Singapore may not have a reputation for being big on romance, but the city is actually full of romantic places to bring a date and explore hand in hand. Show-off your knowledge of Singapore’s most interesting and unique romantic places with the help of this handy guide.

Dine high above the city

If you’re looking to impress your date with an unusual dining experience, there can be nowhere more unexpected in Singapore than Dining on Cloud 9 on the Sky Network Cable Car between Sentosa and Mount Faber. You can enjoy a three course set menu including a welcome drink, glass of wine and box of chocolates in a gondola all of your own as darkness settles over the harbourfront and the city’s landmarks become illuminated. Plan to start your meal around 6.30 and you’ll get the added spectacle of the sun setting over the city as you begin three gentle laps of the cable car system.

Photo source: Pixabay

Alternatively, head to the Singapore Flyer, the city’s large Ferris wheel, to enjoy its four course Sky Dining Flight menu. Though the standard package will have you sharing a gondola with two other couples, the experience includes an ‘in-flight’ host, and a choice of Western, Chinese or vegetarian menus. Meals are scheduled to last roughly an hour – two full rotations of the wheel.

Photo source: Pixabay

Enjoy a day of island-hopping

If you’d rather escape the city centre for the day, Singapore has a plethora of nearby islands that are perfect for a romantic getaway. Pack a picnic, hop onto a ferry at Marina South Pier, and an hour later you’ll find yourselves on the palm-fringed beaches of St John’s Island, Lazarus Island, Big Sister’s Island (Pulau Subar Laut), or Kusu Island, where fine sands and turquoise-blue waters await.

Photo source: Pixabay

Get lost in each other’s company on St John’s Island, the first anchorage of Sir Stanford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, as you explore its three kilometre walking trail and enjoy the rich history and natural beauty of the island. Should you like to continue the walking theme, a man-made causeway connects St John’s and Lazarus islands, while Big Sister’s Island offers scuba divers an underwater dive trail within the protected waters of its marine park.

Last but not least is Kusu Island, another excellent choice for relaxing on the beach or swimming its lagoons. Snorkel off the coast together and you might even see a turtle. Should you rather stay a little closer to Singapore’s centre, Coney Island is walking distance from Punggol Point Park, which has boardwalks over its mangroves amid other secluded walking trails.

Stay side by side on two wheels

Singapore’s Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network (or ECPCN) may not have the most romantic of names, but in connecting up the island’s parks and other nature sites with well-maintained cycle paths it provides an impeccable route on which to enjoy one another’s company from the saddle. Bicycles can be rented all along the network, including at Changi Beach and East Coast Park.

Photo source: Pixabay

Alternatively, the beautiful island of Pulau Ubin, often described as the ‘Singapore of old’, is just a ten-minute bumboat ride from Changi Point Ferry Terminal. It offers plenty of gentle cycling opportunities (rental bikes are available) as a means of exploring the tiny island, and there are several cafes and restaurants in which to enjoy a romantic drink or share a meal of Singapore’s famed chilli crab.

Become a culture vulture

The elegant winding staircases and large exhibition spaces of the National Museum of Singapore are made for getting to know each other better in the relaxed atmosphere of the nation’s history. Likewise, the National Gallery Singapore is filled with beautifully curated spaces and romantic artworks, in what is the largest display of modern Southeast Asian art anywhere.

If film is what initially brought you together, your date will be impressed to discover the cinema that goes by the name of The Projector with you. Not just your standard big screen experience, this cinema screens cult and indie classics from the back-catalogue of Alfred Hitchcock to Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange. There’s both the 230-seat Green Room auditorium with traditional renovated flip-up chairs, and the more unusual Redrum room, where you can cuddle together on bean bags.

Photo source: Pixalbay

Take to the water

Singapore is a city borne from international trade arriving by sea, and hopping aboard a Singapore river cruise makes for a fantastic way to spend some quality time together in a somewhat busy city. By day you can explore the city’s modern skyline and historic buildings from the gentle-lapping river waters, pointing out places you both recognise. By night the river takes on a different guise, with the spectacular free Spectra light and water show at Marina Bay Sands from Thursday to Sunday. Cruises can be easily found at The Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, and at Clarke Quay.

Photo source: Pixalbay

Gazing at colourful tropical fish side by side is also surprisingly romantic. The SEA Aquarium (on Sentosa Island) allows for up-close interactions with the wonders of the underwater world. Check out manta rays, turtles, sharks, and bright reef fish among 100,000 marine animals belonging to more than a thousand species across 50 different habitats. Make sure you don’t miss the seahorses, which mate for life and share the burden of childbirth.

If money is not an issue, sail away from the worries of everyday life with your beau by chartering one of the luxury private yachts at Marina at Keppel Bay, with charters coming with everything you need to enjoy some exclusive time with your other half.

Short of lacking romance, Singapore is in fact a city with love at its heart. Whatever the interests of you and your date, this Lion City offers the perfect locations and activities to spend time not just together, but also doing what you love.