singaporecity360° CHIJMES
CHIJMES, pronounced "chimes", stands for the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, a Catholic convent, orphanage and girls' school that occupied this block off Victoria Street from 1854 until 1983 before being restored and reopened in 1996.
Two things to know first
CHIJMES Hall — the deconsecrated chapel that is the reason to come — is a private events venue, not an open attraction. It is often closed for weddings and functions and there is no public viewing time. Expect to see it from outside.
It reads as a nightlife destination in the evening. Mornings are quiet and much better for photographs.
Today the conserved buildings hold around forty restaurants, bars and cafes set around a sunken courtyard and lawn, so walking in costs nothing and you pay only if you eat or drink. The heritage centrepiece is the 1904 Gothic chapel, now called CHIJMES Hall, though it runs as a private events and wedding venue rather than an open exhibit, which means you usually see it from the courtyard rather than inside. The older Caldwell House, dating from the 1840s, and the chapel's Belgian stained glass are the other things worth finding.
It sits directly across Bras Basah Road from Raffles City and City Hall MRT. City Hall MRT (NS25/EW13) is the nearest stop at roughly three minutes on foot via the Raffles City exit and a crossing over Bras Basah Road; drivers should note vehicle entry is off Victoria Street and the basement car park charges by the 15 minutes, with a lower capped rate overnight.
The Gothic chapel is not a walk-in attraction — it is booked out for weddings and functions, so on a normal day you photograph it from the courtyard and find the interior locked. The only reliable way to get inside is to attend a concert or public event held in CHIJMES Hall, which are listed on the venue's own events calendar, so check that before making a special trip for the interior.
Rain, heat, and what to do about it
Live readings and forecasts from NEA. Four days is the limit — past that, nobody is forecasting, they are showing you an average.
Southwest Monsoon
June to September
Short, sharp early-morning showers and occasional squall lines. Drier overall than the northeast wet phase.
The other good window. Rain tends to arrive early and clear, leaving usable afternoons. This is also when haze can occur, which is worth checking rather than assuming.
Plan your CHIJMES stop
Straight-line distance from the three places a visitor has already heard of.
1.6km
north-west
2.4km
south-east
16km
south-west
CHIJMES, in every light
Nearby, on foot
In Civic District — close enough to collect on the same trip out.
Contains information from Tourist Attractions accessed on 2026-08-01 from data.gov.sg, made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0.