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Macao dazzles at first glance — a glittering playground of grand hotels, sparkling light shows and nonstop energy. But beyond the spectacle, this dynamic destination, just a short ferry ride or bus ride from Hong Kong, is a treasure trove of culture, history and adventure.
Macao, a tiny peninsula accompanied by two islands washed by the warm breezes of the South China Sea, feels utterly unique the moment you arrive. Turn one way, and a Chinese temple reveals itself through a shroud of incense smoke. Turn another, and you’re met with European-style buildings in pastel shades, with wooden shutters framed by Portuguese-style blue-and-white tiles.
Upon arrival, it can take time to come to terms with the surreal journey from Hong Kong International Airport — gliding in an electric bus over the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, where, for nearly an hour, there’s nothing but sky, water and the occasional mirage of a passing cargo ship.
If arriving in Macao feels like stepping into another world, that’s nothing new. Over 500 years ago, Portuguese merchants first came ashore from their caravels, marking the beginning of Macao’s long history as a meeting point between China and Europe. But Macao hasn’t stood still — stroll its streets today and you’ll find a place that’s buzzing with reinvention, where old traditions and bold new ideas exist side by side.
A short history of Macao
Macao’s story took an unusual turn in 1513, when Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares became the first European to reach the southern coast of China, landing near the Pearl River, after an epic sea voyage from Lisbon. In just a few decades Portugal had secured a lease from the Ming Dynasty, setting up shop and establishing a permanent settlement.
Churches, plazas, forts and European-style mansions were built, and Macao became a busy port, buzzing with trade in everything from silk to spices. Macao even got its own currency and legal system, and Portuguese was an official language.
Today, Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages, with Cantonese spoken most widely. And yet, despite its Catholic churches and Portuguese-influenced administration, Chinese culture and traditions permeated everyday life in Macao, leading to a unique melding of both civilisations that has shaped its identity.
China resumed sovereignty over Macao at the end of the 20th century and it became a Chinese Special Administrative Region — and that’s when its story took a new turn. Ambitious land reclamation projects have brought about a glittering new skyline, jaw-dropping entertainment complexes and an influx of tourists from around the world. Yet, for all its reinvention, Macao still feels deeply itself — layered with history, shaped by two worlds and brimming with stories waiting to be uncovered.
A city steeped in culture
Macao is around 13sq miles in size, yet it packs a large amount into its small footprint. It helps to think of it as having four distinct areas, each with its own character.
First, there’s the Macao Peninsula, the original core which connects to China at Zhuhai, part of Guangdong province. This was where the Portuguese first settled and it remains the most historic area, with grand buildings, painted churches and cobbled squares, nestled within a dense and lively urban landscape, all easily walkable.
In the 19th century, the Portuguese expanded southwards, taking control of the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Taipa has a more relaxed, residential vibe, with leafy streets, pockets of old industry like one-time firecracker workshops at the former Iec Long Firecracker Factory and some of Macao’s best Macanese and Portuguese restaurants. Further south, Coloane is a green and hilly retreat, home to black-sand beaches, banyan trees, hiking trails, sleepy village communities and traces of its intriguing past as a pirate haven.
Joining both islands together is Macao’s modern face, the Cotai Strip. This stretch of reclaimed land didn’t even exist two decades ago but is now Macao’s glittering entertainment hub, packed with mega-resorts containing luxury hotels and entertainment facilities that come with large-scale replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and Venetian canals.
At the crossroads of civilisations
There’s no better place to start exploring than at the Ruins of St Paul’s, one of Macao’s most famous landmarks and among the most important Christian sites in Asia. On a hillside above the old town, all that remains of this grand 17th-century Jesuit church is its soaring stone facade, a masterpiece of intricate carvings that blend European and Chinese influences.
Look closely, and you’ll spot images of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus alongside Chinese inscriptions and symbolic Asian flowers like the peony and chrysanthemum. Built by Jesuits who were among the first Europeans to engage deeply with China, the church once formed part of a college that trained its missionaries to be fluent in Chinese language and customs, encouraging a rich exchange of ideas between East and West.
Just beyond the ruins rises Mount Fortress, built in the early 1600s. Perched on a hilltop, its stone walls and cannons once kept pirates and rival colonial powers at bay. Today, the fort offers visitors sweeping city views and houses the Macao Museum, where creative exhibits trace Macao’s layered identity — from Cantonese folk traditions to Portuguese life.
From here, a gentle promenade leads downhill to Senado Square, Macao’s elegant historic centrepiece. A grand, open plaza is paved in undulating black-and-white mosaic tiles and flanked by elegant buildings so distinctively Portuguese in style you could almost be in Porto or Lisbon. As you stroll, you’ll weave past lively Chinese shops, pharmacies and the sunny yellow facade of St Dominic’s Church. A 16th-century relic from the early Catholic missions, it has a fascinating museum next door, heaving with sacred artifacts.
At the end of Senado Square comes the bustle of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, a main street lined with shops, cafes and art deco buildings. Don’t miss Hotel Central, inaugurated in 1928 and once a haunt of American actor Clark Gable and James Bond creator Ian Fleming. The 11-storey hotel reopened in 2024 after a complete restoration; ride the lift to the rooftop terrace for magnificent city views that reveal the Ruins of St Paul’s standing proud on the hillside.
In the other direction, perched on the southern tip of the peninsula, stands A-Ma Temple. This 15th-century complex is dedicated to the sea goddess A-Ma and has long been a spot where Chinese seafarers pray for fair winds and good fortune. It’s said that when the first Portuguese sailors landed on Macao, on the coast just outside the temple, they asked locals the name of the land. They were instead given the location of the temple — A-Ma-Gau (meaning ‘Bay of A-Ma’), which the newcomers interpreted as Macao. More than just a place of worship, A-Ma Temple is a reminder that long before foreign ships arrived, this was a busy maritime community, shaped by the rhythms of the sea.
Feast on food fusions
Centuries before fusion cuisine was a thing, Macao’s kitchens were blending dishes and cuisines in delicious ways that can still be savoured today. Stocked by Portugal’s network of trading ports, Macao became a melting pot of flavours, showcasing ingredients and techniques from Africa, India and Southeast Asia, all bubbling away with Portuguese and Cantonese traditions. Spices like turmeric and cinnamon arrived from Goa, coconut milk and shrimp paste from Malacca and chillies from South America, creating a cuisine unlike any other.
In 2017, Macao was named a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO, in recognition of unique homegrown dishes like galinha à Africana (African chicken), rich with coconut, garlic, peanuts and paprika. Then there’s tacho, a hearty Macanese stew evolved from the Portuguese cozido that switches out chorizo for Cantonese lap cheong sausages; and minchi, a comforting stir-fry of minced pork, soy sauce and potatoes, topped with a fried egg.
Macanese restaurants are dotted throughout the city, but these are far outnumbered by Cantonese places specialising in dim sum, sticky-sweet char siu pork and fresh seafood, alongside simple local diners serving wonton noodles, milk tea and Macao’s humble-but-delicious pork chop bun. Authentic Portuguese restaurants are also abundant at every price point, cooking up classics like bacalhau (salt cod), assado no forno (roasted suckling pig) and arroz de marisco (seafood rice). The most atmospheric of these are set in Portuguese-era buildings with antique furniture, tiled floors, vintage chandeliers and dusty port collections.
At the top end, the big-name hotels and resorts along the Cotai Strip and in Macao Peninsula showcase the full gamut of Michelin-starred gastronomy, from contemporary French cuisine by legends like Joël Robuchon to upscale Italian, Thai and Japanese restaurants, where beautifully presented dishes are matched by opulent interiors.
When it’s time for a sweet treat, Macao obliges. Stroll down bustling Rua do Cunha in Taipa and you can nibble free samples from dozens of shops selling traditional almond cookies, ginger candy, peanut brittle, egg rolls and more. And then there’s the humble egg tart, a quintessential Macanese street food. The city’s most famous bakery is tucked away in sleepy Coloane, a few steps away from shops selling dried seafood and the yellow-hued Chapel of St Francis Xavier. Lord Stow’s Bakery was opened by an Englishman in 1989, serving his own take on the classic Portuguese pastel de nata (custard tart). Fast forward to 2025, and world-renowned Lisbon-brand Manteigaria has joined the fray with its first Macao outlet, bringing its famously crispy, caramelised pastel de nata to the city.
Family fun and adventure
Macao sometimes gets called the ‘Monte Carlo of the East’, and it’s not just the swanky hotels and entertainment elements that make the comparison stick. Once a year, the streets of Macao are taken over by the roar of racing cars, as the peninsula transforms into a high-speed playground for the Macau Grand Prix, a race that rivals the one in Monaco for sheer excitement. Macao’s narrow, winding streets make for intense, high-risk racing, where a split second can make all the difference. The event has drawn world-famous racers over the years like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, and even if you’re not in town for the race in November, you can still immerse yourself in Macao’s motorsport scene at the Macao Grand Prix Museum, a hit with younger travellers for its realistic racing simulators that put them in the driving seat.
To get behind the wheel for real, Fun Fun Kart is Macao’s first indoor karting facility, with a pro-designed track over 20,000sq feet of air-conditioned space. It’s part of an adrenaline-pumping entertainment zone where you can try out simulated skydiving in a wind tunnel at GoAirborne and soar serenely across the skyline on a zipline with Zipcity Macao. If you’ve really got a head for heights, the 1,109ft-tall Macau Tower offers even more escapades — a daredevil stroll around its outer rim with the Skywalk or taking the plunge on the world’s highest commercial bungee jump from a building.
If you’d rather take it slow and easy, down in leafy Coloane, you can peek at cuddly pandas at the lush Panda Pavilion, while the newly restored Lai Chi Vun Shipyards offers play areas for kids and a fascinating glimpse into Macao’s shipbuilding heritage. Over in Taipa, another of Macao’s historic industries is on show at the Iec Long Firecracker Factory, saved from the wrecking ball and now a heritage museum. Its timeworn workshops are separated by blast-proof concrete barriers, while a tiny temple was where workers prayed to Tou Tei Kung, a folk deity, to keep them safe.
More architectural heritage awaits at Taipa Houses Museum, a row of pastel-green Portuguese architectural style homes. Once residences of senior civil servants but now exhibition spaces, they showcase Macao’s East-meets-West culture with antique furniture and rotating art displays, while one has been transformed into a charming restaurant serving classic Macanese cuisine (with a few Portuguese dishes available as comparison).
Joining Taipa with Coloane, the Cotai Strip is Macao’s premier destination for family entertainment. Want some next-level art? TeamLab SuperNature Macao, in the Venetian Macao resort, takes digital art to new heights, with massive interactive installations that you can walk through, touch and even become part of. Over at MGM Cotai, the hottest ticket in town is Macau 2049, a groundbreaking theatre show fusing choreography and special effects, created by the legendary film director Zhang Yimou. Wynn Palace brings the wow-factor with its Skycab, a gondola ride that floats above the Cotai Strip offering incredible aerial views, as well as its iconic fountain show, where water jets ‘dance’ to music.
At Studio City, the remarkable Golden Wheel is the world’s highest figure-8 Ferris wheel, soaring 130 metres above the strip. And when it’s time for a break, seek refuge at the Grand Lisboa Palace’s Secret Garden, a lush oasis tucked behind the neon, or take a dip in the water at Grand Resort Deck in Galaxy Macau, where the world’s longest Skytop Aquatic Adventure River Ride washes onto a real sand beach.
Visit Macao in 2025
No matter how you experience it — through the smoky incense of a temple, the fusion flavours of one of the world’s most unique cuisines or the world-class entertainment of Cotai — Macao has a way of drawing you in. And for all its centuries of history, there’s never been a better time to visit. Named ‘Culture City of East Asia 2025’, Macao is set to come alive with a packed calendar of cultural events, exhibitions and performances that celebrate its rich heritage. It’s yet another reminder that this small place punches well above its weight — not just as a tourism hotspot, but as a one-of-a-kind crossroads of cultures, where every street has a story to tell.
Plan your trip to Macao today.
