Merlion Park sits at 1 Fullerton Rd along the mouth of the Singapore River, where the 8.6-metre Merlion statue spouts water toward Marina Bay around the clock, free of charge. This small waterfront plaza, wedged between the Fullerton Hotel and One Fullerton, has become the default spot for a first photo with the Marina Bay Sands skyline behind you. The original statue, designed by Kwan Sai Kheng and installed in 1972, stands beside a smaller 2-metre Merlion cub, both facing the bay where cruise boats and bumboats pass throughout the day.
How to get to Merlion Park from Raffles Place MRT
The fastest walking route from Raffles Place MRT station takes about 10 minutes: exit at Exit H, cross over Cavenagh Bridge or head down Fullerton Road past the Fullerton Hotel's colonnaded facade, and the park opens up on your right along the water. This path is flat, shaded intermittently by the hotel's arcade, and well-lit at night, making it manageable even in Singapore's midday humidity.
Alternatively, Esplanade MRT station on the Circle Line drops you about 12 minutes away on foot, via the Esplanade Bridge, which gives you a preview view of the Merlion from across the bay before you reach it at ground level. This route suits travelers coming from the Esplanade Theatres or Suntec City side and avoids the narrower Fullerton Road pavement.
If you're arriving by river taxi or one of the hop-on Singapore River Cruise boats, they dock directly at the Merlion Park pier, which is the simplest option if you're combining the visit with a Clarke Quay or Boat Quay stop beforehand. A one-way river cruise ticket costs around SGD 25 for adults and includes a slow pass in front of the statue itself.
Best time to photograph the Merlion statue
Sunrise, roughly between 6:45am and 7:15am depending on the month, gives you the emptiest plaza and soft light on the Merlion's white cement-render body, with the skyline behind still lit by building lights. This is the window local photographers use for long-exposure shots of the water jet without dozens of strangers in frame.
Blue hour just after sunset, typically 7:15pm to 7:45pm, is the busiest deliberate shooting time because Marina Bay Sands and the Helix Bridge lighting switch on while the sky still holds color. Expect tripods lined along the railing and a wait of several minutes for an unobstructed spot directly facing the statue's mouth.
Midday visits between 12pm and 3pm are the quietest in terms of photographer crowds but the harshest in light, with the statue's white surface often blown out in phone camera shots. If you're touring on a tight schedule and midday is your only slot, position yourself so the sun is behind you and the skyline serves as backdrop rather than shooting into glare.
What to see near Merlion Park along Marina Bay
The Helix Bridge, a five-minute walk east along the waterfront promenade, offers a curved steel-and-glass crossing with night lighting that pairs well with a Merlion Park visit on the same evening walk. From its midpoint you get a reverse angle of the Merlion with the Fullerton Hotel dome behind it.
One Fullerton, the building directly adjacent to the park, houses a small cluster of restaurants and bars with outdoor seating facing the bay, useful if you want a drink while watching the nightly 8pm and 9pm Spectra light-and-water show at the Marina Bay Sands event plaza across the water. The show runs for about 15 minutes and is visible without charge from the park's railing.
The Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, recognizable by its spiky durian-shaped roof, sits a further 10-minute walk north and often has free performances in its outdoor Concourse or Tunnel spaces on weekend evenings. Combining Merlion Park with an Esplanade stop makes a natural loop of about 45 minutes to an hour along the water.
Merlion Park opening hours and entry fee
Merlion Park has no gates, ticket booth, or closing time — it's an open-air public plaza accessible 24 hours a day, and entry is free. This makes it one of the few Marina Bay landmarks you can visit spontaneously at 2am if you're chasing a quiet shot of the illuminated skyline without daytime crowds.
There are no formal facilities inside the park itself beyond public benches and a low railing along the water, so plan to use the restrooms at One Fullerton or the Fullerton Hotel lobby next door before or after your visit. A small souvenir kiosk near the entrance sells Merlion-shaped keychains and magnets, typically priced from SGD 5 to SGD 15.
Because the park is unfenced and open to the bay, water levels and occasional high tide splash can bring spray onto the lower viewing deck closest to the statue during monsoon months (November to January). Staff don't restrict access during these periods, but the paved area nearest the railing can get slippery, so watch your footing if you're carrying camera gear.
Merlion Park vs Sentosa Merlion: which one to visit
Singapore actually has two well-known Merlion statues: the original at Merlion Park and a larger 37-metre version that once stood on Sentosa Island before its 2019 demolition to make way for redevelopment. Since the Sentosa statue no longer exists, Merlion Park at Fullerton Road is now the primary and most photographed Merlion in the country.
A smaller Merlion also sits atop Mount Faber, and another rear-facing one is tucked inside Merlion Park itself — the 2-metre cub mentioned earlier — but neither carries the same skyline backdrop that makes the Fullerton Road statue a repeat subject for skyline photography. If you only have time for one Merlion stop in Singapore, Merlion Park's waterfront setting makes it the clear choice.
Tour itineraries that mention visiting a Merlion on Sentosa are outdated, so if you see this listed on an older guide or tour package, confirm with the operator that they mean Merlion Park at Marina Bay instead. Locals sometimes still refer to the original statue simply as
