The majestic City Hall on St Andrew's Road, designed in neo-classical style, abounds in history. And three years later, on its steps, Japanese General Itagaki surrendered to supreme Allied Commander Lord Louis Mountbatten. City Hall is now occasionally used for Singapore's National Day celebrations.
Visitors can enter the public gallery but two weeks' notice is needed to go further within.
At Empress Place stands Singapore's oldest government building, Parliament House. Once a colonial mansion built in 1827, it now houses the Republic's Parliament. The regal-looking bronze elephant outside the building was a gift from King Chulalongkorn of Siam in 1871. By appointment only. Raffles Hotel Built in 1899, this stately building on Beach Road has been billed as the Grand Old Lady of the East and takes its place among the great hotels of South-east Asia.