Overview
Macau is two cities in one. The old centre is a UNESCO-listed Portuguese town of pastel churches and cobbled lanes. Twenty minutes away, the Cotai Strip is Asia's Las Vegas, with casino resorts bigger than anything in Nevada.
It sits one hour by ferry from Hong Kong, and most travellers see the best of it in one packed day. This page covers the places to visit in Macau and how to get between them; entry rules and the crossing itself are on the Macau country page.
Good to know
Best Time
October to December — dry and pleasant
Getting There
1 hour by ferry or 40 minutes by bridge bus from Hong Kong; Macau airport has direct flights across Asia
Local Transport
Free casino shuttles plus cheap public buses
Ideal Days
1 to 2 days, usually paired with Hong Kong
Ruins of St. Paul's and Senado Square — the stone facade of a 1602 church is Macau's icon, and it is free. The walk up from Senado Square's wave-patterned tiles passes bakeries handing out free almond-cookie samples. Come before 10 am to beat the tour groups.
Macau Tower — the observation deck at 223 metres costs around MOP 195 ($25). The reason thrill-seekers fly in is the world's highest commercial bungy at around MOP 4,000 ($500), plus a skywalk around the open outer rim for about MOP 888 ($110). Sunset slots go first.
The Venetian Macao — the world's biggest casino resort, with canals and singing gondoliers indoors. Walking in is free; a gondola ride is about MOP 145 ($18). Worth an hour even if you never gamble.
teamLab SuperNature — a huge digital-art space at The Venetian, similar to Tokyo's teamLab. Tickets around MOP 268 ($34). The best rainy-day option in the city and very photo-friendly.
Resort shows and the Cotai Strip at night — walk the strip past the Parisian's half-scale Eiffel Tower (deck entry about MOP 88 / $11), the Londoner and the MGM light displays. Lobbies and outdoor shows are free. The headline ticketed show is the water-stage spectacular at City of Dreams — book ahead for weekend seats.
A-Ma Temple — the 500-year-old seafront temple that gave Macau its name, free to wander and a calm counterweight to Cotai. Skip the decorative cable car at Wynn Palace if pressed for time — it is a short loop, not a viewpoint.
Taipa Village is the underrated hour of any Macau day. Squeezed between Cotai's giant resorts, its preserved Macanese lanes hold the Taipa Houses museum row and the territory's best pork-chop buns. It shows what the resorts replaced, and it's a 10-minute walk from the Venetian.
Coloane, at Macau's southern tip, is sleepier still — a fishing village with pastel chapels, Lord Stow's original bakery, and almost no crowds. Go only if you have a second day or you're serious about egg tarts.
Treat Macau as a one-day family stop from Hong Kong, not a base — kids tire of casino country fast, but one day lands well. The hits: teamLab SuperNature, as engaging for children as Tokyo's version; the Venetian's indoor canals and gondoliers; and the Giant Panda Pavilion in Coloane's Seac Pai Van Park, about MOP 10 (just over $1) — pair it with Lord Stow's bakery nearby (see Taipa and Coloane above). Remember under-21s cannot enter gaming floors, though resort malls and shows are fine.
If you do stay over, Cotai resorts offer pools and big family rooms at weekday rates — see Common mistakes on weekend pricing. The old town means cobbles, steps and crowds, so carry babies rather than push a stroller, and go early before the heat. Pacing: old town in the morning, a pool or teamLab in the afternoon, the lights at dusk, then the ferry back.
Macanese food — Portuguese technique on Chinese ingredients — exists nowhere else. Try African chicken, minchi (minced-meat hash with a fried egg), and the Portuguese egg tart at Lord Stow's or Margaret's, about MOP 12 ($1.50) apiece. The pedestrian streets between Senado Square and the Ruins are lined with jerky and cookie shops offering free samples.
Vegetarians have thinner options than in Hong Kong. The resort food courts on Cotai are the safest bet, and the same streets' bakeries cover snacks; confirm dishes in old-town cafés, since pork stock hides in many of them.
Free casino shuttles are Macau's open secret. They run from the ferry terminals, the bridge port and the airport to every big resort, anyone can ride them, and tourists use them as a de facto bus network. You can cross most of the city without paying for transport.
For the old town, public buses cost MOP 6 (under $1) flat per ride — this is the one place you'll want patacas in coins — and taxis are metered but scarce at peak hours. Distances are small: the peninsula's old town is walkable in a morning, and any resort shuttle or a 15-minute bus links it to Cotai. A light-rail line serves Taipa and Cotai, but visitors rarely need it.
A Macau day is cheap if you skip the tables. Rough guide:
Hong Kong dollars are accepted one-to-one almost everywhere, so most day-trippers never change money. Just expect change in patacas — which you can't spend back in Hong Kong — and keep a few MOP coins for the buses.
Coming on a weekend is the big one. Casino traffic doubles hotel rates and packs the ferries; a Tuesday or Wednesday visit sees the same sights at half the cost and half the crowd.
Don't try to walk from the old town to Cotai. The map makes them look close, but it is a hot, dull 40-plus minutes across bridges — take a free shuttle or a bus. Evening ferries back to Hong Kong also fill up, and late sailings are limited, so check return times before dinner.
The last mistake is treating Macau as casinos only. The UNESCO old town and Taipa Village are the halves you'll remember — give them the daylight hours and save Cotai for after dark, when the lights earn the visit.
Macau is best planned as the second half of a Hong Kong trip — 3-4 days in Hong Kong plus 1-2 here is the classic pairing, sharing one season and one arrival flight. Give the old town the morning, Cotai the evening, and Taipa the hour in between.
For the crossing options, entry rules and money tips, see the Macau country page.
Good to know
Yes, one packed day covers the highlights. Do the old town in the morning — Ruins of St. Paul's, Senado Square, egg tarts — then the Venetian and the Cotai strip in the afternoon, and Macau Tower at sunset. Stay overnight only if you want the casino resorts and light shows after dark.
Around MOP 4,000 ($500) — it is the highest commercial bungy in the world, jumping from 233 metres. The skywalk around the outer rim costs about MOP 888 ($110), and plain observation-deck entry is around MOP 195 ($25). Book adventure slots ahead on weekends.
Yes — walking in costs nothing, and the indoor canals, painted-sky ceilings and singing gondoliers are worth an hour even if you never place a bet. A gondola ride costs around MOP 145 ($18). The teamLab digital-art space in the same resort charges about MOP 268 ($34).
Yes. Casino floors are free to enter and nobody expects you to play, but you must be 21 or older to walk onto the gaming floor itself. Under-21s can still enjoy the resorts' malls, shows, food courts and lobby displays, which are most of the spectacle anyway.
Lord Stow's Bakery in Coloane village is the original, and Margaret's Café e Nata near Senado Square is its famous rival — tarts run about MOP 12 ($1.50) apiece at either. Try both if you can: Lord Stow's has the flakier crust, Margaret's the richer custard.
Midweek, no. Street food is cheap, the big sights (Ruins of St. Paul's, A-Ma Temple, resort lobbies) are free, and weekday hotel rates undercut Hong Kong. Weekend hotel prices jump sharply on casino traffic, so if your trip includes a weekend, do Macau on the weekdays.
Most visitors don't — Macau is visa-free for 80+ nationalities, from 30 days to 6 months depending on passport, with visa on arrival for most others. Entry, crossing and money details are on our Macau country page.
For a day, yes. teamLab, the Venetian's indoor canals and the panda pavilion fill a fun family day, and Cotai resort pools make an overnight easy. But under-21s cannot enter gaming floors and the old town is hard with strollers, so keep your base in Hong Kong and treat Macau as the day out.
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