Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
Singapore spent SGD 600 million on two rounded domes so spiky that everyone calls them The Durian.
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Sitting where the Singapore River meets the bay, this SGD 600-million performing arts complex replaced a beloved Satay Club food haunt and took six years from groundbreaking (1996) to opening night (2002). One dome holds a 1,600-seat concert hall; the other a 2,000-capacity theatre. The waterfront position and the absurd nickname make it worth the walk even if you never buy a ticket.
What to look for
- Two rounded dome structures side by side — the smaller one (1,600 seats) is the concert hall, the larger (2,000 capacity) is the theatre
- The mouth of the Singapore River directly alongside, where the river opens into the bay
- Esplanade Park, the green space the building was named after, immediately adjacent
Esplanade MRT station (open since April 2010) drops you right here; the exterior and waterfront promenade are free to walk at any hour.
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is one of 30 sights worth the detour in Singapore, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Singapore pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Singapore
- Singapore Botanic GardensThe world's only tropical UNESCO garden — where 1920s rubber supplied half the planet's latex and orchids now carry diplomats' names.
- Marina Bay SandsA 150-metre infinity pool balanced on the world's largest public cantilevered platform, jutting 66.5 metres past the edge of its own tower.
- Marina Bay Street CircuitLewis Hamilton said this 4.927 km loop was twice as physically punishing as Monaco — and you can walk every metre of it.
- Marina BayThe entire bay you're standing beside was open sea until 1992 — 38 years of reclamation drained the anchorage and pushed the Singapore River's mouth inland.
- Gardens by the BayThe world's largest glass greenhouse anchors a 105-hectare park on Singapore's Marina Reservoir.
- Singapore FlyerFor six years this was the tallest Ferris wheel on earth — Las Vegas finally beat it in 2014, by just 2.6 metres.