
Raffles Place, right outside the entrance of Raffles Place MRT and southwest of Merlion Park, is now occupied by skyscrapers such as the UOB Plaza and OUB Building. This is the heart of Singapore’s business and financial centre – better known as the Central Business District.
From the viewing room on the 28th floor of UOB Plaza One, which is open to the public, you can get a spectacular view of Singapore River, the civic district and its colonial structures, and Boat Quay. The Plaza is also known to regularly hold exhibitions featuring the works of local artists at its gallery. From the top, still, there are some reminders left from when Singapore was a bustling colonial outpost. Raffles Place itself was established in the 1820s.
Raffles Place is the centre of the Financial District of Singapore and is located south of the mouth of the Singapore River. It was first planned and developed in the 1820s as Commercial Square to serve as the hub of the commercial zone of Singapore in Raffles Town Plan.