If Singaporeans could choose where to live regardless of price, a great many would choose the east. It is lower-rise, closer to the sea, slower in temperament, and it eats better than anywhere else on the island. For a second-visit traveller, the east is the answer.
| Place | What it is | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Katong & Joo Chiat | Pastel Peranakan shophouses, laksa shops, traditional bakeries, cafés | The single best neighbourhood walk in Singapore. Go in the morning |
| 2. East Coast Park | 15km of coastal park: cycling, barbecues, seafood, sea breeze | Worth it for the activity and the food, not for the swimming |
| 3. Old Airport Road Food Centre | One of the deepest concentrations of veteran hawker stalls anywhere | A pilgrimage for anyone serious about food. Go hungry, go at 11:30 |
| 4. Changi Village & Beach | Sleepy village atmosphere, famous nasi lemak, quiet beach, ferry point to Ubin | Feels like another decade. The most restful corner of the island |
| 5. Pulau Ubin | Ferry-accessible island of dirt tracks, granite quarries and kampong life | Singapore before 1970. Rent a bike at the jetty. Unmissable |
| 6. Geylang Serai | Malay cultural heart: market, food, and a spectacular Ramadan bazaar | Best during Ramadan, excellent year-round for Malay food |
| 7. Marine Parade & the Sunday markets | Mature estate, sea-facing, with a strong neighbourhood identity | Where the east actually lives. Good hawker, good people-watching |
| 8. Pasir Ris Park | Mangrove boardwalks, a large playground, horse riding nearby | Underrated family park with genuine nature attached |
| 9. Jewel Changi & Changi Airport | The Rain Vortex, indoor gardens, and the world's most enjoyable airport | Worth a deliberate visit, not just a transit stop |
| 10. Tampines & Bedok hawker centres | Heartland eating at heartland prices | The honest version of Singapore food culture |
The east is where I send every second-visit traveller, and increasingly where I send first-timers with more than four days. Katong and Joo Chiat give you the most photogenic, most characterful walk in Singapore; Pulau Ubin gives you the island as it was fifty years ago; and the food is simply better out here. If your trip is short, do Katong. If it isn't, give the east a whole day.
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Singapore renovates relentlessly and venues change. Everything here was verified for this edition (August 2026), but confirm opening days and hours before making a special trip — and if you find something has changed, tell me and the next edition is corrected.
Want the east planned properly into your days? →
Food, beaches and Peranakan heritage. Katong and Joo Chiat hold the pastel shophouses and the laksa the east is famous for; East Coast Park runs 15km along the sea; Changi Village serves the island's most-queued nasi lemak; and Old Airport Road Food Centre is where serious eaters go. It is also the most relaxed part of Singapore, and where many locals would live given the choice.
For a beach in the Caribbean sense, no — this is man-made sand with cargo ships on the horizon. For everything else, yes: 15km of car-free cycling and running path, barbecue pits, seafood restaurants, the Lagoon Food Village, and sea breeze at dusk. Locals go for the activity and the food, not the swimming, and so should you.
The Thomson-East Coast Line now serves the area directly, and buses run frequently from the city. It is roughly 15–20 minutes from Marina Bay by car. Once there, everything is walkable — the pleasure is wandering between shophouse streets rather than travelling between sights.
Katong, by consensus — several shops in the area claim the original recipe and argue about it publicly, which is part of the fun. The Katong style is a coconut-curry broth with noodles cut short so the dish is eaten with a spoon alone. Try one, then try its rival two streets away and pick a side.
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