The Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) is an urban park spanning 105 hectares (260 acres) in the Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden in Marina South, Bay East Garden with the Founders’ Memorial in Marina East and Bay Central Garden in the Downtown Core and Kallang. The largest of the gardens is the Bay South Garden at 54 hectares (130 acres) designed by Grant Associates. Its Flower Dome is the largest glass greenhouse in the world.
Gardens by the Bay was part of the nation’s plans to transform its “Garden City” to a “City in a Garden”, with the aim of raising the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city. First announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Singapore’s National Day Rally in 2005, Gardens by the Bay was intended to be Singapore’s premier urban outdoor recreation space and one of the country’s national icons.
A popular tourist attraction in Singapore, the park had 6.4 million visitors in 2014, and had had 20 million by November 2015 and over 50 million by 2018. In 2024, TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards Best Of The Best ranked it the eighth-best attraction in the world and the best in Asia.
Bay Central Garden
Bay Central Garden acts as a link between Bay South and Bay East Gardens. It stands at 15 hectares (37 acres) with a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) waterfront promenade that allows for scenic walks stretching from the city centre to the east of Singapore.
Bay East Garden
The Singapore skyline viewed from Bay East Garden
Bay East Garden is 32 hectares (79 acres) in size and has a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) promenade frontage bordering the Marina Reservoir. An interim park was developed at Bay East Garden in support of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. The first phase of the garden was opened to the public in October 2011, allowing alternative access to the Marina Barrage.
It is designed as a series of large tropical leaf-shaped gardens, each with its own specific landscaping design, character and theme. There will be five water inlets aligned with the prevailing wind direction, maximizing and extending the shoreline while allowing wind and water to penetrate the site to help cool areas of activity around them.
Bay East Garden provides visitors with an unobstructed view of the city skyline. Upcoming developments of Bay East Garden will be based on the theme of water.
In 2018, Bay East Garden was designated as the future site of the Founders’ Memorial.
Bay South Garden
Bay South Garden opened to the public on 29 June 2012. It is the largest of the three gardens at 54 hectares (130 acres) and designed to show the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry.
The overall concept of its master plan by Grant Associates draws inspiration from an orchid as it is representative of the tropics and of Singapore, being the country’s national flower, the Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’. The orchid takes root at the waterfront (conservatories), while the leaves (landforms), shoots (paths, roads and linkways) and secondary roots (water, energy and communication lines) then form an integrated network with blooms (theme gardens and Supertrees) at key intersections.