Chinatown or Little India: Which to Visit in Singapore

If you only have time for one, pick Chinatown for temples and the biggest hawker centres, and pick Little India for Indian food, colour and the shopping on Serangoon Road. Most guides don’t make you choose. They put the two on the same list, and the ones that compare them tell you to do both, a half day each, and add Kampong Glam if you can.

Roam Singapore read 29 guides in English, Spanish, German, French and Chinese, from travel sites, independent blogs and the Chinatown tourism site. Little India is named by 26 of them and Chinatown by 24, so neither is the odd one out. Every address, hour and number on this page comes from the place’s own page or an official body, not from those guides. Check the page before you go, because temples change their hours.

Then see what’s on during your dates. The events page lists festivals and markets from the organisers’ own pages, and the map puts them next to the streets below. If you’re also choosing a base, read where to stay in Singapore.

Which one to pick

Chinatown

Chinatown is named by 24 of 29 guides read, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the Sri Mariamman Temple by 12 each, and its hawker food by 12.

Chinatown is built around South Bridge Road. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is at 288 South Bridge Road. The Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple is at 244 South Bridge Road. It’s open from 6am to 12 noon and 6pm to 9pm, and until 9.15pm on Fridays.

Food is the other half of Chinatown. Maxwell Food Centre has more than 100 stalls, and the Michelin Guide’s page puts Chinatown Complex at 335 Smith Street with more than 220 food stalls. Both are covered in where to eat in Singapore.

Seven guides mention Pagoda Street, and five mention the Chinatown Heritage Centre. Chinatown’s own tourism pages conflict on whether the heritage centre is open, so check with it before you plan around it.

Little India

Little India is named by 26 of 29 guides read, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple by 18, Tekka Centre by 13 and Mustafa Centre by 8.

Little India is looser and louder than Chinatown. The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is at 141 Serangoon Road, per the temple’s own page, and it’s the landmark most guides name. Check the temple for its opening hours, since the pages that list them are not clear enough to quote.

Tekka Centre, at 665 Buffalo Road, is the hawker centre. The Michelin Guide says it’s strongest on Indian dishes, and lists Delhi Lahori (#01-266) and Allauddin’s Briyani (#01-229/232). Eleven guides name Indian dishes such as biryani, dosa and roti prata.

Mustafa Centre is the shopping stop. Eight guides name it. In 2026, Deepavali is on 8 November, and Serangoon Road is the street to see it on.

Do both, then add Kampong Glam

Nine guides say to do both districts in a day, usually half a day each, and 20 of the 29 mention the MRT. Kampong Glam is the third stop, named by 23 of 29 guides, with Arab Street, Haji Lane and the Sultan Mosque. Go in the morning, because the Meteorological Service Singapore says rain falls more often in the afternoon.

If you only have two hours

Go to Little India if you’ve already seen a Chinese temple, and Chinatown if you haven’t seen a hawker centre. The two sit a few MRT stops apart, so you won’t lose much by splitting them over two days.

For the rest of the trip, see things to do in Singapore and Singapore weather by month.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Sri Mariamman Temple Chinatown · near Chinatown Station Photo: Tony Hisgett Abdul Gafoor Mosque Little India · near Rochor Station Photo: Khalzuri Yazid