Holland Village, often abbreviated as Holland V, is a neighbourhood located along the boundary between the planning areas of

Bukit Timah Bukit Timah ( ), often abbreviated as Bt Timah, is a planning area and residential estate located in the westernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. Bukit Timah lies roughly from the Central Business District, bordering the Central ...

and Queenstown in the Central Region of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Holland Village is a popular shopping and dining destination for younger Singaporeans and

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

. It is dominated by and often visited solely for its

eateries A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appe ...

and watering holes, along with some specialist shops. The area is served by its own MRT station, which opened in 2011.

Etymology

Holland Village was named after Holland Road, which in turn is said to have been named after Hugh Holland in 1907; Holland, an architect and amateur actor, was an early resident of the area. However, there is "hardly any official record of him or his association with the name Holland Road." The roads 'Holland Avenue', 'Holland Close' and 'Holland Drive' were officially named after the principal road in 1972. Holland Road is known as ''hue hng au'' in

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

, meaning "behind the flower garden". The "flower garden" refers to the

Botanic Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

History

Holland Village started as a kampung for local residents. Later, terraced houses and walk-up apartments were built at Chip Bee Gardens as married quarters for the British military. In the 1990s, as the area around Holland Village, namely Orchard and Tanglin, became prime residential zones and Western expatriates staying in the area, Holland Village attracted retail brands to set up shops and turning the area to a shopping and dining destination. In 2011, the

Holland Village MRT station Holland Village MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle MRT line, Circle line (CCL), located along the boundary of Bukit Timah and Queenstown, Singapore, Queenstown planning ar ...

, on the

Circle MRT line , logo = Circle Line logo.svg , logo_width = 250px , image = CC6 Stadium MRT Platforms 20201007 161358.jpg , image_width = 300px , caption ...

, opened but did not bring additional traffic to the area. In 2019, a new shopping mall, One Holland Village, started developmet which closed down two carparks in the area, leading to parking woes to Holland Village. In June 2025, local daily newspaper, ''The Straits Times'', reported that many shops closed in 2024 and foot traffic had dropped over the years despite the opening of the MRT station in 2011. It was later reported in the same month, restaurant Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Wala Wala Cafe Bar planned to shutdown within the year after operating for 20 and 32 years respectively.

Neighbourhoods within the Holland Village area

Several areas are considered to be in the Holland Village area.

Holland Village

Holland Village is a crescent-shaped area of shophouses and small malls set around Lorong Liput and Lorong Mambong, surrounded by Holland Road and Holland Avenue.

Chip Bee Gardens

On the other side of Holland Avenue is a neighbourhood of terraced houses and walk-up apartments that was formerly developed as British military housing in the 1950s, but are now managed by the

Singapore Land Authority The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Law of the Government of Singapore. SLA optimises land resources for Singapore's social and economic development. History The SLA was formed on 1 June 2001 when the ...

. The terraced houses and walk-up apartments are rented out on a two year lease and to individuals. The estate on Jalan Merah Saga are rented out to businesses. Chip Bee Gardens has a reputation for being an enclave of Western

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

s, although many Singaporeans and other Asians reside there too.

Holland Close

Holland Close is a large HDB estate located at the southern part of Chip Bee Gardens. Shuang Long Shan, also known as the Holland Close Cemetery, is a cemetery for the Hakka community since the 1960s.

Food and beverage outlets

Many food chains in Singapore, such as Crystal Jade,

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (sometimes shortened to simply "Coffee Bean" or "The Coffee Bean") is an American coffee chain founded in 1963. It was previously owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC based in Los Angeles, California, ...

, Sushi Tei, Subway, and

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1960, owned by Froneri, a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolat ...

, are in Holland Village. A 24-hour

kopitiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese communities o ...

, a market and a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

are also present with food stalls selling local and western dishes. Other eating places include

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

and several dessert,

Western cuisine European cuisine (also known as Continental cuisine) comprises the cuisines originating from the various countries of Europe. The cuisines of European countries are diverse, although some common characteristics distinguish them from those of oth ...

and

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

outlets. The gentrification of the Holland V area is characterised by the more up-market dining options such as the ethnic restaurants as well as franchises such as

Tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

Bar. Other prominent bars include Tango's, Baden, Harry's Bar and Wala Wala. Holland Village has a reputation as an expatriate neighbourhood but nevertheless attracts a majority of locals to its pubs and restaurants. The Village has been a cradle for a number of lifestyle trends in Singapore. In the 1980s, Palm's Wine Bar along Lorong Mambong started the trend for wine bars. During that period, other cafes like Better Batters (famous for its butterscotch and other pancakes) and Milano Pizza (which became a successful chain in the 80s) also sprang up in Holland V. In the 90s, the restaurant Original Sin started a wave of upscale vegetarian dining when its Australian-Italian owner introduced Singapore to her first Mediterranean vegetarian dining experience in Chip Bee Gardens. Original Sin's menu was created by co-owner and culinary director, Marisa Bertocchi. From Adelaide in Australia, Marisa worked in many of that city's restaurants and hotels before heading to Singapore where she quickly earned praise for her vegetarian creations at Michelangelo's. Coffee Club, Singapore's first gourmet coffee shop, opened its first outlet in Holland Village in 1991. This was before the arrival of

, Coffee Bean and TCC years later, while Wala Wala asserted its presence among the rest with a customer base as wide as its range of imported beers and its nightly band performances. Today, the rows of shops along Lorong Mambong and Jalan Merah Saga house some of Singapore's most famous and characteristic pubs and restaurants, many of which are fully booked during weekends.

Shops and services

Holland Village has a variety of commercial amenities. There are four shopping centres in Holland Village: One Holland Village (opened in December 2023), Holland Piazza (opened 2018), Raffles Holland V, Holland Road Shopping Centre and Holland V Shopping Mall. Retail establishments are located along four streets and two shopping buildings. These streets are Jalan Merah Saga and Holland Avenue on the same side, and Lorong Liput and Lorong Mambong on the opposite side. The shopping buildings are Holland Road Shopping Centre and Raffles Holland V Mall which is along Holland Avenue, and Holland Piazza along Lorong Liput which that mall opened in January 2019 as the newest shopping mall there as well as One Holland Village Mall in December 2023. These buildings along Holland Avenue are often casually referred to by sales assistants as Holland Village Shopping Centre, which in name is a non-existent landmark.

Transport

Within Singapore's transport system, Holland Village is linked to

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major -long road in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of Singapore. A famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area, with numerous internationally renowned de ...

via Holland Road.

, opened in 2011, is located on the

Circle MRT line , logo = Circle Line logo.svg , logo_width = 250px , image = CC6 Stadium MRT Platforms 20201007 161358.jpg , image_width = 300px , caption ...

Politics

Holland Village is within the

Buona Vista Buona Vista is a housing estate located in the subzones of one-north and Holland Drive in the residential township of Queenstown in Singapore. The housing estate is served by the Buona Vista MRT station which links it up with the MRT system. ...

division of

Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Telok Blangah, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar- Tiong ...

(GRC), with

Chan Chun Sing Chan Chun Sing ( zh, s=陈振声, p=Chén Zhènshēng, j=Can4 Zan3 Sing1, first=j; born 9 October 1969) is a Singaporean politician and former major-general who is serving as Minister for Defence in 2025 and Minister-in-charge of Public Serv ...

being in charge of the division as part of a PAP team since 2011. The constituency was previously a

SMC SMC may refer to: Organisations * IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society * Special Metals Corporation, an alloy manufacturer * Supreme Muslim Council, former organization in Mandatory Palestine * San Miguel Corporation, a Philippine conglomera ...

until it was absorbed into Tanjong Pagar GRC in 1997, and then carved out to Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC from 2001 to 2006 and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC from 2006 to 2011 before returning to Tanjong Pagar in the 2011 elections.

In media

In 2003, the neighbourhood of Holland Village was featured and filmed in an acclaimed

Mediacorp Channel 8 Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean Mandarin-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp. The channel broadcasts general entertainment and news programming in the Manda ...

television series titled '' Holland V''.