If you only have time to shop at one mall in Singapore, the newly opened ION Orchard will be your best bet for an all-in-one shopping experience. Compacted in over 8 levels of retail space, ION Orchard offers a unique mix of high-end flagship luxury boutiques and mid-range outlets. With the shops mindfully clustered (where basement levels are catered to mid-range shoppers, with the higher levels reserved for those with more expensive tastes), there are shops for every wallet. Amidst the shopping marathon, do take a break to refuel at the food hall tucked on the basement level, recommended for its wide range of desserts, pastries and snacks for you to choose from.
The Paragon Shopping centre features designer names like Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Escada, Lanvin, Fendi and Prada and some local boutiques like M)phosis and GG5. More fashion can be found at Marks & Spencer on the third level. Local department store Metro Paragon takes up three whole floors. Occupying the top level are some shops specializing in Chinese art and antiques. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located on the ground floor, with dining services in the basement area with food ranging from Indian and Thai to international cuisine.
Linked to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino, this enormous mall brands itself as Singapore’s first luxury shopping destination. Accordingly, the retail is in the high-end bracket and dominated by boutiques from big names like Chanel, Fendi, Gucci, Burberry, Cartier and Prada. There’s a good variety of cafés and even a food court, but the big culinary draws are the restaurants from celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Guy Savoy, and Singaporean Justin Quek. Though a shopping spree at the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands will quickly burn a hole in your pocket, this beautiful mall is worth a visit for its other attractions which include a skating rink, art installations, and gondola rides on its indoor river.
At Escentials, one can shop for a variety of beauty and skincare products, bath and body items, hair care equipment, fragrances and home decor articles. This shop sells candles in muted colors such as pearly pink that give off soothing aromas, soft towels, moisturizers and lotions, eye care products, lip glosses, nail polishes and perfumes in luxurious bottles. Shop for brands like Covet London, Compagnie De Provence, Acqua di Parma, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Radical Skincare and Lipstick Queen. Their helpful staff makes shopping here a pleasurable experience.
Awash with scents and sights reminiscent of the subcontinent, this is a microcosm of India where every imaginable Indian product can be found: trinkets, sarees, spices, sweetmeats, nose studs, flower garlands and anything else that an Indian household needs. Traces of Hinduism are found everywhere, from the elaborate temples to wall calendars with pictures of Hindu deities. On Sundays, Indian locals and foreign workers flock to the streets of Little India to eat, chat, shop and worship. Hard though it is to walk through the crowds, this is a unique spectacle you should not miss.
Although largely scarred by redevelopment, Chinatown today still contains pockets of genuinely old shophouses where age-old trades like clog-making and calligraphy continue to be practiced. Paper effigies of cars, houses and other material objects are still being made for the deceased; these are then burnt, in the belief that they will raise the standard of living of the deceased in the next world. The many tea houses are a wonderland for the tea connoisseurs, as they do not just enable one to taste the authenticity of Chinese tea, but also promises an insightful escape into the the traditional art of tea-brewing. A stirring nexus of pleasant sights and aromas, Chinatown, at once, strikes as a bright scarlet canvas which is a soulful amalgam of history, culture and ancient architecture. Sheltering a treasure trove of religious places of worship including the Thian Hock Keng temple and Sri Marriaman Temple, Chinatown is embellished with various winding thoroughfares adorned with vibrant, historic establishments which have captured the imaginations of many. This teeming quarter also hosts a hive of hawkers, markets and restaurants serving up delectable, traditional cuisine. Its buildings awash in an amalgam of traditional, Victorian and Baroque architectural styles, Chinatown is especially enlivened with a million lights and fiery hues of red and golden during the Chinese New Year.