It was a multicoloured, pop art piano in the lobby of The Arts House in Singapore. It looked slightly incongruous in the setting — a Neo-Palladian building that was once the city’s Parliament Building. The sign beside it said: ‘Play me, I’m yours’ and that’s exactly what scores of people were doing.

Play Me, I’m Yours is part of what’s called a global street-piano artwork by a British artist Luke Jerram and the idea is ‘Arts to All’ — to make art accessible to the public. The Singapore edition of the artwork has 25 pianos all around the city in residential neighbourhoods, parks and commercial spaces. The arty pianos have been brought to Singapore by a collaboration between an arts collective called Playtent and the Singapore International Foundation, an NGO.

Singapore has a formidable reputation as a place that runs like clockwork and a great place to do business. But the city’s keen to prove that it’s more than just a place for businesses on the move, with its colonial era structures and newer attractions that are constantly being created.

When the British arrived in 1819 at what was to become the prosperous city state, the area was just a swamp-filled jungle. Today, it has become a superbly planned city and the Singaporeans have made sure to throw in lots of manicured greenery in the form of gardens and parks.

We were looking at some of the island’s less well-known attractions and our next stop was the city’s Land Transport Gallery which tells the story of transportation in the city starting with rickshaws and bicycles to today’s highly efficient blend of buses and the Mass Rapid Transit rail network. We had a 45-minute fully guided interactive tour of the gallery.

The highlight of the next day was a Smart Nation tour at the Infocomm Development Agency (IDA) gallery which showcases the city’s vision for the future. Singapore has an ambitious Smart Nation Vision and looking forward to 2050, is putting in place plans to tackle issues like an ageing population and urban density. There are interactive displays that have all been put together with the idea of educating the public about the benefits of becoming a smart nation.

We also made time to soak up the city’s local flavours. Singapore’s multi-racial ethnic diversity is well-known and I headed first to the heritage-rich Chinatown area with its restored Chinese clan houses. The area has colourful houses and narrow souvenir-filled shops on both sides. The Tang dynasty-inspired Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple and museum are must-visits with their glowing lanterns. For an authentic local food experience, we headed to the open-air food court serving laksa noodles and Singaporean chilli crab. Other stalls even sold the famous durian fruit.

There are numerous cafes, bars and restaurants dotting the harbour quays. For stunning view of the city along with good food, Clarke Quay is a must try — it has a view of the 28ft iconic Singapore Merlion (head of a lion and body of a fish) overlooking the river.

No visit in Singapore can be complete without a visit to the 56-floor, Marina Bay Sands Hotel that opened in 2010. We went all the way to the top, where we whipped out our cameras and clicked away. The laser show at the Marina Bay Sands Promenade that starts every night at 8pm is quite spectacular. One by one we spotted the Merlion, the newly opened Gardens by the Bay, the giant Singapore Flyer and the waterfront promenade.

Singaporeans are adding to their museums and galleries all the time. So, when you go to the famous Little India area, be sure to stop at the newly opened Indian Heritage Centre, that's dedicated to the Indian community’s diverse heritage and traditions. Singapore’s newly refurbished National Gallery (a heritage structure which was the former Supreme Court and City Hall) is another recent addition with galleries for South-East Asian art.

After all the arty sights, the shopping scene was hard to resist. For fashionistas who’re in a mood to splurge, head to Orchard Street with its posh fashion boutiques and relaxed sidewalk cafes. A short-walk along Orchard Road took us past the Istana (the official Presidential Palace). For more pocket-friendly buys, the vibrant ethnic district Little India with its 24-hour Mustafa shopping centre is the go-to place for chocolates and souvenirs.

There was more. At Sentosa Island I took a cable car ride up to Mt Faber and then an unforgettable stroll on the Henderson Waves Bridge (shaped like wave).

This was a quick trip to a small and quite unique city state. Like all good things, it rushed by much too fast.

READY RECKONER

♦ How to get there: Singapore Airlines and Air India fly direct from Calcutta to Singapore, while others like Thai Airways and Air Asia fly with one stop.
♦ Where to stay: The hotels in the Little India area and Orchard Road are good options.