Bugis Junction and Bugis+ with Kids: Rooftop Prawning, Bouldering, Free Weekday Cinema and Where to Eat (2026)

1 October 2026 · 14 min read

Bugis Junction and Bugis+ do not have a thing built for a toddler. There is no playground, free or paid, in either mall. There is no food court; Food Junction on Level 3 of Bugis Junction closed on 3 December 2021 after 26 years and nothing replaced it. The Jungle inventory for the two malls holds five merchants, and none is an enrichment centre with a weekly class inside.

Here is why the trip is worth it, provided your child is six or older. Level 5 of Bugis+ has a bouldering gym with a Saturday youth team, a cinema where a child aged six and under watches free before 2pm on weekdays, a rhythm-game arcade and a claw-machine hall. Level 7 has Fish@Bugis+, two indoor prawning ponds and a longkang pond where a child nets guppies and keeps them.

Across the link bridge, Bugis Junction has Kinokuniya on Level 3, the biggest children's book section in the area, and three restaurants with a real children's deal. Across Victoria Street, Bugis Village has an escape room that takes children with a paying adult, and a pop piano school that publishes its fees.

Both malls are CapitaLand-owned and joined by an overhead link bridge from Level 2 of Bugis Junction, so park once, at Bugis+, the cheaper car park. Every entry carries the unit, hours and price; where a tenant publishes no fee we say so. For Fort Canning, the museums and the wider area, read our guide to 16 things to do with kids in Bugis, Bras Basah and Little India.

Quick steer

• Best for a rainy hour with a child under six: nothing inside. The children's floor at Central Public Library, four minutes away, is free.
• Best free thing: Golden Village's kids-watch-free deal on weekday mornings, Level 5 of Bugis+.
• Best thing to book first: Boulder Movement's Family Bouldering session, $200 for up to four people.
• Best age for these malls: 6 to 14.

Family favourites: play at Bugis+ and Bugis Junction

1. Fish@Bugis+

Fish@Bugis+ is the reason a family with a nine-year-old comes to this mall. It sits on Level 7 at #07-05 to 06, the top of Bugis+, and it is the only indoor, air-conditioned prawning venue in Singapore. Two indoor ponds hold the prawns, a bar sells drinks and snacks, and an outdoor barbecue pit grills whatever you catch at no extra charge.

The longkang fishing area is the part built for children: a shallow, partly sheltered outdoor pond where a child wades with a net and a bucket and takes the guppies home.

It opens at 9am and closes at 6am the next morning, every day. Rod rental starts at $20 for one hour, with two- and three-hour rates discounted. The last published longkang price we found was $14 an hour plus $5 for the net, from 2023; ask at the counter.

Why kids will love it: Pulling a tiger prawn up on their own rod, then watching it go on the grill. Under-sevens are happier at the longkang pond, where the catch is a guppy they take home in a bag. Go on a weekday afternoon when the ponds are quiet, bring a change of clothes, and budget two hours.

Book on Jungle: Fish
Website: Fun@Fish
Address: 201 Victoria Street, #07-05 to 06, Bugis+, Singapore 188067. Google Maps
Opening hours: 9am to 6am the next day, daily.
Price: Prawning from $20 for one hour. Longkang fishing was $14 an hour plus $5 for a net in 2023. Barbecue free.
Ages: 3 to 18 on Jungle. Longkang fishing for children under 12.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C, then the Level 2 link bridge.

2. Boulder Movement

Boulder Movement on Level 5 of Bugis+. Photo: Boulder Movement, Jungle listing

Boulder Movement at #05-07 is a bouldering gym, which means climbing walls up to a few metres high over thick mats, with no ropes and no harness. The Bugis gym has a boulder island, a traverse wall, a four-sided arete, a moon board and a 30-degree "mystery grade" wall.

It is open to climbers of all levels and the prices are plain: $35 for a peak pass, $20 off-peak on weekdays from 11am to 4.30pm, climbing shoes $5 and free on your first visit, socks $2 if you forget them.

The children's offers are the Youth Team, for ages 8 to 18 on Saturdays from 4pm to 5.30pm at $250 for five sessions or $450 for ten, and Family Bouldering, a 60-minute private session at $200 for up to four people, $280 for up to six and $340 for up to eight. Boulder Movement does not publish a minimum age for general entry. Jungle lists the gym from age 5.

Why kids will love it: Topping out on a route that a grown-up could not. The moon board and the overhang are for the teenagers; a seven-year-old will spend the hour on the island and the traverse wall and sleep well. Best for ages 7 to 14. Book the off-peak slot on a school holiday weekday for an empty gym.

Book on Jungle: Boulder Movement
Website: Boulder Movement Bugis
Address: 201 Victoria Street, #05-07, Bugis+, Singapore 188067. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Fri 11am to 10pm. Sat, Sun and public holidays 10am to 9pm.
Price: Peak pass $35. Off-peak pass $20, weekdays 11am to 4.30pm. Youth Team $250 for five sessions. Family Bouldering $200 for up to four people. Shoes $5, free on the first visit.
Ages: 5 to 18 on Jungle. Youth Team 8 to 18.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C, then the Level 2 link bridge.

3. Books Kinokuniya

Photo: Books Kinokuniya, Jungle listing

Kinokuniya at #03-09 on Level 3 of Bugis Junction is the big bookshop of the two malls, and the children's section is the reason to walk up. Picture books, early readers, the middle-grade series a Primary 4 child is working through, Japanese manga for the older ones and a wall of stationery and figurines near the till that will cost you more than the book.

Opening hours are 11am to 9pm daily. A Kinokuniya membership takes 10 per cent off the retail price.

Why kids will love it: Sitting on the floor of the children's aisle with a stack of books nobody has told them to put back. Best for ages 3 to 12. It is the quiet hour between the climbing gym and dinner, and it is air-conditioned, which the longkang pond is not.

Book on Jungle: Books Kinokuniya
Website: Books Kinokuniya Singapore
Address: 200 Victoria Street, #03-09, Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021. Google Maps
Opening hours: 11am to 9pm daily. Call 6339 1790.
Price: Free to browse. Membership gives 10 per cent off.
Ages: 3 to 12.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C.

4. Golden Village Bugis+: kids aged 6 and under watch free

GV Bugis+ at #05-01 opened in March 2023 with eight halls, two of them Gold Class Express with recliners and a USB port per seat, and a mezzanine lounge called AZUL.

The deal that matters is Kids Watch For Free. Buy one standard adult ticket for a session before 2pm on a weekday and one child aged six and under watches free. It runs until 20 November 2026 and it is walk-in only, at the counter, with the child present and a birth certificate on your phone.

The catch is the exclusions. It does not apply in the school holidays (14 to 22 March, 30 May to 28 June, 5 to 13 September, 21 November to 31 December), on public holidays or their eves. On a normal Tuesday morning in term time, with a preschooler, it is the cheapest two hours in the building.

Why kids will love it: A cinema seat that reclines, on a weekday morning when the hall is almost theirs. Best for ages 3 to 6, which is exactly who the deal covers. Check the listing for a film rated G or PG before you go.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Kids Watch For Free at Bugis+
Address: 201 Victoria Street, #05-01, Bugis+, Singapore 188067. Google Maps
Opening hours: By showtime. The free child ticket is for sessions before 2pm, Monday to Friday.
Price: One child aged 6 and under free with one standard adult ticket, weekday sessions before 2pm, to 20 November 2026. Standard ticket prices vary by session and are on gv.com.sg.
Ages: 6 and under for the free ticket.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C, then the Level 2 link bridge.

5. Xcape Singapore, across the road at Bugis Village

Photo: Xcape Singapore, Jungle listing

Xcape is not in either mall. It is on the ground floor of Bugis Village at 161 Rochor Road, a three-minute walk from the Bugis+ entrance on Victoria Street, and it is the only escape room in the area that is on Jungle. Nine rooms are bookable in 2026, including Azkaban, Busan Express, Joker, The Doll, Unseen and Wizardry Bank, plus two premium rooms, Legacy of Arthur and The Purge Day. Games run 60 minutes.

Prices are published, which escape rooms rarely do. Seven rooms cost $29.90 a person off-peak and $35.90 at peak, which is Monday to Friday after 6pm, weekends and public holidays. The two premium rooms are $39.90 and $45.90.

Children under 13 must be with a paying adult, and Xcape suggests 12 and up, with some rooms for 14 and over. Azkaban takes three to eight players; most rooms take two to eight, and a party of two needs the Two-Player Guarantee add-on.

Why kids will love it: An hour locked in a Harry Potter prison with their parents and a countdown clock, and the chance to solve the puzzle first. Best for ages 10 to 16. Book a weekday afternoon for the off-peak price and go with at least four people, because the puzzles are built for a team.

Book on Jungle: Xcape Singapore
Website: Xcape Singapore
Address: 161 Rochor Road, ground floor, Bugis Village, Singapore 188436. Google Maps
Opening hours: From 11am daily. Last game 10pm Sun to Thu, 11.30pm Fri and Sat.
Price: $29.90 a person off-peak, $35.90 peak, for seven rooms. Legacy of Arthur and The Purge Day $39.90 off-peak, $45.90 peak. Students $6 off after 6pm.
Ages: 8 to 18 on Jungle. Under-13s need a paying adult in the room.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C.

6. Central Public Library, four minutes away

The children's floor a toddler needs is not in the malls. It is at Central Public Library, in the basement of the National Library Building at 100 Victoria Street, on the far side of the Middle Road junction from Bugis Junction. The children's section was rebuilt in 2024 as the Children's Biodiversity Library, a marine-themed space with the picture books, early readers and a programme of storytelling sessions. It is free, open 10am to 9pm every day, and air-conditioned.

Why kids will love it: A library floor that looks like an aquarium, and a stack of books to carry home on the family card. Best for ages 2 to 8. Come here first on a weekday morning, then walk back to Bugis Junction for lunch.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: National Library Board
Address: 100 Victoria Street, #B1-01, National Library Building, Singapore 188064. Google Maps
Opening hours: 10am to 9pm daily.
Price: Free.
Ages: 0 to 12 for the children's section.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C, or Bras Basah (CC2).

7. Guoco Midtown's Sunday play area

Guoco Midtown, eight minutes' walk east along Beach Road, runs a free children's play area in Midtown Market on Sundays until 27 December 2026, with a second one at Guoco Midtown II on Tan Quee Lan Street. Play equipment, bean bags and a colouring corner, built for younger children.

On the same Sundays the restaurants run kids-dine-free deals for under-12s, most of them tied to a minimum spend of $40 to $150, and free treats are handed out from 12pm to 3pm. It is Sundays only. On any other day it is an office-block food hall.

Why kids will love it: A free playground and a free candyfloss on the one day of the week the office crowd is gone. Best for ages 2 to 7. Pair it with a Sunday morning at Fish@Bugis+ and walk over for lunch.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Guoco Midtown
Address: 128 Beach Road, Midtown Market, Guoco Midtown, Singapore 189773. Google Maps
Opening hours: Sundays only, to 27 December 2026. Treats 12pm to 3pm.
Price: Free. Kids-dine-free deals need a minimum spend of $40 to $150 at the restaurant.
Ages: Under 12 for the dining deals.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit D.

The smaller family stops do not need an entry each. Level 5 of Bugis+ is the games floor: Virtualand at #05-04 has imported rhythm and fighting cabinets, maimai and Taiko among them, for a teenager with a stack of coins, and Prize Station on the same level is a hall of claw machines with oversized plushies. Paco FunWorld, a redemption arcade, also lists a Bugis+ outlet.

In Bugis Junction, BHG at #01-100 and #02-17 is the department store with the toys and collectibles counter, open 10.30am to 10pm on weekdays and from 10am at weekends; it cut its flagship from three floors to two in 2025.

The ground-level fountain outside BHG has had children splashing in its floor jets for years, but we could not confirm its 2026 show times, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan.

Learn and play: classes at Bugis Junction and Bugis+ you can book on Jungle

There is no enrichment centre inside Bugis Junction or Bugis+, which is unusual for two CapitaLand malls with close to 200 shops in Bugis Junction alone. Do not drive in expecting a Saturday class. The one Jungle school nearby is in Bugis Village, across Victoria Street, and publishes every fee.

8. Play By Ear Music School

Photo: Play By Ear Music School, Jungle listing

Play By Ear has taught pop and jazz piano by ear since 2003, and its Bugis Village school occupies the second and third floors of 245A and 245B Victoria Street, the shophouse row opposite Bugis Junction. The children's course is Pop Piano Improvisation Junior for ages 5 to 12: a 45-minute one-to-one lesson once a week, no exam syllabus, with the child playing songs they know within the first term rather than scales.

Fees are on the website, which almost no music school in town manages: $288 a month for four lessons, a $72 trial lesson, a $20 registration fee and a refundable one-month deposit. Practice studios are free for students. There are also a vocal course and a holiday ear-training workshop for ages 7 to 12.

Opening hours are Monday to Friday 11am to 9.15pm and weekends 11am to 5pm, closed on public holidays. Registration is by WhatsApp only.

Why kids will love it: Playing the chorus of a song from the radio in their first month, without a grade exam at the end of it. Best for ages 6 to 12 who have refused classical lessons. Book the $72 trial on a weekday afternoon, when the off-peak slots are open.

Book on Jungle: Play By Ear Music School
Website: Play By Ear Music School
Address: 245A and 245B Victoria Street, Levels 2 and 3, Bugis Village, Singapore 188032. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Fri 11am to 9.15pm. Sat and Sun 11am to 5pm. Closed public holidays. Call 6338 7939.
Price: Trial lesson $72. $288 a month for four 45-minute one-to-one lessons. Registration $20.
Ages: 5 to 12 for the junior course.

For the weekly art, dance and maths classes a Bugis family would normally expect in a mall, the nearest clusters are in the district guide linked above. If you want to try before you commit, read our guide to free trial classes for kids in Singapore. Browse Bugis Junction classes on Jungle.

Eat with kids at Bugis Junction and Bugis+

Neither mall has a food court: Food Junction on Level 3 of Bugis Junction closed on 3 December 2021 and no 2026 directory lists a replacement. The malls have more than 80 outlets, three with a children's deal: a free pancake, a $10.90 kids' menu and a monthly kids-eat-free Sunday.

9. Belle-ville Pancake Cafe: children under 10 get a free pancake on weekdays

Belle-ville is the Japanese souffle pancake cafe at #01-01B of Bugis Junction Towers, the office block on the Victoria Street side, with its own door to the street. On weekdays, excluding public holidays, a child under 10 gets a free pancake worth $10 when the table orders pancakes. The regular stacks run $13.20 to $20 before service, and it opens at 8am, which makes it the breakfast stop before a 9am start at Fish@Bugis+.

Why kids will love it: A pancake taller than their fist that wobbles when the plate lands. Best for any age that can hold a fork. Weekday mornings only for the free one; the queue on a Saturday is the whole of Bugis.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Belle-ville Pancake Cafe
Address: 230 Victoria Street, #01-01B, Bugis Junction Towers, Singapore 188024. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Thu 8am to 8pm. Fri and Sat 8am to 9.30pm. Sun 8am to 8pm.
Price: Free pancake worth $10 for children under 10 on weekdays with a pancake order. Pancakes $13.20 to $20 plus service.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C.

10. Swensen's: kids' meals $10.90

Swensen's at #01-68 is the family restaurant of the two malls, halal-certified, with high chairs and a kids' menu that has not changed in years: Spaghetti Twirlies, Fish 'N' Chippies, Chick 'N' Fries, Cheesy Omelette and Pas-ta Chicken Sausage, each $10.90 with a drink, and the Cookie Monster and Sundae Castle kids' sundaes at $4.90 on the last menu we could read.

For the older sibling, the Student Meal is $8.80 on weekdays from 11am to 4.30pm with a student card, dine-in only.

Why kids will love it: The sundae with the biscuit face, which is the reason the meal gets finished. Best for ages 3 to 10. Open until 10.30pm, so it works after an evening at the prawning pond.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Swensen's Singapore
Address: 200 Victoria Street, #01-68, Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021. Google Maps
Opening hours: 11.30am to 10.30pm daily.
Price: Kids' meals $10.90 with a drink. Kids' sundaes $4.90. Student Meal $8.80 on weekdays 11am to 4.30pm.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C.

11. PastaMania: a free kids' meal on the last Sunday of the month

PastaMania at #B1-08, in the basement of Bugis Junction next to the MRT link, runs the chain's kids-eat-free deal: on the last Sunday of each month, every adult main ordered comes with a free Kids' Meal of a main, a side and a drink.

It is one day a month, so plan for it rather than expect it. The rest of the time it is the cheapest sit-down pasta in the building and the basement is where the MRT crowd eats, so go before 12.30pm.

Why kids will love it: Their own bowl of pasta with their own drink, free, on a Sunday. Best for ages 3 to 10. Open 11am to 10pm daily.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: PastaMania
Address: 200 Victoria Street, #B1-08, Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021. Google Maps
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm daily.
Price: Free Kids' Meal with every adult main on the last Sunday of the month.
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW12/DT14), Exit C.

The rest of the kid-friendly list

• Chick-fil-A, #01-19 Bugis+: Singapore's first, opened 11 December 2025. Meal sets $11.80 to $14.50, mac and cheese $1.70 extra. Closed Sundays.
• Astons Specialties, #05-08 Bugis+: cheap Western plates on the same floor as the cinema and the climbing gym.
• Geláre, #05-10 Bugis+: ice cream and waffles after bouldering, two doors down.
• Una Una, #05-02/03 Bugis+: Japanese rice bowls from $9.80, next to the cinema. Lunch only on weekdays.
• Genki Sushi, #01-08 Bugis+: conveyor-belt sushi, a meal and an activity for a five-year-old.
• Haidilao, #04-10 Bugis+: hotpot for a birthday table.
• Level 4 restaurant row, Bugis+: Pizza Maru, Ramen Champion, Watami and Suki-Ya, if the Haidilao queue is long.
• Chateraise, #01-07 Bugis+, and J.Co, #01-03 Bugis+: cake and doughnuts on the way out.
• Shinfuni, #B1-K04 Bugis Junction: Taiwanese bakery, $4 to $13, open 10am to 10pm.
• Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Ajisen Ramen and Big Fish Small Fish, Bugis Junction: in the 2026 directory, no units published.
• Eighteen Chefs, Bengawan Solo and Godiva, Bugis Junction: also in the 2026 directory, no units published.

Family facilities at Bugis Junction and Bugis+

• Nursing rooms, Bugis Junction: two, on Level 2 near Cotton On and on Level 3 near FAT HOPE. The mall's page does not list what is inside them.
• Nursing rooms, Bugis+: on Levels 1 to 7 near Lift Lobby B. The mall's page does not list what is inside them.
• Stroller loan: ceased at both malls. The concierge pages still carry the pandemic-era notice.
• Family parking: neither mall publishes family or priority lots.
• Bugis Junction car park, weekdays: Monday to Thursday $2.60 for the first hour, then $0.65 per 15 minutes.
• Bugis Junction car park, Fridays and eves of public holidays: the weekday rate by day, then $3.30 for the first two hours after 6pm.
• Bugis Junction car park, weekends and public holidays: $3.30 for the first two hours, then $0.65 per 15 minutes. Motorcycles $1.30 per entry. Ten-minute grace period.
• Bugis+ car park, weekdays: Monday to Thursday $2.20 for the first hour, then $0.55 per 15 minutes until 5.59pm, and a flat $3.30 per entry from 6pm to 11.59pm.
• Bugis+ car park, Fridays and eves of public holidays: the weekday rate by day, then $3.30 for the first two hours and $0.55 per 15 minutes after that.
• Bugis+ car park, weekends and public holidays: $3.30 for the first two hours, then $0.55 per 15 minutes. Ten-minute grace period. Park here.
• Customer service: both counters closed on 20 July 2026, so the information desk is now a roaming staff member or an online form. Bugis+ takes calls on 6631 9931 from 10am to 6pm.
• Mall hours: 10am to 10pm daily at both.

Getting there

Both malls sit on top of Bugis MRT (EW12/DT14), on Victoria Street.

• By MRT: Exit C has a pair of escalators straight into Basement 1 of Bugis Junction, and that link is open from 6am to midnight. From Bugis Junction, the overhead link bridge on Level 2 crosses Victoria Street into Bugis+, and a second bridge on Level 2 of Bugis+ crosses into Bugis Street.
• By bus: Buses 2, 12, 33, 130, 133 and 960 stop on Victoria Street outside.
• By car and taxi: Park at Bugis+, the cheaper car park; rates are in Family facilities above. The Bugis Junction taxi stand is on Level 1, with pick-up on Victoria Street and North Bridge Road, and the Bugis+ taxi stand is on Level 1 at the Queen Street entrance.
• On foot: Bugis Village and Play By Ear are across the Victoria Street crossing from the Bugis+ side. Xcape is round the corner on Rochor Road.

Make a day of it

What these two malls lack is within ten minutes on foot.

• Funan, ten minutes down Victoria Street and North Bridge Road: a climbing wall for younger children, VR, rooftop futsal and four enrichment centres on Jungle, all in our Funan with kids guide. Central Public Library is on the way.
• Guoco Midtown, eight minutes east along Beach Road: a free play area and a kids-dine-free lunch, Sundays only.
• Bras Basah and Fort Canning: the museums, Fort Canning's playgrounds and the rest of the district are in the Bugis, Bras Basah and Little India guide.
• Bugis Street market, across the second link bridge: a night-market crush of stalls that an eight-year-old loves and a stroller does not.

At a glance

Bugis Junction and Bugis+ are malls for the child who has outgrown the ball pit: prawns, climbing walls, a cinema and a bookshop, with the toddler's playground four minutes away at the library. Book the climbing session before you come, and browse every kids' activity in Bugis on Jungle.