Singapore Musical Box Museum
Singapore Musical Box Museum
4.8
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Outram
Outram, a neighborhood steeped in Singapore's rich history, offers a delightful blend of cultural landmarks and modern attractions. This neighborhood is home to the iconic Chinatown, a place where traditional shophouses stand alongside hipster cafes and trendy boutiques. One could easily lose track of time exploring the Thian Hock Keng Temple, Singapore's oldest Hokkien temple, or the vibrant stalls of the Chinatown Street Market. Outram's connectivity is also worth noting, with the Outram Park MRT station offering easy access to all corners of Singapore. Whether it's the history enthusiast or the cosmopolitan traveler, Outram promises a memorable Singaporean experience.
How to get there
- Raffles Place • 5 min walk
- Telok Ayer • 7 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.8
53 reviews
Excellent
43
Very good
7
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Becky L
1 contribution
Nov 2024 • Family
Such a unique experience!
We went to their old place accidentally but luckily read the email again and walked 12 min to their new location.
The museum is upstairs on the 2nd floor. There was no signs so be sure to read the email when you book your reservation.
The museum was 2 rooms packed with antique and unique music boxes. Our guide explained the history of each of the large music boxes and engaged our 2 teenagers in the demonstration. We were amazed at the intricate designs and functionalities of each music boxes that only needed a few cranks to play their magnificent music. Would definitely recommend.
We went to their old place accidentally but luckily read the email again and walked 12 min to their new location.
The museum is upstairs on the 2nd floor. There was no signs so be sure to read the email when you book your reservation.
The museum was 2 rooms packed with antique and unique music boxes. Our guide explained the history of each of the large music boxes and engaged our 2 teenagers in the demonstration. We were amazed at the intricate designs and functionalities of each music boxes that only needed a few cranks to play their magnificent music. Would definitely recommend.
Written 26 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Simon R
London, UK12 contributions
May 2024 • Solo
Within 5 minutes of Telok Ayer station, this true hidden gem nestles within the grounds of a Chinese temple. A wonderful collection of mechanical musical devices dating back to the late 18th century. Entry is by appointment only & a guide clearly explains & demonstrates the exhibits. Note the collection is moving in July 2024 so hurry to see it.
Written 17 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travelholicc
Singapore, Singapore154 contributions
Jun 2021 • Couples
Chanced upon this museum during the HAP2 period when most of the free museums in Singapore were not opened. There was a small fee applicable to enter this museum but it wasn’t too expensive.
The museum itself was not big, but the guide who is the owner himself took a lot of effort to speak to visitors about the place and each instrument’s history. The entire tour took more than 30mins and was worth every dollar spent.
Definitely recommend it to visitors out there who is considering to come here!
The museum itself was not big, but the guide who is the owner himself took a lot of effort to speak to visitors about the place and each instrument’s history. The entire tour took more than 30mins and was worth every dollar spent.
Definitely recommend it to visitors out there who is considering to come here!
Written 18 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew L
1 contribution
Mar 2023 • Couples
We had a wonderful and fascinating personal tour of the Singapore Musical Box Museum, led by Naoto Orui, who was very passionate and knowledgeable about the history of musical boxes in Singapore. Make sure to reserve in advance, as there are no walk-in tours as of March 2023. As a bonus tip, Naoto told us about the musical box at the Raffles Hotel, which we were allowed in to see by dropping Naoto's name at the front desk!
Written 1 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AJP
117 contributions
Mar 2021
A hidden, small private museum next to Thian Hock Keng temple, this is a lovely place for people who like antiques or music. As this is a guided tour, one needs to book online to select the date and time.
All the pieces, over 120 years old, are part of a private collection. It is amazing how good these antiques sound. The instruments are very well maintained.
However, this activity is not for those who have short attention span or who cannot stand still for long. There is a lot of listening and looking during this 45 min to 60 min guided tour.
If you purchase the tickets as a meal set, the Peranakan cafe downstairs is where you get your food. This cafe too is another great find.
All the pieces, over 120 years old, are part of a private collection. It is amazing how good these antiques sound. The instruments are very well maintained.
However, this activity is not for those who have short attention span or who cannot stand still for long. There is a lot of listening and looking during this 45 min to 60 min guided tour.
If you purchase the tickets as a meal set, the Peranakan cafe downstairs is where you get your food. This cafe too is another great find.
Written 15 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grace Phoenix
3 contributions
Jul 2023 • Friends
I had no idea that a visit to the musical box museum would lead me to witness human’s discovery of gears, materials, understanding and knowledge of music and musical instruments, culture to eventually incorporate everything into making jukebox, gramophone, LDs, CDs. My appreciation to the first owner of the museum for collecting all these treasures of the world and handing it over the current second owner of the museum who went all out to educate and share his knowledge and expertise with visitors of the museum. Thank you for answering all our inquiries with patience. Thank you for preserving the creative and delicate work of our ancestors. Yay!
Written 30 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alison Lim
3 contributions
Jun 2021
Delightful, entertaining and enriching tour. We were lucky to have the owner as a guide and we certainly had a very comprehensive and enlightening tour of the museum. The exhibits were very intricate and interesting to see. The background of many of the exhibits were explained in detail and the owner also tried to make the tour interesting by winding up several pieces of the musical boxes to highlight the differences between the pieces made across different eras. Great tour. Highly recommended. Pity dining in wasn't allowed at this point in time.
Written 18 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joyce L
Singapore, Singapore7 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
Amazing and enlightening experience. The curator who is also the owner took the time to show us the exhibits and explained the stories behind each of them.
Very meaningful tour and truly touched by his efforts to spread the culture and to educate the younger generation. Great way to spend the school holidays and to bond the family.
Very meaningful tour and truly touched by his efforts to spread the culture and to educate the younger generation. Great way to spend the school holidays and to bond the family.
Written 3 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wanting
Singapore, Singapore36 contributions
Mar 2022
A small niche museum, containing some nice musical boxes over the years. The guide (owner) clearly has a passion for this and explained the features and history well. For $12 I think it's worth a visit.
Only pity was the guided tour was an hour and you can't really roam around after the tour as the next group would be coming in soon. Would be nice if the tour could be extended to 1.5 hours and let us hear more of the boxes because the music was really good.
Only pity was the guided tour was an hour and you can't really roam around after the tour as the next group would be coming in soon. Would be nice if the tour could be extended to 1.5 hours and let us hear more of the boxes because the music was really good.
Written 18 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan C
Perth, Australia15 contributions
Nov 2022
We were lucky to see this hidden gem advertised locally. Managed to book for our last morning. Lovely memory of a charming owner who’s is clearly passionate and knowledgable and keen to share this large collection. His collection of stunning items of incredibly varied sizes were all fascinating to see working. Thank you for a great personal tour!
Written 13 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
You can email them with your request. I am sure the kind owner will oblige.
Written 19 October 2021
Taken directly from the website:
Admission Charges:
Adults : S$12.00
Students or Full-time National Servicemen (with valid proof) : S$6.00
Seniors (60 years and above with valid ID) : S$6.00*
Children (6 years old and below and accompanied by an adult) : FREE
One child/student/full-time national service man will be given free entrance for families consisting of 4 or more people visiting the museum.
Group tours (consisting of 10 or more people) and school tours will be given special discounts. Kindly email or call us for more details.
*For Singapore citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents only.
Tickets can be purchased from the Information & Ticketing counter (on the 2nd floor) at Singapore Musical Box Museum.
Tickets are inclusive of a 40 minutes to an hour of guided tour with an introduction to their history and live demonstration of musical boxes
Written 24 February 2018
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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