Sights and landmarks in Macau

Sights and landmarks in Macau

1. SeeColoane

   A-Ma Statue

   The 20m statue is situated near the 172.4m Alto de Coloane and was erected in 1998. Adjacent to it is a large, quiet temple. The statue and temple can be reached via Estrada do Alto de Coloane or by walking the Coloane trail.

2. SeePeninsula

   A-Ma Temple

   Perhaps the most famous Chinese temple in Macau. This is a Taoist temple which predates the Portuguese era. The name "Macau" is believed to be a Portuguese mispronunciation of the temple's Cantonese name.

3. SeePeninsula

   Avenida da República

   Republic Avenue

   One of the most beautiful avenues in Macau, this tree-lined road arcs around the southernmost tip of the peninsula and is the address of some of the most pretty Portuguese residential buildings in the territory, all of them enjoying an unobstructed view of the Nam Van and Sai Van lakes. The world-acclaimed Pousada de São Tiago, with its access staircase through the walls of the ruined Barra Fortress, is located at the southern end of this road.

4. SeePeninsula

   Casa Garden

   This house, built in 1770, was the residence of the wealthy Portuguese merchant Manuel Pereira and was later rented out to the English East India Company. Today, it is the headquarters of the Oriental Foundation.

5. SeePeninsula

   Cemetério de São Miguel Arcanjo

   Saint Michael the Archangel Cemetery

   A classic example of Sino-Portuguese Culture. A great place for lovers of angel statues.

6. SeePeninsula

   Chapel of Our Lady of Penha and Penha Hill

   Capela de Nossa Senhora da Penha

   The chapel sits atop a steep hill which towers above the southernmost tip of Macau Peninsula. From the various lookouts from the hill, you'll get excellent views of the central area of Macau, Nam Van and Sai Van lakes, Macau Tower, the three Macau-Taipa bridges and across the Pearl River into China.

7. SeeColoane

   Coloane Village

   Quiet and lazy, Coloane Village, the main village on the island, is a joy to just walk around and explore. Its narrow lanes lined with pastel-coloured houses and shops. Avenida de Cinco de Outubro is the main esplanade where you can look across the narrow channel to Hengqin Island in China. Along this street you will find the pretty Chapel of St Francis set back from the road by a square flanked by restaurants. In the square is a monument dedicated to the fight against piracy. Further along is the collonaded Biblioteca (public library) and right at the southern end of the road is the Tam Kong Temple. North of the main square, you'll find the boat-building quarter, the village pier and the Sam Seng Temple.

8. SeePeninsula

   Dom Pedro V Theatre

   Built in 1860 as the first Western-style theatre on the Chinese coast, it remains a significant cultural landmark of the Macanese community and remains a venue for many public functions and events.

9. SeePeninsula

   Golden Lotus Square

   金蓮花廣場

   Public square with a large golden sculpture of a lotus in full bloom to commemorate the handover of Macau from Portugal back to China on 20th December 1999. There is a flag raising ceremony held here at 8AM every morning by the Macau Police. Despite that fact that Macau is now under Chinese sovereignty, the Macau Police continue to perform Portuguese instead of Chinese foot drills.

10. SeePeninsula

    Guia Fortress

    Built in the 1600s on top of Guia Hill on the eastern part of the peninsula, the fortress's main function was to ward off any attack by China. Within the fortress is the Chapel of Our Lady of Guia and the 15 m-tall Guia Lighthouse, said to be the first modern lighthouse on the Chinese coast. Guia Fortress can be reached by the Guia Cable Car (Teleférico da Guia) just outside the entrance of the Flora Garden on Rua do Túnel, off Av Sidónio Pais.

11. SeePeninsula

    Holy House of Mercy

    Santa Casa de Misericórdia

    This building, established by the firsty Bishop of Macau in 1569, provides an imposing façade for the Senate Square. The building houses a charitable organisation which looked after the medical, social and welfare needs of the citizens of Macau, and was the home of many orphans and prostitutes. Today, it houses a two-room museum with displays of items related to the organisation.

12. SeePeninsula

    Kun Iam Statue

    Twenty metre high bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy emerging from a lotus floating in the Outer Harbour. The statue is connected to land by a 60 m footbridge.

13. SeePeninsula

    Kun Iam Temple

    觀音堂

    A large, old Buddhist temple to the north of downtown. It's a little out of the way, but is definitely worth a visit if you're into temples.

14. SeePeninsula

    Lilau Square

    Pretty little square surrounded by the old Mediterranean-style houses of one of Macau's oldest residential areas. The square has a spring where it is said that "One who drinks from Lilau never forgets Macau".

15. SeePeninsula

    Lou Kau Mansion

    Built in 1889, this was the home of Lou Kau, a prominent Chinese merchant who owned several properties in the city. The architecture is that of a typical Chinese residential building.

16. SeePeninsula

    Lou Lim Ioc

    Jardim de Lou Lim Ioc

    Beautiful garden sanctuary on the peninsula of Macau. It was part of an old Chinese mansion reconverted to museum and art gallery.

17. SeePeninsula

    Loyal Senate

    Leal Senado

    Built to house Macau's municipal government, the Leal Senado has a neo-classical design and much of the original layout and structure has been retained through the years. The first floor has a ceremonial meeting room that adjoins an elaborate library. The name "Loyal Senate" is derived from the name bestowed upon Macau - "City of Our Name of God Macau, There is None More Loyal" - by King Dom João IV in 1654 because the colony's senate refused to recognise Spain's occupation of Portugal in the early 1600s.

18. SeePeninsula

    Luís de Camões Garden and Grotto

    One of the largest gardens in Macau, the land used to be owned by the British East India Company and was bought over by a Portuguese merchant who then willed it to the Macau government to be turned into a public garden when he died. The garden was dedicated to master Lusitan poet Luís de Camões. The gardens are popular with tai chi and aerobics groups and also people who bring their birds in cages to be shown off. The main attraction of the park is the Camões Grotto, where the one-eyed poet once lived with his Chinese bride in the late 16th century. Inside, there's a bronze bust of him.

19. SeePeninsula

    Macau Mosque and Cemetery

    Mesquita e Cemitério de Macau

    The only mosque in Macau. The complex also houses the city's only Muslim cemetery and the office of Islamic Association of Macau.

20. SeePeninsula

    Macau Tower

    Torre de Macau

    You'll get a great view over Macau and Taipa. There is a viewing platform outside and an inside platform with glass floor panels, and a cafe. AJ Hackett also runs "adventure" activities on the tower (see "Do" below).

21. SeePeninsula

    Mandarin House

    The Macau Mandarin House is the former residence owned by eminent modern Chinese thinker Zheng Guanying and his father Zheng Wenrui. The house was built in around 1881 and over time, many families occupied the complex. It covers an area of about 4,000 sq metres and is a traditional Chinese-style compound containing a number of buildings

    10AM-6PM, closed Wed Thu·Free entrance

22. SeePeninsula

    Moorish Barracks

    Built in 1874 to accommodate an Indian regiment from Goa, it now serves as the headquarters of the Macau Maritime Authority.

23. SeePeninsula

    Mount Fortress

    Fortaleza do Monte

    Built between 1617 and 1626 by the Jesuits, the fortress one of the main defence structures of the city. It housed barracks, arsenal and storehouses to allow it to withstand a siege lasting two years. You can get good views of the central part of Macau Peninsula from here. The fortress can be accessed by escalator just east of St Paul's. The Macau Museum is located within the fortress (see "Museums" section below).

24. SeeTaipa

    Museum of Taipa and Coloane History

    Contains detailed and informative displays of the two islands.

    Entry is M$5 and is open 10am to 6pm every day except Monday

25. SeePeninsula

    Na Tcha Temple

    Tucked in the corner of a cobblestone square to the left of (as you face) the ruins of St. Paul's is this tiny temple dedicated to the Chinese deity Prince Nata. The juxtaposition of Catholic church and traditional Chinese temple is a perfect example of Macau's contrasts and multicultural history.

26. SeePeninsula

    Old Protestant Cemetery

    also known as the East India Company Cemetery

    Lovely little piece of England in Macau. Look out for the grave of the Right Honourable Lord H.I. Spencer Churchill, ancestor of Winston Churchill, and also for the graves of the painter George Chinnery (far left in the upper row) and the missionary Robert Morrison (far right near the back; his accomplishments include writing the first Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary).

27. SeePeninsula

    Portas do Cerco

    Called the Barrier Gate in Chinese, the Portuguese name "Gate of Siege" says a lot more to the hundreds of years of relations between the Portuguese and Chinese. The old archway, built in 1870, marked the border between Portuguese and Chinese territory, and was the actual border crossing between Macau and China until 1994, when a new crossing by the side was created. The archway and surroundings were turned into a pretty plaza. In 2004, the entire area was again renovated, with the new Barrier Gate Frontier Post being constructed north on the archway. The archway bears the dates of significant events and the motto by Luís de Camões, "Honour your country, it cares for you".

28. SeePeninsula

    Rua da Felicidade

    Happiness Street

    The old red light district. Today it is a fairly interesting shopping street, with various antiques and handicrafts, and is also popular with movie makers: the Shanghai Nightclub car chase scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was filmed here, including parts of the main street, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.

29. SeePeninsula

    Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral

    Portuguese: Ruinas de São Paulo; Cantonese: 大三巴 daai saam ba

    The city's most famous landmark and is regarded as the greatest monument to Christianity in the East. The only thing left of the Church of Mater Dei, built in the 1600s but burnt down in 1835, is the imposing façade, with its Biblical statues and relief, being described as a "sermon in stone" and a "Bible for the poor". Nearby are the remains of the St Paul's College. Behind the façade is the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt, which occupies the chancel of the church, contains archaeological excavations of the site and also exhibits and paintings on early Christian life in the East. The crypt contains the remains of martyrs of Christians killed in the 17th century.

30. SeePeninsula

    Sam Kai Vui Kun Temple

    Located close to the Chinese Bazaar area, this temple has some Western styles to its architecture, illustrating the harmonious coexistence of the two cultures in this city. The temple has a long association with Chinese business associations and guilds.

31. SeeColoane

    Seac Pai Van Park

    This 20 hectare park along Estrada Seac Pai Van just south of the Taipa-Coloane Isthmus Causeway, has a medicinal garden as well as other green areas, a mini zoo and a lake. The Museum of Nature and Agriculture is located within the park, as is the Macao Giant Panda Pavilion (MOP10, free for seniors 65 and older and for children 12 and under).

32. SeePeninsula

    Section of the Old City Walls

    This is a segment of the city's defence structures built in 1569, which has survived. It is built with a compound material called chunambo, a mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks and oyster shells which were placed in layers.

33. SeePeninsula

    Senate Square

    Largo do Senado

    A colorful typical Iberian town square, this is the traditional heart of Macau city, complete with the traditional Portuguese pavement. It is surrounded by pastel-coloured neo-classical buildings, most of them having an administrative function during the Portuguese era. The place is a popular venue for public events and crowds gather here just to soak in the atmosphere and socialise.

34. SeePeninsula

    Sir Robert Ho Tung Library

    Built as the residence of a Portuguese Dona, it was purchased by Hong Kong businessman Sir Robert Ho Tung as a retreat. When he passed away, he willed the building to be passed over to the Macau government to be turned into a public library.

35. SeePeninsula

    St. Anthony's Church

    Igreja de Santo António

    One of Macau's oldest churches, the first structure was built of wood and bamboo. The current structure was constructed in 1930.

36. SeePeninsula

    St. Augustine's Church

    Igreja de Santo Agostinho

    Established by the Spanish Augustinians in 1591, this church maintains the tradition of organising the Easter Procession around the city.

37. SeePeninsula

    St. Augustine's Square

    Largo de Santo Agostinho

    This square is fronted by various pretty buildings of Macau's past era, namely the St Augustine's Church, Dom Pedro V Theatre, St Joseph's Seminary and Church and the Robert Ho Tung Library.

38. SeePeninsula

    St. Dominic's Church

    The pastel-coloured church was founded in 1587 by Spanish Dominican priests. The bell tower at the back of the building has been converted into the small Museum of Sacred Art with around 300 artifacts.

39. SeePeninsula

    St. Joseph's Seminary and Church

    Established in 1728, the old Seminary, together with St Paul's College, was the base of missionary work in China, Japan and other parts of the region. The adjacent church was built in 1758 and is noted for its Baroque architecture.

40. SeePeninsula

    St. Lawrence's Church

    Built in the mid 16th century, this is one of the oldest churches in Macau. Families of Portuguese sailors used to gather on its front steps and pray and wait for the safe return of their loved ones.

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Macau (CC BY-SA 4.0).