12 December

Merlion Park Singapore Guide

Hey explorers, mini Einsteins, curious campers, and parents who deserve a medal just for surviving the school holidays, welcome to the absolute beast of a guide to Merlion Park Singapore, straight from the Newtonshow crew who live here with kids every single week.

This isn’t some quick blog post. This is the monster-sized, no-stone-unturned Newtonshow bible to Merlion Park, the one spot in Singapore that turns perfectly normal children into screaming, jumping, water-chasing maniacs the second they spot that giant Singapore lion statue blasting water into the bay.

We’ve been running science camps at Merlion Park for years, which means we’ve tested every possible experiment under the Merlion’s spray, discovered every hidden snack stall around Merlion Park, found the exact best photo spots in Merlion Park before the crowds arrive, and yes, we’ve handled every meltdown, lost shoe, and “I’m hungry again” moment with hundreds of 5-to-12-year-olds right here at Merlion Park.

This is the guide we wish someone had handed us the first time we marched thirty hyper campers to Merlion Park in Singapore, armed with nothing but sunscreen and blind hope. We’re about to transform that tiny patch of waterfront you’ve seen in every postcard into the biggest, wettest, most mind-blowing family science playground in the entire city.

So grab your little scientists, pack the spare clothes (trust us), and get ready, because Merlion Park is about to become your kids’ new obsession, and your new favourite place in Singapore. Let’s go make some epic memories under the water-spouting Singapore lion!

Related Reading: check out our guides to Public Swimming Pools in Singapore, Summer Camps.

What Is the Merlion? The Full Origin Story

Let’s start with the star: the Merlion.

Imagine someone asked you to design the ultimate Singapore mascot. You need lion (because Singapura = Lion City), you need fish (because we began as a fishing village), and you need it to be completely bonkers. In 1964, the Singapore Tourism Board did exactly that. A local artist, Lim Nang Seng, sculpted the first Merlion sculpture, 8.6 metres tall, 70 tons of concrete and pure imagination, mouth permanently open like it’s mid-roar but actually blasting a 6–8 metre water jet 24 hours a day.

The legend behind the lion part is ancient. In the 13th century, a Sumatran prince named Sang Nila Utama landed here, saw a strange animal with a red body and black head (99 % chance it was a Malayan tiger), and declared, “That’s a lion! Let’s name this place Lion City!” Singapore has been stuck with the name ever since, even though zero actual lions have ever set paw here. The fish body represents our humble fishing-village roots and the fact that we’re still a global port. The Merlion isn’t just a statue. It’s the ultimate mash-up of history, myth, and tourism genius.

There are officially eight Merlion statues around Singapore, but only one is the real deal: the original Merlion statue standing proud at Merlion Park in Singapore. The 37-metre Merlion Sentosa is taller, and you can climb inside its mouth (cool, but it costs money). There’s a chill one on Mount Faber, a tiny one in Ang Mo Kio, and even a hidden rooftop version in Toa Payoh if you’re a completionist. But every camper knows the true king lives at Merlion Park.

Fun bonus: the Singapore lion isn’t technically our national animal (that honour still goes to the real lion), but the Merlion is our national mascot, our spirit animal, our selfie king.

Where Exactly Is Merlion Park Singapore?

Image Credit: Soundarraj Ramasamy via Google Reviews

Merlion Park Singapore is a ridiculously small 2,500-square-metre triangle of reclaimed land, but it sits in the single most photogenic spot on the entire island. You’re standing where the Singapore River finally meets Marina Bay. Spin 360° and you get:

North: the insane three-tower Marina Bay Sands with the skypark that looks like a spaceship landed on top.
East: the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum, glowing white.
West: the historic Fullerton Hotel and old colonial buildings.
South: the entire CBD skyline glittering like a sci-fi movie.
And dead centre: the Merlion sculpture and its baby cub, water jet on full blast.

Exact address for your Grab driver or Google Maps: 1 Fullerton Road, Singapore 049213. You’ll know you’re there when you hear kids screaming “IT’S SPITTING WATER!” from 200 metres away.

Getting to Merlion Park

We’ve brought busloads, train-loads, and walking hordes of kids here. So here are the tried-and-tested options:

MRT (the Newtonshow favourite)

Merlion Park nearest MRT stations ranked by kid-friendliness:

Raffles Place MRT to Merlion Park (the undisputed champion), North-South Line (red) or East-West Line (green) → Raffles Place NS26/EW14 → Exit H You pop out right in front of UOB Plaza. Keep walking straight, cross one road at the traffic light, and five to eight minutes later, you’ll be getting lightly sprayed by the Singapore lion statue. Flat path, no stairs after the exit. Perfect for strollers and hyper kids.
Bayfront MRT (CE1/DT16) Circle Line or Downtown Line → Exit B → walk through the air-conditioned Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands → emerge onto the waterfront promenade → turn left → two minutes and you’re there. Bonus: toilets and air-con along the way.
Promenade MRT (CC4/DT15) Longer walk (12–15 mins), but you get to cross the Helix Bridge at night, which lights up and teaches DNA structure while looking like a giant glow worm.

Merlion Park Bus options

Buses 10, 57, 70, 75, 100, 107, 130, 131, 167, 196, 971E all stop within 400 m. Just hop off at Fullerton Square or opposite Fullerton Hotel.

River taxi/bumboat

The most fun way with kids. Jump on at Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, or Esplanade and cruise straight to the Merlion Jetty. Seeing the Merlion statue lit up from the water at night is pure magic.

D. Grab / Gojek / taxi

Tell the driver “Merlion Park drop-off” or “One Fullerton”. Two-minute walk max.

Best Times to Visit

We’ve tested every hour of the day, and here are the results.

6:30 – 9:30 AM → Sunrise squad. Golden light makes the Merlion sculpture look like solid gold. Almost zero crowd, perfect for running, screaming, and doing rainbow experiments in the mist. Merlion Park photos from this slot are wallpaper-level stunning.
4:00 – 7:00 PM → Golden hour + cooler weather. The temperature drops, the light turns pink and orange behind Marina Bay Sands, and the crowds are still manageable.
7:00 – 10:00 PM → Night-time is the undisputed champion. The Merlion Park light show mood is unreal — the Merlion statue glows in slow-changing colours while Marina Bay Sands blasts the Spectra laser-and-water show right in your face at 8 PM, 8:30 PM, and 9 PM on weekends. The whole bay turns into a giant disco. Kids lose their minds.

Avoid 11 AM – 4 PM unless you enjoy turning into human soup.

The Merlion Park Light Show

Image Credit: Ponkichi0403 via Instagram

There isn’t an official “Merlion Park light show” button, but here’s what actually happens every night:

From 7 PM, the big Merlion statue gets bathed in rotating coloured LED lights — soft blue, purple, pink, white, red. It changes every few minutes.
At exactly 8 PM and 8:30 PM (plus 9 PM Fri–Sun), Marina Bay Sands launches Spectra, a 15-minute free show with water fountains dancing to music, giant laser beams, and fire effects.
The water mist from the Merlion catches the lasers and creates glowing rainbows in the air.
Stand anywhere along the Merlion Park waterfront, and you have the best free seats in Singapore. The steps right in front of the Merlion cub are prime real estate.

Newtonshow's Science Experiments

We never just look. We experiment. Here are the greatest hits:

Water Jet Parabola — draw the curve on the ground with chalk, measure height vs distance.
Rainbow Factory — stand east of the Merlion statue at 8 AM, sunlight + mist = instant rainbow.
Echo Timing — shout toward the Fullerton Hotel and time how long the echo takes (speed of sound!).
Splash Radius Mapping — mark on the floor how far the droplets reach when the wind changes.
Surface Tension Races — drop leaves, paper clips, coins from the Merlion Jetty, and see what floats.
Shadow Monsters — use the Merlion sculpture’s giant shadow to make dinosaurs with your body.
Wind Direction Detector — hold a ribbon and see how the water jet bends.
Pressure Estimation — guess how strong the pump must be to shoot water 8 metres high.
Mist Cooling Test — measure temperature in the spray vs outside (instant 5 °C drop!).
Sound Wave Visualiser — clap near the water jet and watch the ripples change.

Food — The Extended Edition

Merlion Park itself has no restaurants, but you’re surrounded by the best food cluster in Singapore. Here’s the full menu:

Immediate Zone (0–3 minutes)

Classic ice-cream uncles with the bell — $1.20 rainbow bread sandwich or wafer.
Random Häagen-Dazs or Magnum cart — victory ice cream.
Sugarcane juice guy — fresh with lemon, $2, rocket fuel.

One Fullerton Building (2-minute walk, air-con heaven)

Texas Chicken — spicy fried chicken + mashed potatoes.
Burger King — cheap, familiar, soft-serve.
McDonald’s — emergency Happy Meal station.
Starbucks Reserve — parents only.
7-Eleven — $1 ice potong, coconut water, onigiri.

Hawker Heaven (5–12 minutes)

Makansutra Gluttons Bay — open-air, bay view, plastic stools. Must-try: BBQ stingray, satay, carrot cake, sugar cane, and ice kacang mountain.
Lau Pa Sat — daytime normal hawker, 7 PM onward, they close the entire road for Satay Street. Fifty charcoal grills, peanut sauce rivers, $0.80–$1 per stick. Order 100, no regrets.
Marina Bay Sands Food Court (basement 2) — if you need air-con and variety.

Slightly Fancy But Still Kid-Friendly

Jumbo Seafood — chili crab or black pepper crab (order mild).
Palm Beach Seafood — same building, cheaper crab.
DC Comics Café — Batman burgers and glowing milkshakes.

Picnic Pro Move

Buy 50 satay sticks, sugarcane juice, and 7-Eleven snacks → spread a mat on the Merlion Park steps → cheapest bay-front dinner in Singapore while watching the Merlion Park light show.

Merlion Park Photos

Classic “drinking the water” pose
Low-angle from Merlion Jetty — makes the Singapore lion statue look gigantic
Rainbow in the mist
Night long-exposure silky water
The kid standing on the cub’s base looks tiny
Jump shot at blue hour
Reflection in wet pavement after rain
Laser beams cutting through the mist during Spectra
Family silhouette against the glowing Merlion sculpture
Panorama with Marina Bay Sands in the background

Merlion Sentosa vs Merlion Park

Merlion Sentosa: 37 metres, inside viewing platform, costs $15, far away.

Merlion Park Singapore: free, 24/7, best backdrop on earth, space to run and experiment.

Winner by knockout: Merlion Park.

Parent Survival Kit & Final Tips

Two full changes of clothes
Small towels × 3
Sunscreen + hats + sunglasses
Refillable water bottles
Picnic mat
Wet wipes mountain
Portable charger + mini tripod
Small first-aid kit
Stroller if under 5

Why Merlion Park Singapore is still our #1 field trip spot in 2025? Because every single camper, from the shy 5-year-olds to the too-cool 12-year-olds, screams “WHOAAAA!” the first time they see the Singapore lion statue blast water into the bay. It’s free, safe, beautiful, and turns a simple statue into a full-day science adventure that kids talk about for months.

Now pack the kids, the snacks, and the sense of wonder, and come get soaked by the coolest lion-fish in the universe.

FAQ

How do I get to Merlion Park via MRT? Raffles Place MRT → Exit H → 8-minute flat walk. Easiest with kids, guaranteed.

Is Merlion Park free? 100 % free, 24 hours, no tickets, no gates.

Is Merlion Park worth visiting? For families and kids, it’s the single best free attraction in Singapore — iconic, educational, and pure joy.

What is the best time to visit Merlion? 7–9:30 AM for golden light and space, or 7–10 PM for the Merlion Park light show vibes, cooler weather, and the free Spectra spectacle.

See you at the water-spouting Singapore lion, campers. Let’s make some epic memories!

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