Hong Kong Museum of Art

Southeast of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the excellent Hong Kong Museum of Art is a must for lovers of the fine as well as the applied arts. It has seven galleries spread over six floors, exhibiting Chinese antiquities, Chinese fine art, historical pictures and contemporary Hong Kong art; it also hosts temporary international exhibitions. The seventh gallery houses the Xubaizhi collection of painting and calligraphy. Highlights include some exquisite ceramics in the Chinese Antiques Gallery; the Historical Pictures Gallery, with its 18th- and 19th-century Western-style paintings of Macau, Hong Kong and Guangzhou; and the Gallery of Chinese Fine Art, which combines contemporary Chinese art and 20th-century collections of painting and calligraphy from Guangdong. Audio guides are available for $10, and there are free English-language tours at 11am Tuesday to Sunday. When your feet get tired, take a seat in the hallway and enjoy the harbour views, or head for the Museum Café. The Museum Bookshop sells a wide range of books, prints and cards. Salisbury Gardens, which leads to the museum entrance, is lined with sculptures by contemporary Hong Kong sculptors. To reach the museum from the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, take exit E and walk south down Nathan Rd.