Following the Mosaic Pathway to St. Paul's Church: From Largo do Senado, Macau's main, colonial-era square, follow one of the wavy-patterned mosaic tiled streets through the old city uphill to the ruins of St. Paul's Church, Macau's most photographed facade.Exploring Macau's…
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
Macau Attractions
You'll need a minimum of 2 days to see most of what Macau offers, spending 1 day in the historic center and the next on Taipa, Cotai, and Colôane. Although it's easy enough to get around on your own, if you're pressed for time, Gray Line (tel. 853/2833 6611), in conjunction with MGTO, offers a 6-hour Macau Highlights Tour, with pickup and drop-off at the Macau Ferry Terminal. It costs MOP$118 for adults, MOP$108 for children and seniors, and takes in the ruins of St. Paul's Church, Senado Square, A-Ma Temple, Macau Tower, Taipa Houses-Museum, and Fisherman's Wharf, among other places. Other Gray Line tours concentrate on historic sites, Taipa and Colôane, cuisine, and shopping. For more information, contact Gray Line or MGTO (tel. 853/2833 3000; www.macautourism.gov.mo).
East Meets West
The Historic Centre of Macao, a World Heritage Site, celebrates more than 400 years of cultural exchange between the East and the West. Encompassing most of the historic old town, it ensures the preservation of both traditional Chinese architecture and the oldest Western structures on Chinese soil, with forts, temples, churches, mansions, squares, a library, cemetery, and a garden among 30 protected sites. Several of the most famous attractions are described above and in my walking tours below, but for a complete list of protected structures and a map, stop by the Macau Government Tourist Office for its Macau World Heritage pamphlet. Among my favorites: the A-Ma Temple, Moorish Barracks, Mandarin's House, Leal Senado Building, Senado Square, Lou Kau Mansion, the Protestant Cemetery, and Guia Fortress.
At the other end of the spectrum is another "town," Fisherman's Wharf (tel. 853/2899 3300; www.fishermanswharf.com.mo), a fabricated village on reclaimed land in the Outer Harbour just a few minutes' walk from the Macau Ferry Terminal. It's divided into three zones: Tang Dynasty, with architecture and decor typical of the era; East Meets West, a fairy-tale rendition of history, with a man-made "active" volcano, an underground game center (daily noon-2am), and a 2,000-seat Roman amphitheater for concerts and performances; and Legend Wharf, with replica European, North American, and South African historic architecture. Mostly, Fisherman's Wharf is an excuse to shop and eat, with plenty of upscale opportunities for both. With regularly scheduled street performances and other events, it makes for an interesting stroll.
13 Results
- Religious Site
A-Ma Temple
Macau's oldest Chinese temple -- and the longest surviving building in Macau -- is situated at the bottom of Barra Hill at the entrance to the Inner Harbour, across from the Maritime Museum. Parts of this temple, dedicated to A-Ma, goddess of seafarers, date back more than 600 years.… - Museum
Handover Gifts Museum of Macao
When Macau was handed back to China in 1999, provinces and cities from all over China sent auspicious gifts to celebrate the momentous occasion. This museum, located on the site where the official handover ceremony took place, is a treasure trove of decorative arts, most of…Next to the Macao Museum of Art
- Religious Site
Kun Iam Tong (Temple of the Goddess of Mercy)
Of the many temples in Macau, one of the most important is the Temple of Kun Iam Tong, founded in the 13th century. Its present buildings, with ornate porcelain figurines adorning its roofs, date from 1627. The most significant historical event that took place at this largest and… - Park/Garden
Lou Lim Ieoc Garden
Macau's most flamboyant Chinese garden was built in the 19th century by a wealthy Chinese merchant and modeled after the famous gardens in Suzhou, China. Tiny, with narrow winding paths, bamboo groves, rock grottoes, a nine-turn zigzag bridge (believed to deter evil spirits), and… - Museum
Macao Museum
I can't imagine going to Macau and not seeing this museum, housed in Mount Fortress dating from the early 17th century. In fact, I suggest making it your first priority, as nowhere else can you learn about Macau's history and culture as painlessly as here. Besides, you're …Entrance is via escalator to the right of the ruins of St. Paul's Church - Museum
Macao Museum of Art
With its dual Portuguese and Chinese heritage to draw upon, Macau's largest museum dedicated to the arts displays a wide range of both Western and Asian art, including Chinese paintings and calligraphy from the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, ceramics,…Next to the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao - Museum
Macao Science Center
Designed by Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei and looking for all the world like a giant snail inching its way out of the Outer Harbour, this cone-shaped museum does an excellent job of explaining how technology and science relate to our daily lives, making it a great…NAPE - Landmark
Macau Tower
Does the world really need more towers? Local authorities apparently thought so, opening the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre in 2001. In addition to exhibition and convention space, it contains restaurants and shops, but the crowning glory is the 330m (1,083-ft.)… - Historic Site
Mandarin's House
This recently restored mansion, part of the World Heritage Site's Historic Centre of Macao, is my new favorite sightseeing destination in town, a must-see for anyone interested in history or architecture. Constructed around 1860 by the Zheng family, it's a magnificent home, occupying… - Museum
Maritime Museum
It seems fitting that Macau's oldest museum, open since 1987, is dedicated to the region's seafaring history and that it's located near the very spot where Portuguese traders first came ashore. Focusing on maritime traditions and seafaring accomplishments of Macau, China, and…On the Inner Harbour waterfront, near A-Ma Temple - Religious Site
Ruins of St. Paul's Church
The most famous structure in Macau is what's left of St. Paul's Church. Crowning the top of a hill in the center of the city and approached by a grand sweep of stairs, only its ornate facade and some excavated sites remain. It was designed by an Italian Jesuit and built in 1602 with… - Museum
Taipa Houses-Museum
In the early 1900s, Taipa and Colôane were island outposts, accessible only by boat from Macau Peninsula. Administrators charged with overseeing the islands built their homes here, including the five attractive colonial-style Macanese houses lined along the banyan-shaded…Taipa - Museum
Tak Seng On Pawnshop Museum
This preserved pawnshop opened in 1917 as the Tak Seng On Pawnshop, an auspicious name that translates as "The Virtue and Success Pawnshop." Similar to pawnshops in China with its architectural details and interior design, it sports a privacy screen at its entrance to protect…Located on Macau’s main street between Senado Square and the Inner Harbour
Macau Shopping
A duty-free port, Macau has long been famous for its jewelry stores, especially those offering gold jewelry along Avenida Horta e Costa, Avenida do Infante D. Henrique, and Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. Many Chinese consider buying gold as an investment. Market prices per tael (1.2 oz.) of gold are set daily. When buying gold or jewelry, always request a certificate of guarantee.
After gold, Portuguese wines are another good bargain, as are Chinese antiques and leather garments. In recent years, a number of fashionable clothing boutiques have opened in the center of town, similar to what you'd find in Hong Kong. More colorful are the clothing stalls near Largo do Senado square (circling the building that houses the MGTO), many of which sell overruns and seconds from regional garment factories, as well as Chinese jackets much cheaper than at markets in Hong Kong. Another colorful local shopping experience is the Red Market, on the corner of Avenida Almirante Lacerda and Avenida Horta e Costa, built in 1936 in Art Deco style and housing a lively food market daily from 7:30am to 7:30pm. A street market extends from the Red Market to Rotunda de Carlos Maia, a district popularly dubbed the Three Lamps District and a fun place to browse for cheap clothing. To reach the Red Market, take bus no. 3, 5, 8, 9, 17, 25, 26A, 32, or 33 to Mercado Vermelho.
The Taipa Flea Market is held Sundays from 11am to 8pm in Taipa Village, with booths selling traditional crafts, souvenirs, clothing, toys, and food. In Colôane Village, check out Asian Artefacts, 9 Rua dos Negociantes (tel. 853/2888 1210), which sells restored antique furniture from north China, including trunks, chests, tables, chairs, and more, as well as handicrafts from Thailand, India, and other Asian countries. It's open daily from 10am to 6:30pm and can arrange shipping.
Macau, which didn't have one department store when I first visited in the 1980s, let alone boutiques or malls, is on the verge of a shopping explosion, with most new developments tied to its gaming industry. These glitzy new shopping malls are filled with international designer names, making Macau a mecca for mainland Chinese who can window-shop in Beijing or Shanghai but purchase the same goods in Macau at cheaper prices. The first large-scale addition to Macau's shopping and entertainment scene was Fisherman's Wharf (tel. 853/2899 3300; www.fishermanswharf.com.mo), just a few minutes' walk from the ferry terminal. In Cotai, the Shoppes at Four Seasons (tel. 853/8117 7992; www.shoppesatfourseasons.com) is a luxury mall connected to the Four Seasons Hotel with more than 160 designer brands, including Chanel, Dior, Prada, and Ferragamo, but it's the nearby Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel's Grand Canal Shoppes (tel. 853/2882 8888; www.venetianmacao.com) that boasts Macau's most ambitious mall to date, with a million square feet of retail space housing 350 designer shops, designed around a Venetian theme complete with canals and gondoliers. It's just the start of many more retail complexes planned for Cotai.
Macau Nightlife
For many years, Macau's only nighttime entertainment outside gambling centered on hotel bars and lounges. While these are still recommendable for a drink and live entertainment, one of the few benefits to have arisen from the otherwise hideously sterile reclaimed-land development on the Outer Harbour is the Docks, a string of sidewalk cafes and bars lining Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-sen near the Kun Iam Statue (locals also refer to it as Lan Kwai Fong, after Hong Kong's famous nightlife district). It's a great place for a drink and watching the parade of people file past. True to Macau's Mediterranean roots, the action doesn't start until after 10pm and is at its most frenetic after 1am. For a suggestion, try Moonwalker (tel. 853/2875 1326), open daily from 4pm to 4am (to 5am Fri-Sat) and offering happy hour daily until 9pm, free Wi-Fi, and live music Wednesday through Monday nights from 10pm.
If you've had dinner in Taipa Village, consider ambling over to the Old Taipa Tavern, 21 Rua dos Negociantes (tel. 853/2882 5221), popular with the expat crowd. Open to the street with sidewalk seating, it offers a good selection of draft beers and cocktails. It's open daily from noon to midnight, with happy hour from 5 to 8pm.
