Tiong Bahru, Joo Chiat, and the MacRitchie treetop walk

Beyond Marina Bay, the city's character is in its neighborhoods: Tiong Bahru's 1930s art deco blocks and cafés, Joo Chiat's painted Peranakan shophouses in the east, and Kampong Glam's Arab Street around the Sultan Mosque. For green, the MacRitchie Reservoir trail leads to a free treetop suspension walkway in the rainforest; go early, it's humid by 10. Pulau Ubin, a ferry ride from Changi Point, is a village island with rented bikes and the last kampong.