Singapore River
The Singapore River is a 3.2 km long river that feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore.
Once an important hub of commerce, numerous warehouses were built along the banks of the river near the river mouth to store spices and other goods. Today, some of these warehouses have been restored and converted into entertainment and dining venues.
The Singapore River, Kallang River, and Geylang River are all part of the Marina Reservoir. It took more than 30 years to clean up these highly polluted rivers before the Marina Reservoir was created.
Boat Quay
Located on the south bank of the Singapore River between Eigin Bridge and Cavenagh Bridge, Boat Quay is a popular dining venue with many eateries offering open spaces with good views of the Singapore River. Being close to the financial centre, buildings such as UOB Plaza, Chartered Bank Building, Bank of China Building, and OCBC Centre make up the city skyline at Boat Quay.
Merlion and Merlion Park
The small 2,500 m² Merlion Park is a famous Singapore landmark and a major tourist attraction, located near the Central Business District (CBD) right at the Singapore Waterfront facing Marina Bay.
Merlion Park is where visitors can have unblocked views of many popular tourist attractions such as Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore Flyer, ArtScience Museum, and Marina Bay Sands (SkyPark Observation Deck). The park is where the 8.6m-tall iconic statue of Merlion, the official mascot of Singapore, stands and faces east overlooking Marina Bay, spouting water continuously from its mouth into Marina Bay.
Merlion’s name combines “mer”, meaning the sea, and “lion”. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village known as Temasek. The lion head represents the city’s original name of Singapura, which means “lion city”.
The Walk
From Alkaff Bridge, about 2.5 km away from Marina Bay, you can walk on flat riverfront walking paths on both sides of the river to Marina Bay, if you want to challenge yourself and test your fitness level.
For a shorter walk, you may start from Elgin Bridge at the riverfront restaurant strip, where many popular seafood restaurants can be found. Walk through these restaurants on the southern side of the Singapore River, and then, after about 700m, you will come to the Cavenagh Pedestrian Bridge. Shortly after you will arrive at Anderson Bridge, cross over Anderson Bridge and then walk through the underpass below Esplanade Bridge, and you will arrive at Merlion Park.
From Merlion Park, walk north on the Jubilee Pedestrian Bridge towards Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and then on Waterfront Promenade and you will walk past Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and will arrive at the amphitheatre DBS Foundation Esplanade Outdoor Theatre.
The one-way distance between Elgin Bridge and DBS Foundation Esplanade Outdoor Theatre is approximately 1.5 km.
If you want to avoid the hot and humid Singapore weather, early mornings and evenings are the best times for taking this walk.
Want to discover more great walking locations? Check out the “By the Waters” blogs.
The small 2,500 m² Merlion Park is a famous Singapore landmark and a major tourist attraction, located near the Central Business District (CBD) right at the Singapore Waterfront facing Marina Bay.