Macau is the smallest stage where East and West meet: behind the baroque facade of the Ruins of St. Paul's stand temples to the goddess Mazu. Beyond the casino neon, the real Macau lives in egg-tart shops, pork chop buns and old lanes — small enough to cross in half a day, rich enough to eat your way through for three.

What to See

The Ruins of St. Paul's is Macau's icon: the baroque front of a seventeenth-century Jesuit church stands at the top of a grand staircase, the only facade to survive a fire that destroyed the rest. The old fortress and Macau Museum beside it are worth a visit together.

Macau Tower rises 338 metres above the peninsula, with views across the Sai Van Bridge. For the brave, the “sky jump” off the 233-metre platform is a controlled free fall you will not forget. Coloane's old village is Macau's quietest face: pastel Portuguese cottages, the original Lord Stow's bakery, and a rocky seaside — a place to slow down.

What to Eat

Portuguese egg tarts are Macau's calling card: layers of flaky pastry under a caramelised custard, best eaten scalding hot from the oven. Pork chop buns are the street classic: a crusty roll split around a big bone-in pork chop, juices running — pair it with iced lemon tea. Crab congee is the locals' midnight comfort: a whole river crab simmered into the rice porridge until the broth is sweet enough to need no salt at all.

Folk Customs

Practical Tips

Photos: Ruins of St. Paul's, Macau Tower — via Wikimedia Commons, CC-licensed. Licenses and authors available on the original file pages.