Macau: Itineraries

A Top Day in Macau

Macau has grown into a true 24-hour city so forget about getting too much sleep. I'd start early, pack my camera and head into the old part of the Macau Peninsula, an area recently listed as a World Heritage Site. Keeping to the canyon-like back streets as the city awoke I'd wander towards the Largo do Senado, the historic centre with its distinctive black-and-white-cobbled square.

I'd stop in one of the cafes of Travessa de Sao Domingos before heading on towards the Ruins of St Paul's Church before the buses arrive. I've been to the marvellous Macau Museum a few times, so would skip it and instead head for the Inner Harbour and Rua do Almirante Sergio for a Cantonese dim sum breakfast in one of the streetside stores.

After taking in the historic A Ma Temple, I'd jump on a bus and head out to Coloane Island. I love this place, so green, relaxed and at odds with the juggernaut-like development elsewhere in Macau. I'd stop in Coloane Village and munch on one of Lord Stowe's famous egg tarts before lunching on the spicy Macanese flavours of Café Nga Tim, in the sublime square outside the Chapel of St Francis Xavier. After lunch, I'd wander north along the shore to check that the fantastic old junk-building yards are still there and watch the guys working away.

Back in town, I'd take the cable car up Guia Hill to watch the sun set and the neon rise. Having met up with a couple of friends we'd head over to Barra Point for Portuguese dinner and a few glasses of wine at Litoral.

And lest it be thought I have no appreciation of the newer faces of Macau, we'd head over to the Sands or Fisherman's Wharf for some live music. About midnight we'd head for my favourite Macau bar and the last stop for the night, The Basement, where the music, the company and the space are all just right.

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