Orchard Road travel guide

Orchard Road is to Singapore what Fifth Avenue is to New York – one seemingly interminable line of smart boutiques, shopping malls and hotels stretching from one end of a very long road to the other. But there is more to this former plantation area than just retail glamour and enchantment. The fashion strip also has a few leafy parks, a presidential palace, sidewalk cafés and a charming enclave filled with some of Singapore’s finest examples of Chinese Baroque-style shop- and terrace houses.

Orchard Road gets its name from the nutmeg and pepper orchards that once blanketed the area in the 1840s. The only glimpses of this rural past are the roads named after plantation owners, such as Scotts, Cairnhill and Cuppage. Cuppage Terrace, a strip of restored shophouses housing pubs and eateries, sits behind Centrepoint, a mall well loved by Singaporeans. Its anchor tenant is Robinsons, a large department store that offers some of the best service in the city. Next door is Peranakan Place, a complex of ornate shophouses. At its shaded terrace café, relax with an ice-cold drink, before exploring the lovely Chinese Baroque-style terrace houses further up the slope on Emerald Hill.

Across the road are two spanking new malls. 313@Somerset is popular with young women, while beside it is the Orchard Central, which suffers from an odd layout where escalators bypass several floors. Its rooftop, however, offers several dining options with fabulous views of Orchard Road. Cross Cairnhill Road to The Heeren Shops. It enjoys a younger clientele, as does Orchard Cineleisure, a complex of cineplexes and games arcades at the corner of Orchard and Grange roads.

Upmarket shopping

The malls that follow cater to a decidedly more upmarket crowd. Beside Orchard Cineleisure is the recently revamped Mandarin Gallery, full of posh boutiques, eateries and designer labels. The Paragon is another haven of designer goods, while the massive Ngee Ann City offers an impressive mix of high street labels and designer shops, as well as an impressive food hall in its basement. Wisma Atria is also a popular fashion destination. The darling of Singapore shopping, however, is the new, outré and sprawling ION Orchard on the corner of Orchard and Paterson roads.

Wind down in Tanglin Road

Tanglin Road, often regarded as an extension of Orchard Road, offers a change of pace from frenetic shopping action. You can wind down in the lush Singapore Botanic Gardens or relax in Tanglin Village further west. Also known as the Dempsey Road area, Tanglin Village is now flourishing with stylish cafés and restaurants. Antiques and home décor shops here specialise in Asian furnishings.

Shopaholics will adore the Singapore Sale. Read our feature on it here...