Macau. Worth a Visit? (1 Day Itinerary Included)

We ended up taking a flight to Macau instead, spent 2 and a half days exploring the city before heading to Hong Kong.

As soon as we arrived, we could clearly see from the airport that the city is packed with hotels and casinos. Like seriously, they are huge and so twinkling.

Although this is not a kind of city I would love to revisit any other time, if you’ve never been here before, you might wonder what it looks and feels like in Macau. I’d say one day here is more than enough. I spent two days and a half in Macau and ended up wasting time going nowhere exciting on the second day.

Here’s the One Day Itinerary that I just made for you, based on my personal experience.

Morning : Coloane & Taipa Village

Before heading to our first destination, Coloane, head to a local eatery for a quick breakfast. Just pick any eatery that’s packed up with people, they’re usually pretty good. I happened to have my breakfast at one of the local mini resto within a very short walking distance from my hotel. They mostly sell noodle, congee, and dim sum, and all of them are pretty good!

Oh, you might also want to know that coffee is RARE in Hong Kong / Macau / China. I don’t know why, but I just found it hard to find one. And when I do, I found crappy coffee 

Now, let the journey begin.

If it’s not because of the famous Lord Stow’s portuguese egg tart, I’d skip Coloane all over. Because honestly, there’s not much to see there – compared to Taipa Village. But, there’s this Lord Stow’s shop in Coloane where people would line up just for the egg tart. It’s not an ordinary egg tart, I tell you. It’s the bloody almighty Lord Stow’s portuguese egg tart. You don’t want to skip this. (Why would you?)

So yes, head to Coloane for this.

Still in Coloane, there’s this nice small coffee shop named Hann Cafe just across Lord Stow’s shop. We decided to grab a coffee for our egg tarts and sit there just beside the cafe enjoying our egg tart. So relaxing.

When you’re finished with your tart, you can of course head back to Lord Stow’s Bakery to grab more tarts, OR… you can take a cab to Taipa Village to see more of Macau’s old cultural sights, architecture, and shop. It’s totally your call. Another tarts won’t hurt, though.

Taipa Village, to me, is enchanting. It is a place where you can go catch a glimpse of the old side of Macau with no casinos and big lights all over the place. There are this colonial buildings, Chinese temples, beautiful beautiful little cafes and restaurants, and a small park. It was really a good experience to me.

There is also this Run Do Cunha street where food stalls line up selling snacks like egg tart, ice cream, dessert, pork chop bun, some meat, and smoothies. Make sure not to miss the Rua Do Cunha street in Taipa Village for snacks.

Famous spot in Taipa Village :

• Tai Lei Loi Kei : go for their pork chop bun.
• Koi Kei bakery : it’s where people normally buy snacks for souvenir.
• Seng Cheong Restaurant (誠昌飯店) : crab congee.
• The Taipa Houses : a museum.

Taipa village is in a short walking distance with The Venetian. That’s where we’re going next.

Midday : The Venetian

As it gets very very hot and humid during lunch time, you better head to The Venetian instead of walking around outside.

You can easily walk from Taipa Village to The Venetian, or better yet, you can take the escalator from Taipa Village that leads to…. here!

The Venetian is probably the finest shopping, dining, and gambling place I’ve ever been to, I swear. It got a decent food court, too. So if you haven’t had anything for lunch in Taipa Village, you must hungry right now. It’s time to grab something for lunch.

Afternoon : Ruin of St. Paul Catheral & Senado Square

Around 3 – 4 pm, head to the ruin of St. Paul Cathedral.It’s a mandatory landmark to visit when in Macau. And man, there were sooo many people when we got there.

From there, walk down to the shopping street and straight to the Senado Square. There are so many shops here, so you might wanna spend a little bit more time here.

Just beside the cathedral, there’s this old fort named Monte Fort. You can walk up there to see more of Macau scenic view. It is said that the fort belonged to St. Paul’s Cathedral and used to defend the cathedral from pirates. That’s why there are cannons up there. Now, it serves as a recreation park. There are many people walking, exercising.

Night : Dinner

Dinner! We went to a decent Chinese resto and had some nice Chinese food.

From here, you can take a ferry ride to Hong Kong, or stay for another night. It’s your call 😉

Anyway, here’s some recommended dinner spot in Macau for you :

• Seng Cheong Restaurant (誠昌飯店) : crab congee
• Chan Kuong Kei Restaurant : roasted duck rice
• Fernando’s Restaurant

Well, what can I say? It’s not a kind of city I would like to revisit. It just doesn’t excite me as it excites the gambler or the shopaholic. (But I’d say, if you’re into shopping, go to Hong Kong instead, seriously). It was nice to know what it feels like in Macau, though. Since everybody seems to brag about the fancy hotel and casino and stuffs.

I hope you have a great time!

SWEET TIPS :

• There are a lot of free shuttle from one hotel to another, so you might want to check this option. It might cut a lot of your taxi expenses.

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SHARON LOH
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