are interested to know more in-depth of Esplanade, especially the architectural side, the management of the arts center, the front and behind scenes of the Concert Halls, you can always book a tour as it offer a very unique experience. Call in advance to make a booking tour, click on the link to get full details – Esplanade Guided Tour
Esplanade’s spike domes
The eye-catching spikes on the Esplanade’s domes don’t just look stunning, they are also designed to let light fall into the Concert Hall and Theatre foyer spaces while at the same time keeping the heat out. What a smart design, totally agree it represent a kind of fruit we all love – Durian, the King of fruit. Yes, all the spikes are done by hand clean only! A lot of work and takes almost 2 months to clean both of the domes.
Jubilee Bridge – Tribute to founder of Singapore Mr Lee
The bridge is a tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, which links Merlion Park to the waterfront promenade in front of Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay. In fact, it was Mr Lee who suggest to build this bridge after one of his visit in Marina Bay in 2004 as he observed that the walkway along Esplanade Bridge was too narrow. The pedestrian bridge has a wider walkway and visitors can stay in the bridge and shoot pictures and enjoy the panoramic view!
While I was standing at the Jubilee Bridge to enjoy the river breeze, I noticed the mainland Chinese tourists have a habit of taking picture like so (refer to below picture) so I tried to copy them, turn out not easy but quite fun!
Spotted a garbage boat cleaning Singapore River! Thanks to them, we have a clean river.
Makansutra – Gluttons Bay
This is one of the best place to bring your friends from overseas to try out all the local food. From Chili Crab to char kway teow, satay, BBQ chicken wings, carrot cake and not forgetting the local dessert, Ice Kacang/Shaved ice with beans and many more. Yes, they do have Tiger beers!
An open air space seating which open from 5 pm till 3 am. I like to bring my overseas friends here because it offer a big variety of local delights. After the dinner, I can always walk to the waterfront or walk over to Merlion park to enjoy Singapore Skyline. All prices are listed on the board and quite reasonable.
If you don’t like hawkers, there are also restaurants, such as No Signboard Seafood Restaurant. Go try their signature chili crab – quality crabs but prepare to pay a lot more than chili crab in Makansutra Glutons Bay.
Stalls selling drinks and snacks along Singapore River.
Coconut Ice-Cream – Co+Nut+Ink
Just SGD $ 5.00 – check out Co+Nut+ink signature coconut ice cream topped with peanuts, red ruby and sticky rice! You get the best out of two world, the ice-cream and also the coconut!
How to get here ?
- By MRT
City Hall MRT (North-South (red) or East-West (green) line)
Esplanade MRT (Circle Line) - By Car : park at Esplanade : 1 Esplanade Dr, 038981. Click to check the parking rate.
Click on other places of interest nearby in Singapore
- National Art Gallery Singapore
- Fort Canning
- Bra Basah
- Little India
- Clarke Quay
- Telok Ayer Street
- Bugis