National Gallery Singapore

Hi, guys!

Before I jump in to post about our itinerary for our last trip in Singapore and Malacca, I want to talk about in-depth on places that I feel special enough for its own post. This particular place is special for so many reasons. One being that I saw a bunch of paintings from Indonesian artists. The other reason being it has gorgeous art-deco vintage decor. Anyway, without further ado, here is National Gallery Singapore.



We got there via a short walk from Chijmes (where we had lunch). Entry ticket was S$20 and it was quite expensive in my opinion but after visiting; the building is MASSIVE, all air-conditioned, clean, well-kept, kind staff in every corner, and it has plenty historic articles that I feel like it was well-priced. I think it's a small amount to pay for the preservation of a nation' history. We did ordered online so we had to print out the ticket first and then they gave us a sticker to put on our clothes. I'm not sure what that for. I guess it's just for an identification that you already paid.

Inside the Rotunda

Former Supreme Court Lobby

National Gallery Singapore was actually a Supreme Court and City Hall. So it was two different buildings that were fused together via bridges. The renovations took 3 years and in November 2015, the National Gallery Singapore is finally open for public.


There were quite a few paintings from Indonesian artists, and most of them surrounding the theme of Independence or just about our daily life. I didn't take any pics of the paintings because it feels disrespectful? People were actually admiring the paintings and even a couple was listening to the staff explanation about a painting. Me, being not very artsy, just browse around and being fascinated  (and quite proud!) that Indonesian artists have almost an entire room of its own.

Lower Link

Lower Link

So the famous thing about National Gallery is their links aka bridges that connects Supreme Court to the City Hall. There are two links; simply called upper and lower link. For photo taking, I believe lower link has more wow factor.

Upper Link.

Upper Link

We didn't get to the rooftop garden because I had a terrible case of migraine after a full three hours of walking (that included our 15 mins walk under the bright sun from Chijmes) so we decided to get back to our hotel (again, via Grab) so I could rest before we went out for dinner. We did, however, managed to see the grand City Hall Chamber.

City Hall Chamber. It used to held many important events for Singapore

If you are interested about visiting, I'd say go in at any day. We went on a Monday and it was eerily empty. But there was a group of students visiting by the time we were going out. You might have better luck on weekdays for photo taking tho. Altho I don't see how it's ever going to get super crowded either on weekend since the area is so spacious.

Do wear sensible foot wear! Even tho my sandal is very comfy but we did need to take numerous breaks on several benches. There is no food or drinks sold inside but there are restaurants and cafes  located within the building altho we didn't stumble upon any of them. I think it's just located a bit far from the gallery area. Overall we had a very pleasant visit and I might even considering to come back :)

Wishing everyone a productive week ahead!