On the riverbank at Empress Place, the Asian Civilisations Museum tells the story of Asia’s cultures and the trade that tied them to Singapore’s port.
The Singapore River curls past Victoria Theatre and the museum towards the bay. Raffles stepped ashore in 1819 near today’s Cavenagh Bridge, the river’s oldest crossing, and for 150 years the river was the engine of the port, crammed with lighters and lined with godowns. The ACM, Singapore’s museum of the cultures of Asia, tells the story of the trade links that tied them to it.
As of October 2026 the special exhibition Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road is ticketed separately. The museum opens daily from 10 am to 7 pm, and until 9 pm on Fridays; admission ends 30 minutes before closing. Like the other Civic District museums, it makes a good air-conditioned refuge on a thundery afternoon.
