The Kampong Glam area is the historic seat of Malay royalty, resident here before the arrival of Raffles, and the istana (palace) on this site was built for the last sultan of Singapore, Ali Iskandar Shah, between 1836 and 1843. It's now a museum, its galleries exploring Malay-Singaporean culture and history, from the early migration of traders to Kampong Glam to the development of Malay-Singaporean film, theatre, music and publishing.
Free guided tours run at 11am Tue-Fri and at 2pm Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.