Red and yellow lanterns strung above a street of stalls and shophouses

Marcin Konsek / CC BY-SA 4.0

Where to stay in Chinatown & Tanjong Pagar

Shophouses in a tight grid south-west of the river: the Buddha Tooth temple, the Maxwell and Chinatown Complex hawker centres, the restored terraces of Tanjong Pagar and the financial district's southern edge above them. It is where the eating this city is famous for actually happens, and the grid is finer and denser than anything the colonial centre has. It is also the least restful address in the centre — the streets work late and the traffic never stops.

Price level · Mid-range

Singapore

Area scorecard

Scored 0–10 by Where Stay Guide. No overall total: every traveller weights these differently.

Sightseeing: 7.5
Walkability: 9.0
Transport: 8.8
Food: 9.5
Nightlife: 8.0
Quietness: 5.5
Families: 6.5
Value: 8.0
Airport / station: 8.0
First trip: 8.5

Best for

Anyone whose trip is mostly about food
A first visit that wants the centre at a fair rate
Walkers

Choose elsewhere if

You want the bay view
You want quiet
You are here for the malls

Our picks in Chinatown & Tanjong Pagar

Best in the shophouses

KēSa House, The Unlimited Collection

Our pick for Chinatown because it is in the shophouses rather than beside them: Keong Saik Road, inside the Bukit Pasoh conservation area, with the hawker centres that made this city's reputation a few minutes on foot.