Let's Explore Temasek Shophouse: 4 November

Four heritage buildings make up Temasek Shophouse, and volunteer docents walk you through them on the morning of 4 November. The tour traces the history of this stretch of Orchard Road — its plantation past, its early cinema days, the motorcars that came after. You also get the architectural details, the gardens and the design features that are easy to walk straight past.

It runs 10.30am to 12pm at 28 Orchard Road, a 90-minute slot that sits neatly before lunch in town. The buildings' sustainable design elements get their own stop, so the tour runs from the area's old history to a rather more current thread. One for anyone who has looked up at this part of Orchard Road and wondered what the buildings were before.