Merlion Park

The Merlion is Singapore's national symbol — a half-lion, half-fish statue that spouts water into Marina Bay and has been the most photographed landmark in the city since the original 8.6-metre sculpture was erected in 1972. The lion represents Singapore's original Malay name, Singapura (Lion City), and the fish tail represents the city's origins as a fishing village before Raffles arrived. The combination is entirely invented — there is no mythological creature that is half lion, half fish — but the Merlion has become so ubiquitous in Singaporean branding that questioning its logic feels unpatriotic.

Merlion Park sits at the mouth of the Singapore River, directly facing Marina Bay Sands across the water, and the view from here — the Sands to the left, the Esplanade Theatres (nicknamed 'the durian' for their spiky shells) to the right, and the financial district skyline behind — is the defining panorama of modern Singapore. The park is small, free, and perpetually crowded, but the crowd is part of the experience: families jockeying for the photograph where the Merlion appears to be spitting water into their mouths, couples posing with the skyline, and tour groups from every country cycling through in efficient rotation.

The original Merlion was designed by Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964 and has since been joined by a smaller 'cub' Merlion behind the main statue. The Sentosa Island Merlion — a much larger version at 37 metres — was demolished in 2019, leaving the Marina Bay original as the definitive article.