Traveling To Macau Peninsula

The Macau Peninsula is in mainland portion of China's Special Administrative Region of Macau. Its 8.5km square is almost totally built up, making it the most urbanised and populous district in the territory.

For the visitor, Macau Peninsula is also the most interesting district of the territory as it is packed with historical attractions and interesting streets, and is home to most of Macau's casinos and entertainment spots. You'll also most likely land in this district first if enter the territory by sea or land as the main ferry terminal and main land border crossing is located here.

Skyline of the Macau Peninsula at night

See

• A-Ma Temple, Barra Square (Near the southwestern (Inner Harbour) tip of the peninsula) - Perhaps the most famous Chinese temple in Macau. This is a Taoist temple which predates the Portuguese era.

• Moorish Barracks, Calcada da Barra - Built in 1874 to accommodate an Indian regiment from Goa, it now serves as the headquarters of the Macau Maritime Authority.

• Lilau Square, Largo do Lilau (along Calcada da Barra) - 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".

• Mandarin House, 10, Antonio da Silva Lane - 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.

• St. Lawrence's Church, Rua de Sao Lourenco - 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.

• 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.

• St. Augustine's Church, Largo de Santo Agostinho - Established by the Spanish Augustinians in 1591, this church maintains the tradition of organising the Easter Procession around the city.

• Don Pedro V Theatre, Largo de Santo Agostinho - 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.

• Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, Largo de Santo Agostinho - Originally the residence of a Portuguese Dona, the building 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.

• St. Joseph's Seminary and Church, Rua do Seminario - 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.

Largo do Senado

• Senate Square, Largo do Senado (halfway point along Av de Almeida Ribeiro) - A colorful typical Iberian town square, this is the traditional heart of Macau city. 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.

• Loyal Senate (Leal Senado) Building, 165, Av de Almeida Ribeiro (directly facing the Senate Square) - 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 Joao IV in 1654 because the colony's senate refused to recognise Spain's occupation of Portugal in the early 1600s.

• Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericordia), Largo do Senado - This building, established by the firsty Bishop of Macau in 1569, provides an imposing facade 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.

• Se Cathedral (Igreja da Se), Largo da Se - No records of the exact date of construction exist but a solid brick structure was built on this site in 1622 and repaied in 1743. The cathedral has some impressive stained glass murals and the facade is characterised by its twin belfries. The exterior is clad in Shanghai plaster which gives the church a subdued appearance.

• Lou Kau Mansion, 7, Travessa da Se - 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.

St. Dominic's Church

• St. Dominic's Church, Largo de Sao Domingos (located just northeast of the Senate Square) - 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.

• Sam Kai Vui Kun Temple, Rua Sul do Mercado de Sao Domingos - 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.

• 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 Churh of Mater Dei, built in the 1600s but burnt down in 1835, is the imposing facade, 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 facade 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.

• 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.

• Section of the Old City Walls (located just next to the Na-Tcha Temple) - 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.

• Mount Fortress (Fortaleza do Monte), Monte Hill (located east or St Paul's ruins) - 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 seige 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).

• St. Anthony's Church, Largo do Santo Antonio - One of Macau's oldest churches, St Anthony's was originally built of wood and bamboo. The current structure was constructed in 1930.

• Casa Garden, Praca De Luis de Camoes - This house, built in 1770, was the residence of a 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.

• East India Company Cemetery (also known as the Old Protestant Cemetery), Praca de Luis de Camoes (beside the Luis de Camoes Garden) - 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 and the missionary Robert Morrison.

Statue in front of Sao Paulo Cathedral

• 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 15m tall Guia Lighthouse, said to be the first modern lighthouse on the Chinese coast. Guia Fortress can be reached by the Guia Cable Car (Teleferico da Guia) just outside the entrance of the Flora Garden on Rua do Tunel, off Av Sidonio Pais.

Guia Fortress

Other churches, temples, places of religious significance

• Cemeterio de São Miguel Arcanjo (Saint Michael the Archangel Cemetery), 2A, Estrada do Cemiterio - A classic example of Sino-Portuguese Culture. A great place for lovers of angel statues.

• Chapel of Our Lady of Penha and Penha Hill, Colina da Penha - The chapel sits atop a steep hill which towers above the southern-most 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.

• Kun Iam Temple (觀音堂), Avenida do Coronel Mesquita - 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.

• Kun Iam Statue, Avenida Doutor Sun Yat Sen - 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 60m footbridge.

Museums

Macau Peninsula has several museums.

• Above Saint Paul's, within the remains of the Mount fortress, is the main Macau Museum.

• Opposite the A-Ma Temple is the Maritime Museum, with exhibits on Macau's seafaring history. Admission: M$10; half-price on Sundays.

• The Wine Museum and the Grand Prix Museum are both in the same building, north of the center of town.

Gardens

• Lou Lim Ioc (Jardim de Lou Lim Ioc), 10 Estrada de Adolfo de Loureiro - Beautiful garden sanctuary on the peninsula of Macau. It was part of an old Chinese mansion reconverted to museum and art gallery.

• Luis de Camoes Garden and Grotto, Praca de Luis de Camoes - One of the largest gardens in Macau, the land was originally 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 the Portuguese laureate Luis de Camoes. 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 Camoes Grotto with a bronze bust of the one-eyed poet.

Other sights

• Macau Tower - You'll get a great view over Macau and Taipa. Catch the 9A bus or around 20 minutes walk from the town centre. There is an viewing platform outside and an inside platform with glass floor panels, and a cafe. AJ Hackett also have "adventure" activities are the tower (see "Do" below).

• Rua da Felicidade (Happiness Street), the old red light district. Today it is a fairly interesting shopping street with various antiques and handicrafts. South and East of Largo Del Senado.

• Avenida da Republica - One of the most beautiful avenues in Macau, this tree-lined road arcs around the southern-most 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 Sao Tiago, with its access staircase through the walls of the ruined Barra Fortress, is located at the southern end of this road.

• Portas do Cerco - Called the Barrier Gate in Chinese, the Portuguese name "Gate of Seige" 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 Luis de Camoes, "Honour your country, it cares for you".

Do

Casino Lisboa, the granddaddy of Macau's casinos

Gambling

Most of Macau's casinos are located along the waterfront on the southern and southeastern side of Macau Peninsula. North of the Hotel Lisboa is a strip, called ZAPE, with many smaller casinos, a number of hotels and bars, and quite a few restaurants. This can be one of the more interesting areas of Macau; among other things it has quite a good Indian restaurant and several Portuguese ones. However, parts of it are also fairly sleazy, with lots of hookers and touts, so some caution is in order. In general the vast majority of the gaming tables are for baccarat. There are some slot machines but very few roulette wheels.

New casinos have also been established in the NAPE (Novos Aterros do Porto Exterior) area to the south of Avenida de Amizade, including Wynn Macau and Sands Macau.

The following casinos are on Macau Peninsula. For those in Cotai and on Taipa, please see the relevant pages.

• Wynn Macau, Avenida Da Amizade, ☎ +(853) 28 88 99 66 (inquiries@wynnmacau.com). On 6 September 2006 Wynn's huge casino/hotel/resort complex opened, and many expect it to soon surpass all of its rivals in gambling income. At night there are short fountain shows in front of the hotel with music, spraying fountains and the occasional bursts of flame. The casino is beautiful with mostly slot machines and baccarat tables. The Wynn offers lots of very upscale shopping and several fine restaurants.
• Rio Hotel & Casino, Rua Luis Gonzaga Gomes, ☎ +(853) 28 718 718 (fax: +(853) 28 718 728).
• Sands Macau, Avenida de Amizade, ☎ +853 2888 3388. The Sands offers a more open Las Vegas feel along with a smoke-free gaming room, the Pearl Room. Tables at the Sands play almost exclusivly in HKD.
• Casino Lisboa. The Lisboa offers an older world Macau feel on its gaming floors, structured in a labyrinth of different clubs and rooms for various levels of play. Tables play in both MOP and HKD.