Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

It looks like it has stood on South Bridge Road for centuries. It opened in 2007, which is Singapore all over.

Give the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple an unhurried hour on a Chinatown day out: it is free, it is far bigger inside than it looks from South Bridge Road, and the route from roof garden to basement lunch is the way to do it. It suits the culture-curious and anyone wanting a quiet break from the Chinatown pavements. The compromises are the rules of a working temple: dress modestly, keep the camera away on Level 4 and hold back while people are praying.

It looks as if it has stood here for centuries. It opened on Vesak Day, 31 May 2007, with the late President S R Nathan officiating. The look is deliberate: the design blends the Buddhist mandala, a diagram of the universe, with Tang dynasty architecture, and it cost S$75 million to set up.

The reason it exists is the relic, which Buddhists regard as the Buddha's left canine tooth, recovered from his funeral pyre in Kushinagar, India. It sits in a stupa weighing 3,500kg, made with 320kg of gold, 234kg of it donated by devotees. You can't walk into the relic chamber, but you can view the golden stupa that holds it. This is the one floor where cameras go away: photography is allowed throughout the temple except on Level 4, where the relic shrine is.

Between the prayer halls are two museum collections, covering figures in the Buddhist tradition and relics of the Buddha and his disciples, along with the 10,000 Buddha Pavilion and the Aranya Reference Library. The building is more vertical tour than single hall, with lifts between the levels, so allow more time than a quick look-in suggests.

How to do it well: start at the top. The lift stops at Level 4, and the roof garden is on Level 5, where a pagoda and a Buddha prayer wheel make a quiet retreat from the street. It is one of the few barrier-free Buddhist temples, and wheelchair users can ask staff for an automated chair to reach the roof. Work your way down through the museums, then finish in the basement at the Lian Xin Food Court, which serves budget-friendly vegetarian food: mixed rice, wanton noodles, laksa and Western plates, with sweet soups such as red bean or longan with white fungus. A meat-free laksa in a temple basement is a good way to end the visit.

Dress as you would for any place of worship: short skirts and low-cut or open-back tops can get you asked to leave. No flash, and save the selfies and outfit shots for the pavement outside while worship is going on.

Good to know Entry is free and the temple is at 288 South Bridge Road, a short walk from Chinatown MRT. Check opening hours on the temple's official site before you go, and dress modestly.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum | 288 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058840 | Nearest MRT: Chinatown