National Gallery Singapore

Singapore's largest visual-arts venue holds the world's most important public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art, spanning the 19th century to today. It occupies two restored national monuments — the former Supreme Court and City Hall, where the Japanese surrender of 1945 was signed — knitted together by a shimmering aluminium-and-glass filigree canopy. Inside, the DBS Singapore Gallery traces the nation's art history while the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery sets it in a regional context. The building itself is half the draw: grand rotundas, the preserved old courtrooms, and a rooftop with sweeping views over the Padang and Marina Bay. Round it off with a drink at one of the rooftop bars as the skyline lights up.