How Singapore’s main shopping street Orchard Road is seeing the rise of its more tranquil western end with new hotels and rejuvenated malls
- Orchard Road’s western end is more laid-back than the rest of Singapore’s most famous shopping street, but new developments are shaking up the area’s vibe
- The Palais Renaissance and Orchard Towers malls have recently undergone large changes, while new hotels include the Singapore Edition and Artyzen Singapore
Relatively scenic and laid-back, the western end of Orchard Road is my favourite part of Singapore’s busiest shopping street.
As a Westie – what Singaporeans call people who live in the western part of the island – I enjoy my journeys to Orchard.
Former plantations now thick with foliage in the abandoned Tyersall Park – home to the two-storey Istana Woodneuk palace, which belongs to the royal family of Johor and appeared in Crazy Rich Asians – come into view as I progress along Holland Road.
Next come the huge white iron wrought gates of the Botanic Gardens, at the junction of Cluny and Holland roads, across from the British High Commission, on the tree-lined boulevard of Tanglin Road.
Off Tanglin Road, smaller roads lead to leafy enclaves of high-end residences and black-and-white colonial bungalows.
