Shopping is close to a national sport in Singapore, and the choice runs from glittering luxury malls to chaotic street markets. Orchard Road's air-conditioned megamalls line up the world's designer labels, Haji Lane hides indie boutiques and street art, Bugis Street and the 24-hour Mustafa Centre deliver bargains, and even the airport's Jewel is a retail spectacle. Here are 8 of the best places to shop, with areas, opening hours and tips including how to reclaim the 9% GST when you fly home.
$$$Orchard Road
Area
Orchard
Type
Shopping district
“Do the malls in air-conditioned comfort via the underground links; look for tourist discounts and claim your GST refund (9%) at the airport when you fly home.”
$$$$ION Orchard
Area
Orchard
Type
Luxury mall
“Head up to ION Sky on level 55/56 for a free (ticketed) city viewing gallery, and browse the excellent basement food hall for cheap eats between designer floors.”
$$Haji Lane
Area
Kampong Glam
Type
Indie boutiques
“Come in the late afternoon when the indie shops are open and the bars start filling; the street murals make it the most photogenic shopping lane in the city.”
$Bugis Street Market
Area
Bugis
Type
Street market
“Singapore's biggest street market — around 800 stalls of cheap fashion, souvenirs and snacks; haggle gently and have small cash ready for the best deals.”
$Mustafa Centre
Area
Little India
Type
24-hour department store
“Open 24 hours and stocked with everything imaginable — from electronics and gold to groceries and luggage; go late at night for the full, surreal experience.”
$Chinatown Street Market
Area
Chinatown
Type
Souvenir market
“Pagoda and Trengganu Streets are the spot for souvenirs, silks and trinkets — prices are negotiable, and it's at its most atmospheric strung with red lanterns at night.”
$Tiong Bahru Market
Area
Tiong Bahru
Type
Wet market & hawker
“Come in the morning for the wet market and hawker breakfast, then explore the surrounding Art Deco estate's indie bookshops, boutiques and third-wave cafés.”
$$$Jewel Changi Airport
Area
Changi Airport
Type
Mall & attraction
“The perfect place to spend a long layover or a final afternoon — shop, eat and see the Rain Vortex waterfall, all directly linked to the terminals and the city by MRT.”
Singapore shopping in detail
1.Orchard Road
Orchard Road is Singapore's world-famous shopping artery, a 2.2-kilometre boulevard running from Tanglin to Dhoby Ghaut that packs in more than 20 malls and some 5,000 stores. It began life as a track lined with nutmeg and pepper plantations and orchards — hence the name — before evolving into the city's premier retail destination. Today it is a glittering canyon of interconnected shopping centres catering to every taste and budget. The highlights include ION Orchard, an eight-storey temple to luxury fused directly to the MRT station beneath a striking glass canopy; Takashimaya in Ngee Ann City, a grand Japanese department store; the more mainstream Plaza Singapura, 313@Somerset and Wisma Atria; and the design-led Paragon for high-end labels. Between the malls you will find pavement art installations, buskers and, come December, a spectacular Christmas light-up that turns the whole street into a festival of illuminations. It is not only about shopping: the basements and upper floors of most malls hide excellent food courts and restaurants, where you can eat hawker-quality dishes in cool, comfortable surroundings for S$8 to S$15. Many stores offer tourist discounts on presentation of a passport, and visitors can reclaim the 9% Goods and Services Tax on qualifying purchases via the eTRS system when departing from Changi Airport. The best bargains come during the Great Singapore Sale in June and July. Free to stroll and endlessly people-watchable, Orchard Road is a rite of passage on any Singapore visit, whether you are hunting luxury labels or simply escaping the heat.
Hours
Malls daily ~10:00–22:00
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
MRT Orchard (NS22/TE14), Somerset (NS23) or Dhoby Ghaut (NS24/NE6/CC1), all directly on the strip
Insider tip: Do the malls in air-conditioned comfort via the underground links; look for tourist discounts and claim your GST refund (9%) at the airport when you fly home.
2.ION Orchard
ION Orchard is the crown jewel of Singapore's shopping scene, an architecturally striking mall that sits directly above Orchard MRT station and announces itself with a sculptural, wave-like glass and steel facade that has become a landmark in its own right. Opened in 2009, it spreads luxury retail across eight floors — four above ground and four below — and reads like a directory of the world's most coveted brands, with grand flagship boutiques for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior, Cartier and dozens more occupying the upper luxury levels, while the basement floors turn to more accessible high-street fashion, beauty, electronics and lifestyle stores. Whatever your budget, it is a pleasure to wander, cool and calm and immaculately presented. Two features lift it beyond a standard mall: the basement food hall and dining options, which serve everything from quick hawker-style local dishes to smart sit-down restaurants at a wide range of prices, making it a handy lunch stop mid-shopping; and ION Sky, a viewing gallery on the 55th and 56th floors of the residential tower above, which offers a panoramic outlook across the city and is free to visit (usually with a minimum spend at the mall). The public art programme and rotating installations in the central atrium add further interest. Directly linked to the MRT and at the very heart of the Orchard strip, ION is the natural starting point for a day's shopping and one of the most impressive retail spaces in the region, worth a look even for those with no intention of buying.
Hours
Daily 10:00–22:00
Price
Free to browse; ION Sky viewing gallery free with a small purchase
Getting there
MRT Orchard (NS22/TE14), directly connected beneath the mall
Insider tip: Head up to ION Sky on level 55/56 for a free (ticketed) city viewing gallery, and browse the excellent basement food hall for cheap eats between designer floors.
3.Haji Lane
Haji Lane is the coolest little street in Singapore, a barely two-metre-wide alley in the historic Kampong Glam quarter that has become the city's undisputed hub of independent retail and street style. Where Orchard Road is all gleaming malls and global brands, Haji Lane is the antithesis: a densely packed run of colourful restored shophouses filled with one-off boutiques, local fashion labels, vintage clothing stores, quirky homeware and gift shops, and record and curiosity dealers, none of which you will find in a chain mall. Interspersed among the shops are some of the city's most characterful cafés, bars and hole-in-the-wall eateries, so a browse easily slides into coffee, cocktails or shisha. The lane is also an open-air gallery: its walls are covered in bold, ever-changing murals and street art, which have made it one of the most photographed spots in Singapore and a magnet for the Instagram crowd. It is at its best in the late afternoon and early evening, when the boutiques are all open, the light softens and the bars begin to hum. Prices at the independent stores are generally mid-range — expect to pay a little more for unique, design-led pieces than for high-street fashion — but browsing is free and half the pleasure is simply soaking up the bohemian atmosphere. Surrounding streets like Arab Street, with its textile merchants, and Bussorah Street, leading to the golden-domed Sultan Mosque, extend the wander. For anyone tired of malls and after something with genuine local character, Haji Lane is essential.
Hours
Shops daily ~11:00–20:00; bars later
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
MRT Bugis (EW12/DT14), a 5-minute walk into the Kampong Glam quarter
Insider tip: Come in the late afternoon when the indie shops are open and the bars start filling; the street murals make it the most photogenic shopping lane in the city.
4.Bugis Street Market
Bugis Street is Singapore's largest and most famous street market, a warren of some 800 stalls packed into a covered maze right across from Bugis MRT station. Once a raucous night bazaar with a colourful and notorious past, it has been tamed and covered over into a bustling, family-friendly shopping destination that remains a firm favourite with budget-minded locals, students and tourists alike. Spread over several floors and endless narrow lanes, it is the place to hunt for inexpensive fashion, T-shirts, dresses, shoes and bags, phone accessories and cases, cosmetics, souvenirs, trinkets and knick-knacks, much of it at a fraction of mall prices. Woven among the retail stalls are plenty of snack and drink vendors selling local street-food treats — fresh fruit and juices, fried snacks, bubble tea and the famously pungent durian in season — so you can graze as you shop. The atmosphere is energetic and slightly chaotic in the best way, a refreshing contrast to the polished malls of Orchard Road. Prices are already low, but gentle haggling is accepted and expected at many stalls, especially if you are buying more than one item, so have small cash ready and do not be shy about negotiating. It is at its liveliest in the evenings. Beyond the market itself, the surrounding Bugis area is a lively shopping and dining district anchored by the Bugis Junction and Bugis+ malls, and it sits within easy walking distance of Kampong Glam and Little India, making it an easy and fun stop on any budget-shopping circuit.
Hours
Daily ~11:00–22:00
Price
Free to browse; bargains aplenty
Getting there
MRT Bugis (EW12/DT14), directly opposite the station exit
Insider tip: Singapore's biggest street market — around 800 stalls of cheap fashion, souvenirs and snacks; haggle gently and have small cash ready for the best deals.
5.Mustafa Centre
Mustafa Centre is one of Singapore's most extraordinary shopping experiences, a sprawling six-floor department store in the heart of Little India that never, ever closes — it is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Founded by the Mustafa family and grown over decades into a local institution, it stocks a genuinely mind-boggling range of goods estimated at hundreds of thousands of products, crammed into a labyrinth of densely packed aisles connected by ramps and lifts. Under one roof you can buy electronics and cameras, gold and jewellery (it is one of the city's biggest gold retailers), watches, clothing and textiles, luggage, perfumes and cosmetics, groceries and spices, pharmaceuticals, souvenirs, homeware and much more, almost all at keenly competitive, no-frills prices. It is a favourite of bargain-hunters, travellers stocking up before or after long trips, and insomniac shoppers who wander in at three in the morning to find the place still humming. The experience can be overwhelming — the layout is famously confusing, the aisles narrow and the store often crowded — but that chaotic, anything-goes energy is precisely its charm, and part of the fun is simply exploring and discovering what you never knew you needed. It also offers competitive currency exchange and money transfer services. Prices are already low and generally fixed, so there is little haggling, but the value is real. Deep in atmospheric Little India, surrounded by temples, spice shops and superb South Indian food, Mustafa Centre is as much a cultural attraction as a shopping stop, and a late-night visit is an only-in-Singapore rite of passage.
Hours
Daily 24 hours
Price
Free to browse; famously low prices
Getting there
MRT Farrer Park (NE8) or Little India (NE7/DT12); on Syed Alwi Road in Little India
Insider tip: Open 24 hours and stocked with everything imaginable — from electronics and gold to groceries and luggage; go late at night for the full, surreal experience.
6.Chinatown Street Market
The Chinatown Street Market is the most atmospheric place in Singapore to shop for souvenirs and Chinese heritage goods, spilling along the pedestrianised Pagoda Street, Trengganu Street, Sago Street and Smith Street at the heart of the historic quarter. Set against a backdrop of beautifully restored two-storey shophouses and strung overhead with red lanterns, the market's stalls and shops are piled high with the kind of keepsakes and curiosities that make classic souvenirs: silk cheongsams and embroidered clothing, paper fans, calligraphy scrolls and brushes, tea sets and loose Chinese teas, jade and costume jewellery, lucky charms and figurines, chopsticks, fridge magnets, T-shirts and all manner of trinkets. Traditional shops selling Chinese medicine, dried goods and provisions add authenticity, and the whole area is threaded with hawker stalls and food outlets for a snack between purchases. The atmosphere is a big part of the appeal, and it is especially magical in the evening when the lanterns glow, and utterly transformed during the run-up to Chinese New Year, when the streets erupt into a festive bazaar of decorations, mandarin oranges, waxed meats and seasonal treats. Prices are generally low and haggling is very much part of the game, so negotiate cheerfully, especially for multiple items, and keep small cash to hand. While some of the wares are mass-produced tourist fare, there are genuine finds among the stalls, and the setting alone makes it worth a wander. Right beside Chinatown's temples and the Maxwell hawker centre, it slots easily into any exploration of the district.
Hours
Daily ~10:00–22:00
Price
Free to browse; haggling expected
Getting there
MRT Chinatown (NE4/DT19), exit A, onto Pagoda Street
Insider tip: Pagoda and Trengganu Streets are the spot for souvenirs, silks and trinkets — prices are negotiable, and it's at its most atmospheric strung with red lanterns at night.
7.Tiong Bahru Market
Tiong Bahru Market sits at the centre of one of Singapore's most charming and characterful neighbourhoods, and it offers a shopping and eating experience quite different from the malls and tourist markets. Tiong Bahru is the city's oldest public housing estate, a low-rise enclave of curved, streamlined 1930s Art Deco walk-up apartments that has in recent years become one of the trendiest quarters in the city, its heritage buildings now home to indie bookshops, design boutiques, bakeries and some of the best third-wave cafés in Singapore. The market itself is a wonderful slice of everyday local life: the ground floor is a traditional wet market where residents shop for fresh fish, meat, vegetables, fruit and flowers among the morning bustle, while the upper floor houses a beloved hawker centre renowned among Singaporeans for its breakfast and lunch stalls. Foodies make pilgrimages here for classics like chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes with preserved radish), lor mee, hokkien mee, curry puffs and traditional coffee, most dishes costing only S$4 to S$8. The best plan is to arrive in the morning to catch the market at its liveliest and eat a hawker breakfast, then spend an hour or two wandering the surrounding streets, browsing the independent shops and cafés and admiring the distinctive architecture. It is a favourite of design-minded locals and in-the-know visitors seeking a more authentic, neighbourhood side of Singapore away from the crowds. For a relaxed morning that combines a genuine local market, superb cheap food and boutique browsing in a uniquely atmospheric setting, Tiong Bahru is hard to beat.
Hours
Daily ~06:00–14:00 (market); hawker stalls later
Price
Free to browse; hawker dishes S$4–8
Getting there
MRT Tiong Bahru (EW17), a 10-minute walk into the estate
Insider tip: Come in the morning for the wet market and hawker breakfast, then explore the surrounding Art Deco estate's indie bookshops, boutiques and third-wave cafés.
8.Jewel Changi Airport
Jewel Changi Airport is the rare shopping mall that is also a genuine tourist attraction, a dazzling glass-and-steel dome designed by Moshe Safdie that sits between the terminals of the world's best airport and manages to combine retail therapy with a slice of engineered nature. At its heart plunges the HSBC Rain Vortex, the tallest indoor waterfall on Earth at 40 metres, surrounded by the lush terraced Shiseido Forest Valley of some 900 trees and thousands of shrubs, so you shop and dine amid greenery and the soothing sound of falling water. Around this centrepiece spiral more than 280 shops and restaurants across several levels, ranging from international fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands to a superb array of dining options, from quick local bites and famous regional imports to sit-down restaurants, plus one of the largest branches of many popular chains. For families and the curious there is the rooftop Canopy Park (from S$8), with bouncing nets, hedge and mirror mazes, sculptural topiary gardens and a glass-bottomed bridge suspended high above the atrium. Because Jewel is directly connected to the airport terminals and linked to the city by MRT in around 15 minutes, it is brilliantly convenient: many travellers time their arrival to enjoy it before a flight, use it to fill a long layover, or make a special trip out from the city, particularly on a rainy day. The nightly light-and-sound show on the Rain Vortex adds to the spectacle. Free to visit and open late, it is a fitting first or last taste of a city-state that has turned even its airport into a destination.
Hours
Mall daily 10:00–22:00 (some outlets 24h)
Price
Free to visit; Canopy Park attractions from S$8
Getting there
MRT Changi Airport (CG2), linked to Terminal 1; or a 15-minute taxi from the city
Insider tip: The perfect place to spend a long layover or a final afternoon — shop, eat and see the Rain Vortex waterfall, all directly linked to the terminals and the city by MRT.