Standing at 8.6 m high and weighing 70 tonnes, the Merlion statue is the iconic symbol of Singapore. This statue has a lion’s head and a fish’s body and house in 2,500 square metres Merlion Park. Without a doubt, this Merlion Park is the best sightseeing and photogenic spot in Singapore. Your trip to this amazing country won’t be complete without visiting Merlion Park and its surroundings.
We lived in Singapore for two years and we were lucky to visit Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa Universal Studio, and Singapore Botanic Gardens. Then we decided to go for a leisurely walk in the famous Merlion Park. Our trip was so interesting and we were mesmerized by the wonderful views in the park and neighborhood. This is the most sophisticated area of Singapore, where visitors can entertain a lot.
Here we are going to share with you the details and lovely pictures we captured at Merlion Park. Read ahead to discover everything you’ll find in this amazing destination.
Access to Merlion Park
You can reach Merlion Park by MRT and the nearest one is Raffles Place MRT station. From there, you need to walk along the Fullerton Rd around 5 minutes. The walk to Merlion Park is totally interesting, with the views of sky-high buildings in the surrounding area.
Attractions in Merlion Park
1. Merlion Statue
The major attraction in Merlion Park is the Merlion statue with a lion head and fish body. This combination of mermaid and lion produces this “Merlion.” It has a stream of water spouting from its mouth.
Singapore visitors like this place a lot and this is one of the most famous photogenic spots in the country. When we visited there, lots of visitors were trying to capture the most beautiful shots of the Merlion statue.
We captured the beauty of the Merlion statue at all possible angles. Surely, it is almost impossible to take a bad picture of this lovely photogenic statue.
2. Mini Merlion Statue
Just beside the big Merlion statue, you’ll find a 2 m tall mini Merlion statue. This cute Merlion calls the Merlion cub. Chinese porcelain plates and bowls have been used to make it, as a part of its integral design.
3. Fullerton Hotel
Grand Fullerton Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel located just beside Merlion Park. It dominates the waterfront and it is the most distinguished building in the area. The huge 9-storied Fullerton Hotel building has 400 rooms. This very old building was constructed in 1928. It has designated as a national monument of Singapore in 2015.
4. Esplanade
When you walk along the riverbank, you’ll meet another amazing building that resembles a giant Durian. This is Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. It is a performing arts center, which opened in 2002.
Esplanade is famous for varieties of shows such as opera, ballet, and musical shows. It consists of a concert hall which seats about 1,600 and a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts.
5. Marina Bay Sands
This is the most widely famous building in Singapore, which you’ll find in every brochure and travel guide. The tall standing three-pronged Marina Bay Sands Hotel is visible from a far distance. This hotel an architectural masterpiece looks like a gigantic stranded ship. It is the most prominent, unique building in this area.
Marina Bay Sands consists of three 55-story towers connected at the top by a 1-hectare roof terrace. This iconic building is a world-class hotel, casino, and entrainment hotspot. It features shops, restaurants, bars, a shopping mall as well as a sky park at its rooftop.
The sky park at the rooftop of Marina Bay Sands provides a stunning view of the city. The “ship” on top of the three towers is the hotel’s infinity pool. This is the world’s longest elevated pool at 150 m in length, in a height of 57 stories. Only the guests staying at the hotel allow to use this infinity pool.
6. Art Science Museum
Definitely, you may have seen pictures of this lotus-shaped building which locates just beside the Marina Bay Sands hotel. This marvelous building is the Singapore Art Science Museum. It displays the world’s top-quality exhibitions through digital arts and VR technologies.
Art Science Museum has a round base in the middle, with ten extensions, refer as fingers. The design concept for each finger denotes various gallery spaces sporting skylights. It’s quite beautiful at the night under the illuminations.
7. Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the bay is one of the major attractions not to miss in Singapore. This beautiful nature park locates around just a 20-minute leisurely walk from Merlion Park. You can easily cover Merlion Park and Gardens by the bay in a single-day trip.
Gardens by the Bay is a fascinating creation of Singapore to show it as a city in a garden. This colorful, futuristic park spreads in a vast area in Marina Bay. It is a beautiful blend of nature with modern Singapore technology. Must-visit attractions in Gardens by the bay are the OCBC Skyway, Flower Dome, and Cloud Forest.
Among the most standout features in this park are the famous Supertree structures. There are 50 m tall, 18 huge supertrees in the park. This 128 m long OCBC Skyway is an aerial walkway between Supertrees at 22 meters above the ground. This impressive skywalk over the gardens gives a close look at these supertrees.
These huge artificial trees dazzle the visitors with their tall, elegant view. It is quite more beautiful in the evening under the illuminations. This place is totally worth one’s time and you’ll be amazed by the view of the futuristic creations of Singapore.
8. Singapore River Cruise
You can get a mesmerizing view of the Singapore skyline by the Singapore river cruise. A bumboat ride down the Singapore River is a wonderful way to see the stunning sights of downtown Singapore. We took the boat from Merlion Park to Clark Quay and enjoyed a great view of Marina Bay Sands while cruising around the river.
9. Night View of Merlion Park
The place becomes even more picturesque during the evening with lights shining brightly on all the buildings. Remember to stay until the evening to watch the lovely night illuminations. You can enjoy the astounding light and water show that takes place every night in Merlion Park. Lasers light up the Marina Bay area in a truly spectacular way and leave the visitors mesmerized.
10. New Year Celebrations
During this trip, we were lucky to witness one of the main celebrations in Singapore. It was Chinese New Year celebration that took place at Marina Bay along the Esplanade Waterfront Promenade.
This was a charming event with a huge variety of entertainment and cultural events. There were elegant decorations and sculptures made for new year celebrations.
Witnessing these lovely decorations was a pleasant surprise for us because we had no idea there was such a grand festival at Marina Bay.
These decorations were quite colorful and attractive. We took lots of marvelous shots at this event. Hope you’ll enjoy these nice shots captured in our lens.
Merlion Park considers the best sightseeing spot in Singapore with several major attractions. It is a nice place for a whole day trip. If you are traveling with family, it is an incredibly family-friendly place with a line full of restaurants and cafes on the banks of the river. It is a perfect spot for your romantic night with loved ones too. When you are visiting Singapore, don’t miss this wonderful sightseeing spot. Happy traveling to Merlion Park everybody!
This post has been written according to the experience of our Merlion Park trip in 2013. Attractions may vary in the present situation.
