Sights in Macau
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Handover of Macau Gifts Museum
Next to the Macau Cultural Centre is this major attraction to visitors from the mainland. It displays (kitschy) art pieces and handicrafts presented by China’s various provinces to Macau to mark the return of Chinese sovereignty in 1999.
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Ruins of the Church of St Paul
The most treasured icon in Macau, the facade and stairway are all that remain of this early-17th-century Jesuit church, called Tai Sam Ba in Cantonese. With its statues, portals and engravings that effectively make up a ‘sermon in stone’ and a Biblia pauperum (Bible of the poor), the church was one of the greatest monuments to Christianity in Asia, intended to help the illiterate understand the Passion of Christ and the lives of the saints. The church was designed by an Italian Jesuit and completed by early Japanese Christian exiles and Chinese craftsmen in 1602. It was abandoned after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1762 and a military battalion was stationed here. I…
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Guia Fort
This fortress atop the highest point on the peninsula was built in 1638 to defend the border with China. Storm warnings were sounded from the bell in the Chapel of Our Lady of Guia, built in 1622. The walls of the little church have interesting frescoes discovered recently, and there’s a colourful choir loft above the main entrance. On the floor below is a tombstone with the inscription (in Latin) : ‘Here lies at this gate the remains of a Christian, by accident, for his body does not deserve such an honourable sepulchre’. It’s believed the deceased was buried here in 1687. The 15m-tall Guia Lighthouse (Farol da Guia; 1865) is the oldest lighthouse on the China co…
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Taipa House Museum
The most beautiful sight on Taipa is this unusual museum, formed by five lime-green villas. The villas were summer residences built in 1921 by wealthy Macanese. Three hold permanent exhibitions, while the other two are used for receptions and special exhibitions. The House of the Regions of Portugal (Casa das Regiões de Portugal) has costumes and examines traditional Portugal. The House of the Islands (Casa das Ilhas) looks at the history of Taipa and Coloane, with displays devoted to the islands’ traditional industries: fishing and the manufacture of oyster sauce, shrimp paste and fireworks. The last is the Macanese House (Casa Macanese), a residence in local style; i…
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Macau Museum
To interactively grab the essence of the history of Macau, head to this excellent museum housed in the Monte Fort. On the first level, the Genesis of Macau exhibit takes you through the early history of the territory, with parallel developments in the East and the West compared and contrasted. The highlight here is the elaborate section devoted to the territory’s religions. On the second level (Popular Arts & Traditions of Macau), you’ll see and hear everything from a re-created firecracker factory and a chá gordo (fat tea) of 20 dishes enjoyed on a Sunday, to the recorded cries of street vendors selling items such as brooms and scrap metal. Do not miss the recording…
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A-Ma Statue
Atop Alto de Coloane (176m), this 20m-high white jade statue of the goddess who gave Macau its name was erected in 1998. Below it is Tian Hou Temple (8am-7.30pm), which, together with the statue, form the core of A-Ma Cultural Village, a religious complex with a museum, retreat and medical centres, plus a vegetarian restaurant. It’s popular with Fujianese and Taiwanese worshippers, and is rather commercial. You’ll probably see traders selling stuff supposedly meant to bring luck and wealth, including birds and turtles. Still, it’s a good spot to get a bird’s-eye view of Hác Sá beach on a clear day. A free bus runs from the A-Ma ornamental entrance gate on Estrad…
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Macao Tea Culture House
The picturesque Lou Lim Ioc Chinese garden was originally owned by Lou Wa Sio back in the 19th century and later inherited by his son Lou Lim Ioc. Now it’s open to the public and local people use the park to practise t’ai chi or play traditional musical instruments. It contains huge shady trees, lotus ponds, golden bamboo groves, grottoes and a bridge with nine turns (since evil spirits can only move in straight lines). The Victorian-style Lou Lim Ioc Garden Pavilion was where the Lou family received guests, including Dr Sun Yat-sen, and is now used for exhibits and for recitals during the Macau International Music Festival in late October/November. Adjacent to the ga…
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IACM Gallery
Facing Largo do Senado to the west is Macau’s most important historical building, the 18th-century ‘Loyal Senate’, which now houses the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais (IACM; Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau). It is so named because the body sitting here refused to recognise Spain’s sovereignty during the 60 years that it occupied Portugal. In 1654, a dozen years after Portuguese sovereignty was re-established, King João IV ordered a heraldic inscription to be placed inside the senate’s entrance hall, and this can still be seen today. To the right of the entrance hall is the IACM Gallery, which features changing exhibits. On the 1st floor is …
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Senate Library
Facing Largo do Senado to the west is Macau’s most important historical building, the 18th-century ‘Loyal Senate’, which now houses the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais (IACM; Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau). It is so named because the body sitting here refused to recognise Spain’s sovereignty during the 60 years that it occupied Portugal. In 1654, a dozen years after Portuguese sovereignty was re-established, King João IV ordered a heraldic inscription to be placed inside the senate’s entrance hall, and this can still be seen today. To the right of the entrance hall is the IACM Gallery, which features changing exhibits. On the 1st floor is …
reviewed
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Lou Lim Ioc Garden
This picturesque Chinese garden was originally owned by Lou Wa Sio back in the 19th century and later inherited by his son Lou Lim Ioc. Now it’s open to the public and local people use the park to practise t’ai chi or play traditional musical instruments. It contains huge shady trees, lotus ponds, golden bamboo groves, grottoes and a bridge with nine turns (since evil spirits can only move in straight lines). The Victorian-style Lou Lim Ioc Garden Pavilion was where the Lou family received guests, including Dr Sun Yat-sen, and is now used for exhibits and for recitals during the Macau International Music Festival in late October/November. Adjacent to the garden is the…
reviewed
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A-Ma Temple
North of Barra Hill is a temple dedicated to the goddess A-Ma and Macau’s namesake – called Ma Kok Miu in Cantonese. She is better known as Tin Hau. This is the oldest temple in Macau and was probably standing when the Portuguese arrived, although the present one may only date back to the 17th century. At the entrance is a large boulder with a coloured relief of a lorcha (a traditional sailing vessel of the South China Sea). During the A-Ma Festival sometime between late April and early May, it is crowded with pilgrims. If you can only visit one temple in Macau, make it this one.
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Coloane Village
Tourism has given the economy in Coloane Village a big boost, but it is still a sleepy fishing village in character. The narrow lanes flanked by temples still ooze old-world charm and make strolling a joy. The bus drops you off in the village’s attractive main square; Coloane market is on the eastern side. To the west is the waterfront. From here a sign points the way north to the Sam Seng Temple (2 Rua dos Navegantes), a small, family altar-like temple. Just past the temple is a quaint old wharf and beyond that, about a dozen junk-building sheds, although a fire in 1999 destroyed many of the sheds.
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Museum of Sacred Art & Crypt
This small museum behind the ruins of the Church of St Paul contains polychrome carved wooden statues, silver chalices, monstrances and oil paintings, including a copy of a 17th-century painting depicting the martyrdom of 26 Japanese Christians by crucifixion at Nagasaki in 1597. The adjoining crypt contains the remains of the martyrs, as well as those of Vietnamese and other Japanese Christians killed in the 17th century. Also here is the recently unearthed tomb of Alessandro Valignano, the Jesuit who founded the College of the Mother of God and is credited with establishing Christianity in Japan.
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Chapel of Our Lady of Guia
Guia Fort atop the highest point on the peninsula was built in 1638 to defend the border with China. Storm warnings were sounded from the bell in the Chapel of Our Lady of Guia, built in 1622. The walls of the little church have interesting frescoes discovered recently, and there’s a colourful choir loft above the main entrance. On the floor below is a tombstone with the inscription (in Latin) : ‘Here lies at this gate the remains of a Christian, by accident, for his body does not deserve such an honourable sepulchre’. It’s believed the deceased was buried here in 1687.
reviewed
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Museum of the Holy House of Mercy
In the heart of Largo do Senado is the oldest social institution in Macau, established in 1569, which served as a home to orphans and prostitutes in the 18th century. Today it’s a museum containing items related to the House, including religious artefacts; Chinese, Japanese and European porcelain; the skull of its founder and Macau’s first bishop, Dom Belchior Carneiro; and a portrait of Martha Merop, an orphan who became a tycoon and a patron of the House. The restaurant in the basement serves very affordable and decent meals during lunch time.
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Seac Pai Van Park
At the end of Cotai, this 20-hectare park, built in the wooded hills on the western side of the island, has somewhat unkempt gardens sprouting species of plants and trees from around the world, a children’s zoo, a lake with swans and other waterfowl, and a walk-through aviary, which contains rare birds. The Museum of Nature & Agriculture has traditional farming equipment, dioramas of Coloane’s ecosystem and displays cataloguing a wide range of the island’s fauna and flora.
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Museum of Nature & Agriculture
At the end of Cotai, this 20-hectare Seac Pai Van Park, built in the wooded hills on the western side of the island, has somewhat unkempt gardens sprouting species of plants and trees from around the world, a children’s zoo, a lake with swans and other waterfowl, and a walk-through aviary, which contains rare birds. The Museum of Nature & Agriculture has traditional farming equipment, dioramas of Coloane’s ecosystem and displays cataloguing a wide range of the island’s fauna and flora.
reviewed
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St Lazarus District
Looking for a cheerful rest area amid densely populated northern Macau? Head to this beautiful district not far from the Cemetery of St Michael the Archangel. The cobbled streets and historic houses of this district offer a little taste of the sleepy Macau of old. The highlight here is the Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (aka Old Ladies’ House), home to a group of avant-garde designers working in a variety of media. It also houses the cheerful Locanda Italian restaurant in its courtyard.
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Sun Yat Sen Memorial Home
Near Lou Lim Ioc Garden, this Moorish-style house was once a residence of Lu Muzhen, the first wife of the founder of the Chinese Republic, Dr Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925). She died in the upstairs back bedroom in 1952. This house replaced the original house, which blew up in 1930. Now it’s a museum dedicated to Dr Sun, though he had never lived here. You’ll find a collection of flags, photos and documents relating to the life and times of the ‘Father of the Nation’.
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Macau Tower Observation Decks
Macau Tower, at 338m, is the 10th-tallest freestanding structure in the world; it stands on the narrow isthmus of land southeast of Avenida da República. The squat building at its base is the Macau Convention & Entertainment Centre. The tower houses observation decks on the 58th and 61st floors, and restaurants and bars such as the revolving 360° Café (11.30am-3pm, 3.30-4.15pm & 6-11pm) on the 60th floor, and the 180° Lounge (minimum charge MOP$60; noon-1am) one floor below it.
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Exhibition Gallery
Quietly sitting east of the Luís de Camões Garden is the beautiful colonial villa of Casa Garden, once the headquarters of the British East India Company when it was based in Macau in the early 19th century. Today the villa houses the Oriental Foundation, an organisation that promotes Portuguese culture worldwide, and an exhibition gallery, which houses exhibits of Chinese antiques, porcelain and contemporary art.
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Santa Sancha Palace
Avenida da República along the northwest shore of Sai Van Lake is the oldest Portuguese section of Macau. Here are several grand colonial villas not open to the public. The former Bela Vista Hotel, one of the most-storied hotels in Asia, is now the residence of the Portuguese consul general. Nearby is the ornate Santa Sancha Palace, once the residence of Macau’s Portuguese governors and now used to accommodate state guests.
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Lou Kau Mansion
This well-preserved, Cantonese-style mansion was built in 1889. It belonged to tycoon Lou Wa Sio (aka Lou Kau), who made his fortunes in the opium trade and gambling during the 19th century. The mansion has kept its elaborate brick relief and lattice carvings on the windows, and some hybrid East-West architecture. Interestingly, there is no kitchen in the mansion, as the owner’s concubines were supposed to bring him pleasure rather than cook.
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Casa Garden
Quietly sitting east of the Luís de Camões Garden is this beautiful colonial villa, once the headquarters of the British East India Company when it was based in Macau in the early 19th century. Today the villa houses the Oriental Foundation, an organisation that promotes Portuguese culture worldwide, and an exhibition gallery, which houses exhibits of Chinese antiques, porcelain and contemporary art.
reviewed
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Penha Hill
Towering above the colonial villas along Avenida da República is Penha Hill, the most tranquil and least visited area of the peninsula. From here you’ll get excellent views of the central area of Macau. Atop the hill is the Bishop’s Palace (built in 1837) and the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha (Capela de Nostra Señora da Penha; 09:00-17:30, once a place of pilgrimage for sailors.
reviewed
