Novena, the prime district 11, is named after the famous Novena Church, or Church of St Alphonsus at Thomson Road. The Novena Church is very popular and it draws big crowd over 25,000 at times during weekends that caused massive traffic jam issues sometimes in the area. With the introduction of traffic control by the Church, the situation has been much more improved.

Novena area is considered prime and posh by many, with high end residential and good shopping facilities around. There is no HDB in the area, though there are many condominiums and private housing in Novena housing a significant expat population and local elites and rich families. It is not difficult to find that many services such as retails, F&B and education geared towards them.

The area is served by Novena MRT station. Just right above the MRT station, it sits the Velocity @ Novena Shopping Centre. And the shopping mall is well connected to its adjacent Square 2 by Far East Organization and United Square via an underground tunnel.

Hospitals and medical facilities such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital (one of the largest hospitals in Singapore), Renci Hospital and the National Neuroscience Institute (NSI) are also present within the Novena region. With the Novena Medical Centre and the soon completed Parkway Hospital, the area is going to be transformed to a world class medical hub with internal standard.