Walks · 2 of 6

Old Streets

The painted shophouse terraces of Joo Chiat and Koon Seng Road, the walk-up flats of Tiong Bahru, and old prints of streets near the river.

Joo Chiat is a straight road with side streets worth every detour. Koon Seng Road has the brightest row of houses; the light is best on them in the morning, from the north side of the street.

Look up as well as along: the shophouse fronts carry plaster flowers, painted tiles and the names of the families who built them, and no two in a row are quite the same.

Tiong Bahru is quieter and greyer: curved walk-up blocks from the 1930s, spiral back stairs, and a market with a good food centre upstairs. Walk the back lanes rather than the main road; under one of the blocks is an air-raid shelter from before the war, opened only for occasional tours.

The prints at the end are from around 1900 and show the streets near the river long before the houses above were painted.

Start

Eunos MRT for Joo Chiat; Tiong Bahru MRT for Tiong Bahru

Distance

Two loops of about 2.5 km

Time

1 to 2 hours each

Best

Weekday mornings; Sunday afternoons are busy

Food

Tiong Bahru Market, upstairs; coffee shops along Joo Chiat Road

Added Apr 2024 · notes checked Oct 2026